Fall holds a special place in the hearts of many Missouri hunters. For them, changing leaves and dropping temperatures mean the start of deer season is just around the corner. The firearms season begins tomorrow, Nov. 16, and St. Louis-area hunters have an opportunity to have their deer processed for free and donate to a good cause.
After the joy of tagging a trophy deer comes the arduous task of cleaning it. Approved local meat processors will clean deer for the annual Missouri Department of Conservation’s Share the Harvest. Hunters can donate part or all of their kill to the statewide program, which reimburses part of the processing fee. Approved shops then clean and package the meat to provide food to needy families. Last year, Missouri hunters donated more than 300,000 pounds of meat.
In previous years, local hunters had to foot part of processing bill in order to donate meat. However, this year Operation Food Search and the Denny Dennis Memorial Fund are picking up the remaining tab. For $7 (the cost of a tag for a doe), a St. Louis hunter can now help feed a family for months. Nearly a dozen meat processors in the St. Louis region are participating in Share the Harvest, including Kenrick’s Meats and Catering, John’s Butcher Shoppe, HMS Quality Meat Service and more.
If hunters don’t fare so well or the thought of killing a deer is too close to Bambi for comfort, Sharp Shooter in Afton will be a bulls-eye. The new indoor shooting range at 8101 Gravois Road boasts 20 shooting lanes, a 3,500-square-foot gun shop and a full-service barbecue restaurant. The Pit and Grill menu features a variety of smoked meats like pulled pork, beef brisket, smoked turkey and spicy sausages. Guests can catch the game on a big-screen TV or watch the action in the shooting range.
This article appears in Guide to the Holidays 2013.