The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) recently released preliminary data calculated that 90,334 deer were harvested during the Nov. 11 and 12 opening firearms deer hunting season. “With the cool mornings and comfortable afternoons, it would have been hard to ask for more pleasant conditions to be deer hunting this past weekend,” said MDC Cervid Program Supervisor Jason Isabelle. Of the total 90,334 deer harvested across the region, MDC calculated 53,159 were antlered bucks, 30,012 doe and 7,163 were button bucks. The highest-rated harvest area consisted of Franklin County with a total of 2,114, Texas County with 1,825 and Howell County with 1,726 total deer harvested. According to MDC, this year’s opening weekend was consistent with the previous five-year average. Last year’s opening weekend harvest reached 93,355 deer. For those interested in deer harvest totals from previous years, visit www.mdc.mo.gov/hunting- trapping/species/deer/ deer-reports/deer-harvestsummaries. …