Missouri Firearms Deer Season Opens Saturday: CWD Testing Required in 80 Counties

(Missourinet) – It’s the biggest weekend of the year for Missouri hunters—and thousands are heading to the woods. 

Opening weekend for Missouri’s firearms deer season is this Saturday and Sunday, November 15th and 16th, and it’s expected to draw more than 250,000 hunters statewide. 

The Missouri Department of Conservation says hunters in the Chronic Wasting Disease Management Zone must take their deer—or just the head—to a mandatory sampling station the same day it’s harvested. 

Stations will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. in more than 80 counties, including new additions like Callaway, Cape Girardeau, and St. Louis. 

Officials say the testing helps track and contain CWD, which threatens Missouri’s deer population. 

Drivers are reminded to watch out for deer, who might be running away from the sound of shotguns. 

The season continues through November 25th.