Missouri hunt

Looking into making a bow trip to central or northern Missouri. What week would you go, the first week in November or the second week in November. These are the two weeks I have to choose from. Any thoughts or ideas? Which one of these weeks you would pick. First week would be Oct.29th to Nov.3rd. Second week would be Nov.5th to Nov.10th.

Not much difference. But having to plan ahead without knowing the weather conditions, I'd take my chances with 5-10.

I'll second what turkey said. The rut should be priming up if not full on by then. Usually caught the tail end of it during the gun opener when I hunted there.

X3

I have a friend who is retired military that runs an Outfitters service in MO. His information is:

Buck Ridge Lodge and Outfitters LLC
Princeton, MO
660-748-3245

He has some really great properties to hunt, don't know if you wanted to use an outfitter or needed a lodge, but if you do he would put you on a good hunt

The week before guns season starts was good in North Central Missou where we hunted.

I went to NE Missouri last year Nov. 6-11 and bucks were cruising like crazy. It was awesome.

I've hunted central MO for about 5 years straight and I've had to take different weeks due to work. Nov 5th will be the best and is also when I am going up this year.

From what I saw in Missouri last year I would agree that the 5th-10th would be the best.

Any idea on rates. Always wanted to hunt Mo. Drove through twice going to hunt Iowa and it looked great.

AC870, no I apologize I'm not sure how he charges for his services, I believe he told me it depends on type of hunt archery versus gun and time of year. I think the out of state licenses and fees are around $450-$500. You should call him up his name is Keith, I've seen photos of the properties and sheds he is finding and it looks really good.

We drove through the night on Oct 31 and hunted Monday pm through Saturday a.m.. I don't think either week would be bad. We were in NW MO and bucks were cruising and responding well to grunting and rattling.
I have the first week of November off this year with hopes of a DIY public land hunt, but have fallen behind with putting it together.

been the past 2 our of 4 years to North Central, Mo. I would choose the second week. I've hunted the second and third week and killed bucks both times. One cruising and one chasing.

Non resident Missouri tags are $225.

I lived there for four years, before moving back to Bama three years ago. We hunted a bunch, but always made it a point to hunt the week before the gun opener. We primarly hunted in NW Missouri. My BIL hunted with me one year and the out of state archery license was about 225 bucks. Friends there tell me you can use a cross bow for the first time this year and I think they mentioned they have gone to a one buck limit during archery season.

Yes crossbows will be legal starting this year.

You may take only two antlered deer during the archery and firearms deer hunting seasons combined. Archer's Hunting Permit: two deer of either sex. Only one antlered deer may be taken before November 12th during the first archery season. With that said, you can still kill another antlered deer after the firearms season with your 2nd archery antlered tag if you did not kill an antlered deer during the firearms season.

http://huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/species/deer/deer-seasons-hours

Would anyone happen to know anything about Northwest Missouri Outfitters in St. Joseph, MO? I've been considering a late season muzzleloader hunt with them between Christmas and New Years.

5-10, as others have said. We usually hunt the last week of bow and the first week of gun. 5-10 is usually when the chase phase occurs in our hunting area (just south of Lucerne).

Anybody hunt Mercer county?

Hunted Scotland co last November wich is 2 counties directly to the east and the hunting was phenomenal.

Cool, this will be my first year hunting there, so needless to say I'm excited.

It will definitely spoil you.

So I've heard. Hope it doesn't ruin Bama for me.

Let's just put it this way, I saw more bucks during the first all day sit in MO than I saw the whole season combined in AL.

Yep. Big, small, chasing, sniffing, checking, eating. Had a forkhorn try to mount a decoy in front of my stand. Saw a gaggle of 8-pointers in southern Illinois one afternoon that all looked like brothers.

But I never want in Alabama what I see there and don't push for it. It's different regions, foods, soils and so forth. They have theirs, we have ours. The Midwest darn sure is fun to hunt, though.

Ok I understand that Alabama hunting will never look like the Midwest and I also understand not trying to push for unrealistic goals, but by saying you never want to see it in Alabama are you seriously saying if you woke up tomorrow and a by some miracle Alabama had everything it took to have hunting like the Midwest you wouldn't like it?

I would love to find 120-150 inch 2 year old bucks in Bama

That's kind of what I was thinking too lol

Would I like it? It would be OK, I guess. My driving force isn't only to hunt giant mature bucks, though. I am zero consumed with antlers. Do. Not. Care. I just enjoy hunting. Big antlers/bucks? Great. Cool. Spike or forkhorn? OK, fine. I've been to the Midwest for my work. It's fun. It's different. But I don't believe we can have the same thing here and don't want all the QDM You're Not a Real Hunter Must Do This to Get Theirs! kind of BS a lot of folks really want to try to impose here and are succeeding in doing incrementally.

I love Montana and Wyoming and Utah and Arizona. I damned sure wouldn't want Alabama to be a high mountain desert or stark Rockies desert tomorrow morning. I like where Montana and Wyoming are and enjoy visiting.

Gotcha.......I mainly would just like the quantity of deer in the Midwest the quality would just be the gravy on top for me