Missouri deer hunting firearm regulations allow centerfire rifles and handguns, shotguns, muzzleloaders, and certain air-powered guns, with strict rules on ammunition type, magazine capacity, and method. The core rules sit in 3 CSR 10-7.431 and 3 CSR 10-7.433 of the Wildlife Code of Missouri, and getting a detail wrong can cost you a deer, a permit, or your hunting privileges.
Firearms You Can Legally Use
During the November portion and antlerless portions of firearms season, the following are legal for taking deer:
- Centerfire rifles and handguns loaded with expanding-type ammunition
- Shotguns loaded with a single-projectile slug
- Muzzleloaders and cap-and-ball firearms of .40 caliber or larger
- Air-powered firearms of .40 caliber or larger, charged from an external high-compression source such as a hand pump or air tank
Missouri sets no minimum caliber for centerfire rifles or handguns.1Missouri Secretary of State. 3 CSR 10-7 Department of Conservation A .223 is technically legal, though many hunters prefer more energy for a clean harvest. Rimfire cartridges are not permitted for deer at any caliber, because the regulation specifically requires centerfire ammunition for rifles and handguns.
Fully automatic firearms are banned for all wildlife hunting in Missouri.2Cornell Law Institute. 3 CSR 10-7.410 Hunting Methods
Ammunition Rules
Ammunition is where violations happen most often, usually from carrying the wrong box out of the safe rather than any intent to cheat. Four rules control it:
- Centerfire rifles and handguns must use expanding-type bullets. Soft-point and hollow-point designs both qualify, and both lead and copper expanding bullets are legal.
- Full metal jacket ammunition is prohibited. The regulation specifically bans “full hard metal case projectiles.”
- Only single-projectile ammunition is allowed. Buckshot and any other multi-projectile load is explicitly banned for deer.
- Shotguns must be loaded with slugs, not shot of any size.
These rules come from 3 CSR 10-7.431, which lists both multi-projectile ammunition and full hard metal case projectiles as prohibited.1Missouri Secretary of State. 3 CSR 10-7 Department of Conservation
Magazine Capacity and Suppressors
Self-loading firearms used for deer cannot hold more than eleven total cartridges in the magazine and chamber combined.1Missouri Secretary of State. 3 CSR 10-7 Department of Conservation If your AR-platform rifle shipped with a 30-round magazine, you need to swap in one that keeps you at or under eleven rounds. Concealable firearms as defined by Missouri law are exempt from the capacity restriction, but a concealed firearm can only be carried for personal protection during a hunt, not used to take game.
Missouri adds nothing to federal suppressor law. If your suppressor is registered under the National Firearms Act and you hold the approved ATF Form 4 and tax stamp, you can hunt deer with it. No separate state permit is required.
Prohibited Methods and Equipment
Several categories of gear are off-limits regardless of what firearm you carry.
Night Vision, Thermal, and Artificial Light
You cannot pursue or take deer with night vision, infrared, or thermal imaging equipment. The rule reaches further than use: you cannot even possess such equipment while carrying a firearm, bow, or other implement capable of taking game. Exceptions exist for things like feral hog control and certain coyote hunting, but none apply to deer.2Cornell Law Institute. 3 CSR 10-7.410 Hunting Methods Spotlights, headlights, and other artificial lights are similarly banned when you have a weapon on you.
Drones
Drones fall under the motor-driven conveyance prohibition. You cannot use one to pursue, locate, drive, or harass wildlife at any time.3Missouri Department of Conservation. Deer Regulations You also cannot possess a firearm or other weapon while an unmanned aerial conveyance you control is in flight.1Missouri Secretary of State. 3 CSR 10-7 Department of Conservation Scouting with a drone before season and then hunting the same area later sits in a gray area; the safest approach is to leave the drone at home on any active hunting day.
Dogs, Calls, Bait, and Chemicals
Dogs cannot be used to chase, pursue, or take deer. A narrow exception allows dogs for wounded deer recovery under specific conditions, but any other use is a violation.2Cornell Law Institute. 3 CSR 10-7.410 Hunting Methods Electronic and electronically activated calls are prohibited during deer season. Poisons and tranquilizing drugs are banned outright, along with arrows, bolts, or darts containing any drug, chemical, or explosive.
Baiting is prohibited, as is hunting deer while they are in a stream or body of water, shooting from a motorboat, and hunting within a high-fenced enclosure taller than seven feet.1Missouri Secretary of State. 3 CSR 10-7 Department of Conservation
The Alternative Methods Portion Uses a Different List
The Alternative Methods portion of firearms season does not allow centerfire rifles. If your setup is a bolt-action .30-06, this portion is not for you unless you switch equipment.4Missouri Department of Conservation. Deer Firearms Alternative Methods The methods allowed are:
- Muzzleloaders and cap-and-ball firearms, .40 caliber or larger, single projectile per discharge, with in-line ignition systems and scopes both permitted
- Multiple-barreled muzzleloaders and muzzleloading handguns, .40 caliber or larger, including revolvers
- Centerfire pistols and revolvers using expanding-type bullets
- Air-powered firearms, .40 caliber or larger, charged only from an external high-compression source
- Archery equipment, including longbows, compound bows, recurves, and crossbows of any draw weight
- Atlatls, defined as a rod or narrow board-like device used to launch a dart five to eight feet long
A conservation agent can ask you to demonstrate your equipment’s specifications, so know your caliber and power source before heading out.
Hunter Orange
During the November, antlerless, and youth portions, every hunter must wear a hunter-orange hat and a hunter-orange shirt, vest, or coat, plainly visible from all directions.5Missouri Department of Conservation. Hunter-Orange Requirement Blaze-orange camouflage patterns do not count. The garments must be solid hunter orange.6Missouri Department of Conservation. MDC Reminds Hunters of Hunter Orange Requirements Ahead of Firearms Deer Season
A few exemptions apply: migratory bird hunters, archers hunting within city limits where firearm discharge is prohibited, and hunters on public areas restricted to archery methods. If you hunt from a ground blind during firearms season, display hunter orange on the exterior so other hunters can spot it. The requirement applies whenever you are in the field during a firearms deer season, whether you are personally carrying a firearm or not.
Antler-Point Restriction Counties
Eighteen Missouri counties impose a four-point minimum on one side for antlered bucks: Andrew, Atchison, Bates, Benton, Buchanan, Cooper, DeKalb, Gentry, Holt, Johnson, Lafayette, Lincoln, Nodaway, Pettis, Pike, Worth, and parts of Cass and Platte. In those counties, a buck must have at least four points on one side to be legal on an any-deer permit. Each tine, the end of the main beam, and the brow tine count as a point if they measure at least one inch. Hunters aged 15 or younger as of September 15 of the current year are exempt.7Missouri Department of Conservation. Antler-Point Restrictions
Only one antlered deer may be taken during the entire firearms season across all portions combined.8Missouri Department of Conservation. Deer
Telecheck and CWD Transport
Every deer harvested in Missouri must be Telechecked before 10 p.m. on the day you take it. You can Telecheck online, through the MO Hunting app, or by calling 800-314-6828.9Missouri Department of Conservation. Deer How to Telecheck Skipping or delaying is a Wildlife Code violation.
Chronic Wasting Disease rules add another layer. For the 2025–2026 seasons, more than 80 counties fall within the CWD Management Zone, including newly added Callaway, Cape Girardeau, Daviess, Harrison, Henry, Marion, Miller, Moniteau, Morgan, Ralls, St. Louis, and Texas counties.10Missouri Department of Conservation. Chronic Wasting Disease Regulations If you harvest a deer in a Management Zone county, you must Telecheck before transporting the deer or any of its parts out of the county where it was taken. Carcass parts you do not keep must go into trash bound for a sanitary landfill or stay on the property where the deer was harvested. Dumping remains on a roadside or on public land you did not hunt is a violation.
Penalties
Most Wildlife Code violations for deer hunting are Class B misdemeanors under Missouri law, punishable by up to six months in jail and up to $1,000 in fines. Violations of the underlying conservation statutes are Class A misdemeanors, carrying up to one year in jail and up to $2,000 in fines.11Missouri Revisor of Statutes. RSMo Section 252.230
The Conservation Commission can also suspend, revoke, or deny hunting permits for cause. Using prohibited equipment, hunting without a valid permit, or failing to Telecheck a deer can cost you your hunting privileges on top of any fines or jail time. Conservation agents check hunters regularly during firearms season, and the details covered above are what they check.