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Hunting remains a central part of culture in Missouri and Kansas, even if it doesn’t draw quite the same number of participants as in decades past.
According to KOMU, the Missouri Department of Conservation says hunters harvested nearly 300,000 deer in the 2020-2021 deer hunting season, an increase from about 286,000 during the 2019-2020 season. Numbers have declined some since, but not dramatically.
On the Kansas side, the most recent state data shows that about 80,000 deer were harvested in 2020, down from a peak of over 110,000 two decades before.
Nationwide, the interest in hunting has declined. According to NC State research, almost 17 million people hunted in 1982 compared to 11.5 million today.
At the same time, though, interest in foraging and related wild-focused self-sustaining practices is on the rise — and hunting can be a part of that growing appreciation for hyper-local, seasonal and wild ingredients. (You can find our previous guide to fishing around Kansas City here.)
Whether hunting is a tradition in your family, or you’ve found your way into the hobby, it’s a rush even to go out on a deer hunt: getting up well before the sunrise, stalking quietly to your chosen hunting location, settling in, and observing nature wake as the sun lights the horizon and, then, rises.
But when you do see a deer and when they are in range, the shift from calm to adrenaline-infused focus is, pun intended, wild. This is where the real challenge lies: staying calm in the moment, assessing your options and quarry, deciding to take a shot or not.
A note before we begin
There’s a lot that goes into hunting, and a great deal of work happens before you ever get into the field. So we made this guide to learning how to hunt, where to hunt and, if you’re lucky in your endeavors, where to process game.
While we will focus here on deer hunting, there are opportunities in both Kansas and Missouri to hunt small game, predators, birds and even large game like elk. Trapping even remains a pursuit, and many outdoors lovers still harvest fur.
Mind you, this is a primer and, to those new to hunting, just a jumping off point. Before you ever climb up a tree stand or crouch into a hunting blind, you’ll find there’s more to learn than we can cover in one place.
Hunter safety and gun safety
In both Kansas and Missouri, hunters are required to pass a hunter safety course, though there are some exceptions.
These courses vary state to state, but they generally focus on firearm safety and proper ammunition storage, identifying wildlife, conservation practices and hunting ethics and first aid in the outdoors.
Hunter safety courses in Kansas
If an in-person course is your preference, Kansas offers many options. You’ll find here listings for upcoming traditional in-person courses, but if you prefer online only, there’s an option for you, too.
In-person courses can take a full day and require a pre-test. Students can also expect a “field walk” session where they go over what they’ve learned in a natural setting.
The online course is free and takes three to four hours to complete.
Missouri hunter safety courses
Missouri also offers in-person and online hunter safety courses. The in-person course does require an online pre-test. After completing this requirement, prospective hunters need to then complete the in-person course.
Missouri’s in-person course runs four to six hours, depending on the number of students attending, and it covers outdoor shooting, blood trailing, demonstrations of tree stand safety and a discussion of basic survival skills.
But, if you prefer online, you have that option, too.
Pausing for firearm safety
If you’ve not been around firearms or handled one before, it’s strongly recommended you complete a gun safety course, too. Both Kansas and Missouri offer a free online primer through gun-safety.com. The focus is on handguns, but the training is certainly relevant.
The course is short — just 90 minutes long — and only requires a web browser and internet connection. Participants are guided through general gun safety fundamentals, including handling, transporting, storing and firing a gun in defensive situations.
If you want to take your firearms training to the next level, Shootingclasses.com is a good place to begin your search and has pages for Kansas and Missouri. The courses offered through this site are more geared for defense and tactical shooting, but gun safety pervades everything you will find here.
Getting a firearm and license
While this guide won’t help with how to purchase a gun (or bow), the firearm you choose may depend on what you’re hunting: shotguns for birds and small game (and even deer), rifles, even large-caliber handguns are legal in some cases.
If you’re new to deer hunting, a rifle should probably be your first choice, and your caliber selection is important. Too small, and you’ll wound your target and may not find the animal. Too large, and you may not be comfortable handling the weapon.
Generally, rifles in the following calibers are light enough to carry easily and don’t produce enough recoil to be uncomfortable when firing: .243, .270, .30-.30, .308 and .30-06. Meateater has a very good blog post on this topic if you’d like more guidance.
You’ll also want a scope with your rifle — a three- or four-power or even 3-9x scope is perfect. You don’t need to see every hair on the animal, you just need a good view of the vital area in the context of the background. Meateater has scopes covered, too.
Kansas does not have a minimum caliber requirement but does maintain a “Legal Equipment” page that discusses the basic requirements for hunting weapons. Missouri maintains a more robust page on the subject, and the guidance found on both pages is worth knowing no matter which side of the border you plan to hunt.
Now, you’re safety certified, you’ve chosen a firearm and it's time to get your license. Both Missouri and Kansas have made it easy to purchase your license online — you can even store it in their respective apps for easy access.
Missouri license information can be found here, and the license purchase portal is here.
Kansas also maintains a license information page and a license purchase portal. Purchasers can opt to have various licenses auto-renew or not, and there are license add-ons to consider.
It's time to hunt. Now, where to go?
This might be the trickiest aspect of hunting in general: Where can you do it? Both Kansas and Missouri allow hunting on some public lands, but the rules can be complex.
In Kansas, the state maintains a series of pages outlining when and how to hunt public lands. Beyond this resource, the state also maintains an Online Hunting Atlas that includes walk-in hunting opportunities. Walk-in hunting is a program wherein landowners are reimbursed by the state for allowing hunters access to their land. Every parcel has its own rules, though, so be sure to read carefully and call the state if you have any questions.
Missouri also maintains a series of pages walking you through where you may hunt. Missouri’s walk-in hunting program is not nearly as robust as Kansas’, though. You can find opportunities through the Missouri Outdoor Recreational Access Program. And Missouri is blessed with a robust network of conservation areas — think of them as state parks with little to no development. Many of these also allow hunting.
If hunting on private land (think farmland or wooded areas on which there are few structures), you’ll naturally need permission, and it’s best to pursue opportunities on land belonging to friends or family. No matter where you hunt, you should try to take care of the land — practicing leaving no trace is essential.
Fall is the season for deer, but there are opportunities to hunt nearly all year.
Both Kansas and Missouri maintain pages outlining all legal hunting seasons. For deer, both states offer several options, including hunting periods for various demographics — e.g. for youth or the disabled — and methods besides rifles, such as archery, muzzle-loaded rifles and alternative methods (yes, you actually can use spears).
Remember: Your choice of season will dictate the clothing and other gear you need to plan to take. Later into fall, you’ll need insulated boots and clothing, along with several layers underneath. Because deer hunting typically involves a lot of sitting still, you may even need to use boot and/or hand warmers.
This brings up an important point: Be sure to review the regulations on blaze, or hunter, orange. Hunters are sometimes required to wear this color as it can prevent accidents — e.g. where a hunter mistakes another hunter moving in the brush for a deer and fires on them. Missouri’s and Kansas’ requirements vary, so be sure to review carefully!
You've got your deer. What do you do with it?
If you do shoot and you do achieve your objective, you’ll have a whole other journey ahead of you: Processing your quarry. For those of you who are new to hunting, it’s highly advisable that you turn to a local meat processor for help.
Some processors — or meat lockers — only operate seasonally to accommodate deer hunters, and some operate year round. As hunting remains a strong tradition in this region, there are many to choose from — you can find some options in our previous Adventure on the best butcher shops in the Kansas City region. Even as all meat lockers are regulated and inspected, not all are created equal.
A good processor will be able to produce a lot of products from a deer. Summer sausage is a delicious and very popular option, but processors can make burger, breakfast sausage, snack sticks and more. Having the processor return cuts of meat or burger to you is usually the most cost-effective option, but paying a little more for ready-to-eat or ready-to-cook options is well worth it.
The fall is all about harvest and sharing the bounty, and that spirit can extend to the hunt. Both Kansas and Missouri have programs in place whereby hunters can donate their quarry to the hungry.
The State of Kansas maintains an info page on the topic, as does Missouri. These programs ensure hundreds of hungry individuals in our region have access to lean, quality protein that is also a special, heritage meat.
Even if you don't hunt to harvest
With all you’ve read here, you can still hunt without actually firing a shot or taking an animal. Scouting a plot of land, choosing a spot, setting up a deer stand or blind and sitting in wait will reveal to you scenes in nature that few ever get to enjoy.
(Note, both Missouri and Kansas have rules on where, when and how you can install a deer stand or blind.)
Even if you don’t go hunting yourself after reading this Adventure, hopefully it will have given you a newfound appreciation for all the work and thought that can go into hunting — and make you appreciate even more the food that comes out of it.
