12 Black Bears Successfully Hunted in Missouri’s Third Season

As stated by the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), 12 black bears were successfully hunted during the state’s third bear hunting season, spanning from October 16th to 25th.

The season attracted significant attention, with over 5,300 hunters applying for one of the 400 available permits. These permits anticipated a maximum harvest of 40 bears for the season. After a lottery-style selection process, 342 hunters secured their participation by purchasing their permits.

Per Missouri’s hunting guidelines, only state residents are eligible. The hunts are confined to three designated areas in southern Missouri, known as the Bear Management Zones (BMZ). Each permit corresponds to a specific BMZ, and hunters are restricted to that zone, be it on public or private land.

The results, broken down by zone, are as follows:

• BMZ 1: Of a potential 20 bears, nine were hunted by the zone’s 173 permit holders.
• BMZ 2: With a quota of 15 bears, three were hunted by its 125 permit holders.
• BMZ 3: Despite an allowance for up to five bears and with 44 permits issued, no bears were hunted in this zone.

All bears were harvested using standard firearm methods. Of the 12 bears harvested, three were boars (males) and nine were sows (females).

“We had another successful black bear hunting season this year and saw bears harvested in four new counties where bears had not been previously harvested,” said MDC Bear Biologist Nate Bowersock. “Conditions this season couldn’t have been much better for hunters, and we look forward to hearing from hunters about their experiences through our annual post-season survey.”

Learn more about Missouri black bears and bear hunting in Missouri at mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/species/bear.