2021 Missouri Black Bear Season

Join the FACEBOOK GROUP - Missouri Black Bears this is a group for like-minded individuals of Missouri that want to show growing Missouri Black Bear Population.

The Missouri Black Bear is a hunting/conservation group designed to build a real resource for the serious hunters of Missouri. The Missouri Black Bear is the icon species for conservation.

Remember that this is a family orientated group, so please keep the post clean and respectful for the whole age group. Members from anywhere are welcome but the focus will be on Missouri.

History was made with the first bear checked on October 18th, 2021, Est. 250 lb. sow black bear which was taken by John Day in Zone 1, Taney County on private land – No Ear Tag.

​History was made with the first bear checked on October 18th, 2021, Est. 250 lb. sow black bear which was taken by John Day in Zone 1, Taney County on private land – No Ear Tag.

My name is John Day, and I am from Taney County Missouri. Born and raised in this area and have always been an avid hunter. This year I was lucky enough to have drawn a Missouri bear tag.

I was also fortunate enough to have taken the very first Missouri bear ever in the state. I harvested this bear on my own property on the opening morning of bear season October 18th, 2021.

We have had bears on our property periodically over the last 10 years and they have grown in numbers. Once I found out I had been selected for the bear tag I began preparing for the hunt. Having bears on my own property and knowing areas used was a huge benefit in being successful. Also being involved in hunting my entire life helped tremendously on what to look for during scouting.

Bears, during the time of year season, are very active feeding as much as they possibly can. They also seem very unpredictable and hard to pattern during the fall months. The closer season came the less bears I was seeing. I was getting worried but was still optimistic that I had a good chance at filling my drawn tag.

Season finally came and I set up where I had seen a bear the previous Saturday evening. I was prepared to set until noon, but the hunt didn’t last that long. Within hours I could see a bear making its way towards my stand. I have hunted whitetail, elk, mule deer, hogs, turkey, etc and have always gotten excited but this was a different level of excitement!

Watching the bear come in slowly making sure it was without cubs and alone my heart was racing. It was intense thinking that I was about to have a shot at a bear in the first Missouri bear season! Calming down the shot was taken, and I had dropped the bear in his tracks with a clean kill. This was absolutely a hunt I will never forget, and little did I know I had just taken the very first ever Missouri bear!

I used a 300-win mag that was my fathers. I wanted to use this rifle because it means a lot to me. Like I said it was my fathers and I have been very successful with it over the years. My son and best friends of mine helped with the skinning and processing of the bear. I could not have done this without them.

The bear is currently with the best taxidermist I know for a full body mount. A good friend of mine also smoked the bear hams and made sausage. The hams where very good and the sausage as well. I plan to try some other recipes as well with the remainder of the meat. The bear was guessed to weigh between 250 to 300 pounds by MDC.

MDC also inspected the bear for ear tags and any tracking device. They didn’t find any evidence that this bear had ever been collared, tagged, or chipped. MDC also took four teeth from the bear for aging and other purposes. Everyone with MDC was amazing and very informative. I was very appreciative that they were there. None of this would have been possible without our great conservation department. I thank them as well as everyone else that made this hunt possible for me. I hope that the black bear will strive in Missouri and my kids will have an opportunity to Missouri bear hunt in the future.