Hunting & Fishing

After the harvest

A clean harvest does not end at the shot or strike. Report it, tag it, and take care of the meat. The exact rule depends on the species.

Report it

Telecheck: whichever comes first

Telecheck is how you report a harvest of deer, turkey, bear, or elk (there's no check-in for fish). Report the same day by 10 p.m., OR before you process the animal, OR before you leave Missouri — whichever comes first. Some species and CWD situations require checking before you leave the county of harvest; elk must be checked before leaving the county or by 10 p.m., whichever is first. You'll get a confirmation number — keep it. The full how-to is in the Hunting guide.

Telecheck at a glance

Reporting your harvest, by species

The deadline is the same idea every time: by 10 p.m., before you process it, or before you leave Missouri — whichever comes first. Species-specific tagging and county rules are in the Hunting guide.

Deer: Notch your permit and keep the required evidence; Telecheck by 10 p.m., or before you process or move it past the booklet's triggers — whichever comes first.
Turkey: Notch your permit (tag it if you leave it unattended); Telecheck by 10 p.m.
Bear: Notch your permit (tag it if you leave it unattended); Telecheck by 10 p.m.
Elk: Notch your permit and keep evidence of sex; Telecheck before you leave the county of harvest or by 10 p.m., whichever comes first.
Fish: No Telecheck — just follow the daily, possession, and length limits and the identification rules.

Tagging differs by species

Follow the species booklet before you cut or move it

Tagging, field-dressing, quartering, keeping evidence of sex, moving an animal between counties, and processing all have rules that DIFFER BY SPECIES — so follow the current species booklet before you cut or move the animal. Don't assume one generic rule covers them all.

Don't take a generic rule into the field. Start with the deer page, and read the current species booklets in the Hunting guide for turkey, bear, and elk.

Fish don't get checked in. Just follow the daily, possession, and length limits and the identification rules for what you keep.

Chronic wasting disease

CWD rules changed for 2026

On chronic wasting disease (CWD): the rules changed, and Missouri removed the statewide CWD Management Zone — so don't picture one big 'management area' anymore. CWD rules now apply only in certain counties and core areas. They can cover things like deer sampling, limits on feeding deer, and moving a carcass — but the exact rules are the deep guide's job. Check the current Fall Deer and Turkey booklet before you hunt or move a deer.

For designated counties, sampling details, feeding bans, and carcass-movement rules, use the Hunting guide's deer page.

Take care of what you take

Cool it, keep it clean, use it

Take care of what you take: cool game and fish quickly, keep it clean, and process or refrigerate it promptly.

Pass it along

Share the Harvest

Share the Harvest lets deer hunters donate venison at participating processors — the processing is often subsidized or free — and Missouri hunters donate tens of tons of meat to families each year.

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