Seasons, permits, Telecheck, the CWD rules that apply here, and where to find a conservation agent.
MDC Northeast Regional Office — 3500 S. Baltimore, Kirksville · 660-785-2420 · NERegion@mdc.mo.gov
Weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; grounds open daily 4 a.m. to 10 p.m.
It is on the south edge of Kirksville on Highway 63 Business, across from the Days Inn. You can buy permits there in person. There is also 1,500 square feet of exhibits, a 1,300-gallon aquarium of north Missouri fish, a meeting room, an 0.8-mile interpretive trail and a pond you can fish.
For south-county residents the Central Region office in Columbia, 573-815-7900, is often closer.
Randolph County is in the CWD Management Zone
If you hunt deer here, this is the section that matters. Randolph County is named in MDC’s chronic wasting disease management zone, and two rules follow from it.
One: a year-round ban on feeding. Grain, salt products, minerals and other consumables used to attract deer are prohibited all year, not just in season. This is the rule that catches people out, because it covers the mineral block you put out in June.
Two: the antler point restriction is removed in management zone counties, to allow harvest of young males that could spread the disease. That is a real practical difference from non-zone counties.
Mandatory CWD sampling is a separate thing, and Randolph County is not on that list. MDC names the counties where sampling is compulsory on firearms opening weekend, and Randolph is not among them. So: management zone rules yes, mandatory sampling no.
Voluntary sampling stations operate 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. where they run. Telecheck first, then bring the carcass or the head with at least six inches of neck, your conservation number and the harvest location.
MDC’s zone regulations page is the place to check before every season, because the county list changes.
Deer seasons
Half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset, except as noted.
Archery — September 15 to November 13, then November 25 to January 15
Firearms, November portion — November 14 to 24
Firearms early youth — October 24–25
Firearms late youth — November 27–29
Firearms antlerless — October 9–11 and December 5–13
Alternative methods — December 26 to January 5
Turkey seasons
Spring youth — April 11–12, ages 6 to 15
Spring regular — April 20 to May 10
Spring hours differ by land: half an hour before sunrise to 1 p.m. on public land, but to sunset on private land. Residents and non-resident landowners may take two bearded turkeys, one a day, and only one in the first week.
Fall firearms — October 1–31, two turkeys of either sex
Fall archery — September 15 to November 13 and November 25 to January 15, two of either sex, both may be taken the same day
Permits
Online at mdc.mo.gov/permits, printable at home and valid immediately · by phone on 800-392-4115, with a $1 surcharge · through the MO Hunting and MO Fishing apps, where they appear instantly · at over a thousand vendors statewide · or in person at an MDC office including Kirksville.
Deer and fall turkey permits go on sale July 1.
Veterans: Missouri offers hunting and fishing permit exemptions and dedicated events — see our veteran services guide and ask at the regional office.
Telecheck
By 10 p.m. on the day you take the animal. No exceptions.
Phone 800-314-6828, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. · online at MDC’s Telecheck · or in the MO Hunting app, by selecting your notched permit and tapping Telecheck.
You will need your Telecheck ID number from the permit. For a doe, measure from the inner corner of the eye to the upper edge of the nostril. For an antlered buck, count points an inch or longer and measure antler circumference an inch above the base.
Write the confirmation number on the permit before you process the animal.
Hunter education
Required to hunt a Missouri firearms season or to act as an adult mentor, unless you are exempt. Exemptions: under 16 hunting with an adult mentor; born before January 1, 1967; or holding an Apprentice Hunter Authorization.
Minimum age 11. Anyone 16 or over can complete the whole thing online with no skills session.
The knowledge portion, three ways:
Traditional online course — $24.95
Interactive online course — $39.95
Self-study guide — free. Order it online or pick one up at the Kirksville office.
Classroom session — free, four hours.
The free routes are as good as the paid ones. Nobody tells you that.
The skills session is four hours and required for anyone not certifying fully online. Bring your completed manual or online certificate. 35 questions, 80 percent to pass.
Free fishing days
The Saturday and Sunday after the first Monday in June.
Waived: the fishing permit, the trout permit and the prescribed area daily tag. Still applies: size and daily limits and every other regulation.
Important locally: user fees and permits may still be required at county, city or private fishing areas — which includes Sugar Creek Lake and Beuth Park. Free fishing days waive the state permit, not a city rule. See our fishing guide.
Many conservation areas lend gear free on those days. So does the library, all year — Little Dixie lends fishing rods and tackle boxes through an MDC partnership, 14 days at a time.
Reporting a poacher
Operation Game Thief — 800-392-1111. Twenty-four hours, toll free.
You may remain anonymous, and rewards run from $50 to $1,000 if an arrest results, set by a citizen board.
Have ready: what you saw, the date and time, the suspect’s identity if you know it, and descriptions of the person and vehicle.
You can also report to your local conservation agent. MDC does not publish agent names in a form we can read — use the county selector on MDC’s local contacts page, or call Kirksville on 660-785-2420.
Trees and land
The George O. White State Forest Nursery sells tree and shrub seedlings for reforestation, windbreaks, erosion control and wildlife cover. Orders open September 1 and close April 15 by post, April 30 online. Prices and species change yearly — order from MDC’s page.
Landowners with 40 acres or more already in a wildlife management programme can get additional cost-share funds through the Missouri Outdoor Recreational Access Program. MDC also runs landowner workshops on managing fields, forests and ponds, and maintains a county-level record of species of conservation concern.
Where to go
Rudolf Bennitt Conservation Area — 3,575 acres, a 48-acre lake, camping and an unstaffed rifle and handgun range.
Thomas Hill Reservoir — 9,431 acres, a 4,950-acre lake, three ramps, no motor limit, an ice-free winter fishery and bald eagles. No shooting range.
Beuth Park Lake, Moberly — an official winter trout fishing area, stocked annually.
Sugar Creek Lake — cooperatively managed with the city.
All four, with directions, limits and rules, are in our fishing and boating guide.
Seasons, fees and rules from the Missouri Department of Conservation’s own published pages, September 2026. Seasons and the CWD county list change every year — check mdc.mo.gov before you hunt.
