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Missouri, 2027 shed season

Missouri Shed Antler Season 2027

Missouri allows shed antler hunting on MDC conservation areas and needs no permit to find or keep a shed.

“Shed antler hunting is allowed on MDC conservation areas.” Missouri Department of Conservation

Agency statement
Rule type
from Missouri Department of Conservation
5
Rules quoted
each linked to the agency page
None named
Course or permit
in the agency rules quoted below
September 21, 2026
Rules read
from the agency page
The rule

Shed antler rules in Missouri

Agency statement

Antlers still attached to a skull plate are a different matter: whoever takes them must report it to a conservation agent within 24 hours. MDC says fresh sheds turn up from December to May, most of them from late January into March.

MDC conservation areas

MDC allows shed antler hunting on its conservation areas.

Shed antler hunting is allowed on MDC conservation areas.
Missouri Department of Conservation, read September 21, 2026. Read it at the source

Statewide

No permit is needed to find or possess shed antlers.

Permits are not required to find or possess shed antlers.
Missouri Department of Conservation, read September 21, 2026. Read it at the source

Statewide

A person who finds a dead deer or elk with antlers still attached to the skull plate and takes them must report it to a conservation agent within 24 hours for possession authorization.

(3) Any person who finds a dead deer or elk with antlers still attached to the skull plate while afield and takes those antlers into possession must report the taking to a conservation agent within twenty-four (24) hours to receive possession authorization.
Missouri Department of Conservation, read September 21, 2026. Read it at the source
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Courses, sale and state land

More Missouri shed rules

Buying and selling sheds

Shed antlers not attached to the skull plate may be possessed, bought and sold by anyone without authorization; buyers of antlers attached to a skull plate must keep a dated bill of sale.

Shed antlers not attached to the skull plate found while afield may be possessed, bought and sold by any person without possession authorization.
Missouri Department of Conservation, read September 21, 2026. Read it at the source

State wildlife land

Shed antler hunting is allowed on MDC conservation areas; MDC names no seasonal closure for it.

Shed antler hunting is allowed on MDC conservation areas.
Missouri Department of Conservation, read September 21, 2026. Read it at the source
When antlers drop

When deer shed antlers in Missouri

MDC says freshly shed antlers turn up from December to May, with most shed from late January into March.

However, most antlers are shed from late January into March.
Missouri Department of Conservation, read September 21, 2026. Read it at the source
A large elk antler lying in green grass with snow covered mountains in the distance
An elk shed on the National Elk Refuge, Wyoming, with the Tetons behind. Elk winter range in the West is where most dated shed closures fall, because the closures exist for the animals wintering there. “Shed Antler on the National Elk Refuge (53662858076)”, USFWS Mountain Prairie, Public domain

Missouri shed antler questions

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Shed antler rules in other states

Missouri deer seasonArchery and firearms dates for Missouri, read from Missouri Department of Conservation.Missouri deer rutWhen bucks breed in the fall, months before those antlers drop.Missouri elk rutWhen bulls bugle in September and October, on the same animals that shed in spring.Shed antler rules by stateEvery state's shed rule, the dated western closures and when each species drops.
A young bull elk carrying a single antler standing among elk bedded in snow
A young bull that has already dropped one antler, among elk bedded in snow. Colorado Parks and Wildlife says elk may start shedding in February and run through April. “Bull Elk and Herd (6258537907)”, USFWS Mountain Prairie, Public domain

Compiled September 21, 2026. Every rule above is republished from Shed Antlers: The Other Deer Season, MDC and the other Missouri Department of Conservation pages linked beside each quote, read on September 21, 2026. Rules change between winters, so the agency page is the one to check before a trip. Every state is in the national shed antler guide.