How's the hunting in MO?
 

So, my wife wants to move to be closer to her sister who lives in Kansas City, MO. I personally have never been to Kansas City, or MO for that matter. I don't really care where I live, but I have to have a place to hunt and shoot. Is there much for hunting there? Public land for hunting and shooting? I don't mind if I have to drive a little ways to get there.
Thanks in advance for any help.

Depends on what you are hunting....if you get in with some land owners you can have a helluva deer hunt in No. Mo. or No. KS if you are a deer hunter. Granted if you are coming from MN you might be down grading, but you still have plenty to hunt. I'm in Lincoln, NE and am 2.5 hrs from KC, but I hunt SE Nebraska and love it. Tons of predator, deer, pheasant, some quail, dove, etc.

BPete
:fighting0007:

I live in Missouri and we are often over looked when it comes to deer hunting. I think that is because we have Iowa, Illinois and Kansas all around us. I feel that we are their red headed stepchild. We as Missourian's can't just go over the boarder into one of those states and hunt deer, but they can all come here. Most of your serious states have lotteries and draws, but not here. Any yahoo with a gun can come here pay a little over $100 and go right to hunting. We do how ever have a 4 point on one side restriction on our bucks. We have some big bucks here and a lot of public land as well and I've hunted all over the country. So believe me I've seen worse.

I have hunted in the Rolla, Vida, Salem and Ft. Leonard Wood area about twenty times over the years and have to say that I would compare it to any other area I ever hunted in. Big bucks and plenty of them. I now live in west central Minnesota and if things go right I will be back down there again this season. Quite a drive from Kansas City but well worth the trip.

MO is a great place to hunt deer with a lot of hunting opportunities on both public and private land. Being in the kansas city area and do not mind traveling, There is a large conservation area near the Northern border that, if my memory is correrct, was once a strip mine for coal and is now full of both trees and fields with large bucks. On the other hand you could drive a little south and find good hunting as well. A few years ago my uncle was hunting in Bates county and took a first light shot on a buck. Broke the front shoulder with a .243 and didn't recover it. It was found the next year and was reported. Scored at 165. So we have big bucks for the trophy hunter and plenty of does for those that want meat.

Oh yeah we have some public hunting areas that for some reason get over looked by the deer hunting public, and I recieved my Missouri Conservationist magazine today. It states that MDC has 5 staffed ranges and 70 unstaffed ranges, The one in Kansas City region is near Lake City (yes thats the ammo plant)

Hey WCW, I live on the outskirts of Rolla and have more hunting land on the outskirts of Licking. Big bucks all around brother!

hows the hunting in mark twain?we are wanting to come there for gun season next year.not looking for boone &crockett bucks.we just want to camp out,hunt and have a reasonable chance at getting a deer.that is beautiful country in the southern hills.could somebody reccomend one ranger district to get started in?

Mark Twain is great. I've hunted on public land my whole life. Killed some really nice bucks. The southern part of the state is normally not noted for big bucks but they are here. Check with the ranger station in Poplar Bluff, West Plains, ozark regions. You will be suprised at the number we really have. I like it that people think southen Mo has no big bucks, more for me.

thanks.a friend went turkey hunting in april around branson,but it rained and tornado sirens were sounding the whole week he was there.he didnt get to see very much of the forest.are there many clearcuts that the deer can feed and bed in?

Don't know about the branson area but areas east of there have got lots of big timber, some clear cuts but mainly big woods. Lots of hills and hollers. Most of the big woods people don't hunt because they don't want to walk. Lots of woods and plenty of nice bucks.

I live in Taney County. We have the Gladetop and Hurcules portions of the Mark Twain National Forrest. Plentiful hunting areas. The deer are nothing like up north, but there are some monsters lurking.
Good luck.

Rab123
I live in Ripley Co, in southeast MO. Over a quarter of the county is national forest, there is also a state forest here. This is very rough country, you can not use an atv on much of it due to rules. We have many local deer hunters and some of them get big bucks. Our part of the state is reported to have around 20 deer per square mile. northeast MO is supposed to have around 30 deer per square mile. I hunt in Ralls Co. in NE MO with family mostly but have shot decent deer in the national forest.

Hey Jenks I also live in ripley county. I'll bet we know each other. I have seen more big bucks in the southern part of the state this year than I have seen in quite some time. Going to be a good year.

Hello Turkey Harvester--

Probably have seen you somewhere along the way. There are some big deer here and there is a lot of cover for them to hide in. I have not hunted here for several years, last time was out on Buffalo Creek just off of "C" blacktop. I do go hunting with my sons in NE MO, but I have not shot anything in awhile. The wife keeps the freezer full of "bargains" so I bought a small freezer for deer, now she has that full too. To be honest, I raise a garden and most of the space is used up with that. It isn't about the shooting, it is about the hunting with family. MDC makes a $17 profit every year from me, but who knows, I may shoot something this year. Good Luck on a big one!!

Fifteen year old grandson took his first deer Sunday in Ralls Co, it was a eleven point buck. He put it down with one shot from a '94 Winchester that I had given his father when he was young. The deer was on the run when he nailed him. I took a small doe, gave it away after tagging because of the heat. I was afraid that the meat would not make it to SEMO, it was about 70 degrees. Wind was blowing both Saturday and Sunday. Hope all had, or will have good luck.

lots of deer (big bucks due to the farmland) and lots of turkey. the public land in Missouri seems to be overpopulated though. I hunt squirrels and rabbits on public land but refuse to hunt deer there anymore, it's too dangerous.

I don't know about too dangerous or overpopulated. The public land i hunt normally I'm the only one there. Get a map and you can find other tracks of gov. land to hunt without all the people, you might have to walk a little, but most people don't. I still deer and turkey hunt on public, and with great sucess.

Years ago a few of us used to hunt in the Mark Twain Nat. Forest just west of Perry Co. That is about 100 miles south of St. Louis, close enough for lots of city guys to find. We used to camp in the woods there. After a couple of years with shouting and shooting from some of the other guys we gave it up. They apparently were doing some drinking, I don't know what the shooting was about, it was after dark. National forests are great if folks will sight their rifles in before season and leave the hooch alone. Back then(1970's) we didn't see many deer, maybe all the shooting had something to do with that.

dont know too much about northern missouri but i know if you drive about 2 hours southeast of KC there is turkey, deer, sometimes hog all day everyday. good fishing rivers, good hunting grounds. i love me some southern missouri.

556, that would get you into Boone, Callaway, Cole Counties, or maybe SE of them. That is great hunting country, especially deer. They have the MO River going thru them with a mix of woods and cropland. I once left MO for eight years due to a job transfer. When I got back home I decided that I would not leave the state for another long spell. If I was born in Wyoming, I probably would feel the same about that, or any other state. Nothing like home.