Young hunters brought home more than 10,000 deer during Missouri’s two-day youth firearms deer season, the second-largest kill in the season’s five-year history. Hunters ages 6-15 checked 10,860 deer Oct. 29- 30. That’s a 19 percent decline from 2004, and the first year the harvest has fallen since the youth season began in 2001. State officials say hunters have more difficulty finding deer in years when acorns are abundant, and this year’s acorn crop is among the largest ever, which could account for the decreased youth deer harvest.

This year’s youth harvest included 6,346 (58 percent) antlered deer, 1,389 (13 percent) button bucks and 3,144 (29 percent) does.