Outdoor living

Now that the November part of the firearm deer season has ended, archers are heading back into the deer woods until January 15 for the second part of their season and many like Bob Marshall, Blue Springs, Mo., will be looking for that big buck that they saw last month.

Marshall said, "I saw a big buck the last day of the season that looked like a record. I never got close enough for a decent shot so I hope he made it through the end of the firearm season so I can get another crack at him."

Today's bowhunters have come a long way since the first archery season opened back in 1946. Back then there was a three-day season for bucks only in Crawford County. There were 73 archers that participated in that hunt. This season there are more than 100,000 bowhunters in the long season.

Archers agree that bow hunting is so different from the gun season. Its a big challenge. You have to understand the ways of the animals. You also have to prepare yourself by practicing with your bow. There aren't very many archers that pick up the bow for the first time in a year and head for the woods.

Archery hunting has grown substantially over the past few years because of the rewards of the hunt. Bow hunters prefer their season over the gun season because of the safety factor as well as having a long season.

Marshall said, "I always feel safer in the deer woods during the archery season. During the gun season, I get very nervous especially during that opening weekend."

With the long season bowhunters can pick out the days they want to hunt. There's no need to be out in very bad weather because they can wait until the weather gets better, unlike the short gun season.

In bowhunting, patience is a necessity, never mind a virtue. You will see a lot of deer, but that doesn't mean you will get a lot of shots. Unlike a gun hunter who can try a long shot with a reasonable hope of success, the archer needs to have his deer within 30 yards to make a kill shot.

The bottom line for archers is being out there, relaxing, unwinding, watching and getting to know nature.

The rise in deer hunting with a bow seems to be the most dramatic change in the deer-hunting habits in the state. Considering Missouri holds nearly a million whitetails and enough turkeys to make many Thanksgiving dinners, bowhunters have a lot to look forward to as we move into December.

The 208,940 deer taken during the recent gun season was down by more than 8,000 from last year's record kill, but hunters like Fred Smart, Sedalia, Mo., weren't too surprised.

Smart said, "I know the deer are out there, but lousy hunting weather during the days I could hunt made it harder to get a deer. I think a lot of hunters were looking for a big buck knowing they could still get a doe, if needed, this month."

In the Kansas City Region, Benton County had 3,708 deer checked followed by St. Clair with 3,295 and Henry with 2,936.

The black mark on the season was 12 hunting-related accidents, including two fatal ones.