Youth-only deer hunt

Kid falls asleep, but gets deer

Thirteen-year-old Tyler Moore's deer-hunting trip to the Weldon Springs Conservation Area started very early. Once at his hunting position, he fell asleep.

Tyler Moore with his deer

But, his step-dad, Mark Crawford, woke him when he noticed deer moving around. So, Tyler was wide-awake when an 8½-point buck came by. His first shot did the job.

Elsewhere at Weldon Springs, 11-year-old Jared DeCoster was awake all the time. He also killed his 3-point buck on the first shot.

Tyler of Richmond Heights and Jared of Marthasville were two youth lucky enough to win hunting reservation lottery for the Youth-Only Deer Hunt on the Oct. 26-27 weekend.

Youth-only hunting was allowed at both the Busch and Weldon Springs CAs. Many of the young hunters pick Weldon Springs because it is more forested and doesn't have as many other outdoor facilities.

Tyler said he got to the Weldon Springs hunting site about 6 a.m. on the first day of the abbreviated season. After getting settled in brush near several game trails, it didn't take Tyler long to fall asleep in his shelter.

"My step-dad woke me up about 7 a.m. when he heard deer starting to move around. At first, I didn't know if I had hit it but we found it," Tyler said.

This was Tyler's second deer kill but only the first time he had won a spot in the youth-only deer lottery. Two years ago, the Maplewood-Richmond Heights 8th grader shot an 8-point deer.

For the first kill, he used "an old 6.5 Japanese rifle I got from my grandpa," Tyler said.

This time, he was using a .243 rifle on loan from the Missouri Conservation Commission. The MDC has "loaner" guns for youth who win a hunting spot but need an appropriate weapon for the hunt.

Tyler said the deer he bagged this year was slightly larger than the first kill. "It had 8 points plus a nub of another. My mother said we ought to call it a 9-point deer," he said.

Jared said he's been deer hunting for five years and has been successful each year. Jared said he was using his own 30/30 rifle during the hunt.

The Warrenton Middle School 6th grader said he didn't shoot at the first deer he spotted. "We waited for the second one which was bigger," he said.

Both of the boys had gone to the Weldon Springs area earlier to scout out good places to set up for the hunt.

Tyler said, "We went out for two to three hours on the Tuesday before the hunt. We found a place near where five or six game trails came by."

Jared said, "We went out the weekend before the hunt." For the hunt, he brought along a portable, fabric blind to conceal himself.

Both boys said they helped dress out the deer after the hunt. Both said they helped skin and cut up the meat in a relative's garage.

Tyler said he and his step-dad, Michael, used his grandfather's garage. His dad said they got roasts, steaks and ground meat. He said, "Then, we took 20 to 25 pounds of ground meat to a meat market to be made into summer sausage."

Jared said he used his uncle's garage to do the butchering. He said the family ate meat from the back for their first venison meal. They also got roasts, steaks and ground meat.

Both boys said their first hunting experience was going for squirrels.

Although Tyler lives in urban St. Louis, his family has 40 acres near Mark Twain Lake in northeast Missouri. He said he started hunting "when I was six or seven."

Jared DeCoster

Jared started even earlier, at age 5. He said he first hunted for squirrels on a family farm near Clarence, Mo.

In addition to deer and squirrels, the boys also do other hunting. Tyler has bagged a raccoon and Jared shot a goose during a hunting trip.

Both boys also like to fish. Tyler said he likes to fish at Mark Twain Lake but his biggest catch was a spoonbill on a branch of the Osage River in central Missouri.

Jared said he likes to fish for bass at a lake on his uncle's farm. He said his biggest catch was a 3½-pound bass caught with "rubber worm bait."

The boys both play organized sports at school and with independent teams.

If you'd like to know more about Missouri hunting and fishing seasons, visit www.mdc.org. Also, you can call or visit one of the MDC areas in and around St. Louis.