Has the population recovered in NW Missouri? I heard blue tongue was bad there two years ago.
We actually took a hit with it two years in a row. Last year I saw four deer. This year I saw a enough to encourage me, including many doe with at least one, and some with two, fawns. Saw two young bucks that were legal but I wanted to let them grow. Not one mature buck though in ten days of hunting. I candy a$$ed out after the first day, put the bow away and climbed into my box with a rifle and .44 mag pistol. Endured single digit temps, teen temps, some in the twenties and one day we got into the forties. Wind, rain, snow and ice.
I own a small place there and some friends own a small farm. I usually hunt there place as it is more timbered and works better for archery. One of their nieces has hunted my place over the years and killed a couple of young bucks and some doe. After the first day I sat exclusively on my place and filled an antlerless tag with my .44 and then with ten minutes of light left on the last hunt this guy walked out. My first buck off of my land there. No monster but a solid body and a rack with character.