Central MO 2nd Weekend Firearms

The 2nd week of the MO firearms season was met with mixed results. Areas in the northern part of the state saw decent movement early and late in the days, but high temps kept mid-day movement to a minimum, from most of the conversations I've had. Central MO had strong winds and higher than normal temps on the 15th, 16th, and 17th. We saw great movement on the 17th after 3:30pm when the wind laid down. Our group enjoyed some good success harvesting 3 does on the 15th, 1 doe on the 16th, and a large 14 point (grossing 150+) on the evening of the 17th. There was little to no movement during the mid-afternoon hours in our area. With the 1st real cold snap of the season right around the corner, the muzzle loader season should be interesting here in MO. Hopefully it will get the big boys on their feet more during the mid-day hours.
The rutting activity should still be pretty strong over the next 8-10 days. Bucks will be looking for those late estrus does and cruising the timber.
If movement in your area is slow, try changing up your game plan. Now is not the time to be sitting over rubs and scrape lines. While you may get lucky and catch a buck out cruising, the majority of action will be around the doe groups. Key in on finding the pockets of does in your area and hunting close to them. Because of the added pressure of firearms season, the majority of activity will be during the last 45 minutes of light. Key in on transition areas between bedding and food sources. If you find the does, you will find the bucks close behind.

Hunt safe and let the little bucks walk!