Missouri's 2018-19 deer-hunting season ended Tuesday with the Missouri Department of Conservation reporting a preliminary total of 290,339 deer killed by hunters.
Top harvesting counties for the overall season were Franklin with 5,826, Callaway with 5,545 and Howell with 5,350, according to an MDC news release.
Of the 290,339 deer killed, 136,776 were antlered bucks, 30,116 were button bucks, and 123,447 were does.
Figures for other Mid-Missouri counties included Cole County with 1,939 deer harvested, Boone County with 3,646, Maries County with 2,225, Miller County with 3,062, Moniteau County with 1,850, Morgan County with 4,094 and Osage County with 4,692.
Hunters killed 284,477 deer during last year's season. The most recent record season was in 2012-13 with a total of 313,254 deer killed.
Fall archery turkey hunting also ended Tuesday, with 2,095 turkeys killed.
Top counties for the archery turkey season were Callaway with 56 birds killed, Franklin with 44 and Monroe with 38.
Last year, hunters killed 2,426 turkeys during the fall archery season.
Other Mid-Missouri counties' archery turkey harvests include Cole County with 37 birds, Boone County with 35, Maries County with 29, Miller County with 22, Moniteau County with 21 and Osage County with 26.
MDC reported eight firearms-related hunting incidents during the 2018 fall deer and turkey hunting seasons. There were three fatalities, with two occurring incidental to hunting while at hunting camps and one a self-inflicted incident in the field. Of the five non-fatal incidents, four were self-inflicted and the fifth occurred when the shooter shot a victim while swinging on game.
More deer and turkey harvest data for the current season is available online at short.mdc.mo.gov/Z3g. Deer harvest data for past seasons is available at short.mdc.mo.gov/Z3M, and turkey harvest data for past seasons is available at short.mdc.mo.gov/Z3Y.