The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) announced young hunters ages 6-15 checked 18,091 deer during Missouri's early youth portion of deer hunting seasons Saturday and Sunday.
Top counties for the early youth hunt were Osage with 448, Franklin with 393 and Howell with 376 deer checked.
Last year's harvest total for the early youth hunt was 18,676 deer checked.
Antlered bucks accounted for 11,481 of deer harvested, or about 63 percent.
Button bucks accounted for 1,728, or almost 10 percent of the total.
Does accounted for 4,882, or about 27 percent of the total harvested.
Up next for deer hunting in Missouri is the November portion of firearms deer season running Nov. 15-25.
This portion of the hunting season normally accounts for about 80 percent of the state's firearms deer harvest.