Southern MO public land whitetail archery

[Jkwatson]

I am planning a trip up to Missouri with my dad and brother in a few weeks (we will be there the week of Nov. 9-13) and this will be our first time to hunt in MO. Any recommendations on areas to hunt or to stay away from in southern part of state as we are traveling up from MS and AL? My brother checked out Apple Creek and Magnolia Hollow this past weekend but was not impressed. Thanks for any feedback!

 

[Mighty Mouse]

You might consider driving a couple hours further and hunting the northern part of the state. Body size and antler size both generally get larger as you get into the crop lands north of the Missouri River. There are plenty of state-owned conservation areas all over the state. If you're fixed on hunting the southern part of the state, the Mark Twain National Forest would also be an option.

 

[Jkwatson]

I was kind of figuring that might be the case. Since we are already driving a long ways to hunt I guess we might as well drive a couple/few more hours to get into bigger bucks.

 

[hollarhorns]

I live in the central part of the state. I'm lucky to have quite a bit of MTNF just a few minutes from home but I still make a trip or two up to the northern part of the state to hunt. The deer numbers up there seem so much better. Thats a great window to hunt, here, but the pressure is gonna be high. Don't be afraid to seek out those small tracts to hunt!