Stoddard County deer hunters took 125 deer through alternate method season that ran Dec. 20-30 in Missouri. Hunters across the state killed 11,026 during the season which allows hunting with center-fire pistols, bows and muzzle-loading firearms.
The harvest numbers were the worst since 2008, when it was still the old muzzleloader-only season.
The total deer taken in Stoddard County during the recent season was comparable to other surrounding counties. The highest total deer harvested by alternative methods was in Wayne county with 158. Bollinger County hunters took 150, Butler County hunters took 104 and Ripley County hunters took 155 deer during alternative weapons season.
The Missouri Department of Conservation on Wednesday reported that hunters killed almost 1,000 fewer through alternative methods compared to the last deer hunting season.
Top harvest counties for this year were Oregon with 269 deer, Franklin with 248 and Howell with 244.
The breakdown of the deer harvest by county in the area includes:
Stoddard County -- 21 antlered deer, 16 button bucks and 88 doe for a total of 135
Wayne County -- 38 -- 19 -- 101 -- 158
Ripley County -- 35 -- 18 -- 102 - 155
Bollinger County -- 38 -- 17 -- 95 -- 150
Butler County -- 32 -- 18 -- 54 -- 104
Cape Girardeau County -- 25 -- 16 -- 86 -- 127
The archery hunting portion of the season is next and runs through Jan. 15.