New deer hunting rules impact Vernon county

By Chris Patch

Herald Tribune

The Missouri Conservation Commission has added Vernon County to the "four-point rule," a regulation that limits hunters to only taking bucks with antlers less than three inches long or with at least four points one inch or longer on at least one side.

The rule was tested on 29 counties from 2004-'07 and was expanded 65 this season after the commission received strong support from deer hunters. A statewide mail survey found a majority of hunters in 74 of Missouri's 114 counties favored the rule. It received the least support from counties in southeastern Missouri, with the most support from the northern half of the state.

"We found that most hunters in most parts of the state like the four-point rule," Conservation Department deer biologist Lonnie Hensen said. "We also discovered people liked the rule more the longer it was in effect in their counties. Approval of the four-point rule increased in adjoining counties during the four-year trial, too."

Vernon County was added to the rule after the Conservation Commission consulted research, surveys and public meetings and deemed it a good a candidate. Conservation agent Shawn Pennington said after scientific data is consulted public opinion gathered from meetings like one held in El Dorado Springs still wasn't taken lightly.

"They used research to determine which counties could possibly benefit from the rule," Pennington said. "One of the key factors, if it's supported scientifically, is public opinion. It will still count. At the deer meeting we had some local folks that there were obviously people for it and against it."

The stated goal of the four-point rule is two-fold: to encourage hunters to shoot more does and to allow more bucks to reach three years or older. The commission believes shooting more does will help control population in areas where deer numbers are above ideal levels and the restriction on bucks will lead to a "more normal age and sex distribution."

Hensen said the rule hasn't yet had the desired effect a population management tool. He said it was effective shifting deer harvest in central Missouri from bucks to does but wasn't as effective in the northwestern corridor, where the state needs more population control.