Missouri Drone Deer Recovery and the Law: What MDC Allows After the Shot

Missouri hunters ask the same question every November: can I use a drone to find a deer I already shot? The short answer from the Missouri Department of Conservation is yes—for recovery after the shot—and no for hunting, scouting a hunt in progress, or pushing live deer. This post is the MDC-aligned version we use on the Missouri Drone Deer Recovery Network: locate an animal already down after a lawful hunt; do not find, pursue, drive, or take live game with a drone.

MDDR is a statewide directory of independent FAA Part 107 thermal pilots. The network does not fly the jobs. Call a listed pilot on the pilots map. Rates and hours vary by operator.

Disclaimer: This is not legal advice. Wildlife regulations change. Before you hunt or launch, read the current Fall Deer & Turkey Hunting Regulations booklet and the Wildlife Code of Missouri on mdc.mo.gov. When the booklet and the Code differ in a given season, follow the current official text for the dates you are afield.

From MDC’s 2025 Fall Deer & Turkey Hunting Regulations booklet: unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) may not be used or possessed while hunting; a drone may, however, be used after a deer or turkey has been shot to locate and recover a wounded animal. That sentence is the whole frame. Hunting with a drone in the air is out. Recovery after a lawful hit is in—subject to the conditions below.

Source: 2025 Fall Deer & Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information (PDF). Verify the booklet for the season you are in; MDC publishes an updated Fall Deer & Turkey booklet each year.

The Wildlife Code spells the same idea out in 3 CSR 10-7.410 Hunting Methods, paragraph (1)(A)2. In the Code of State Regulations text published by the Missouri Secretary of State, unmanned motor-driven air conveyances (UAS / UAV / drones) may be used to locate and recover wounded black bear, deer, elk, and turkey only under listed conditions. Key points from that rule:

• Wounded means hit. Under 3 CSR 10-7.410(1)(A)2.A, a deer (or black bear, elk, or turkey) is wounded when a properly licensed hunter has struck the animal with a projectile from a legal hunting method during the open season.
• Permission before launch or landing. Under 3 CSR 10-7.410(1)(A)2.B, the operator must first obtain permission from the public or private landowner (or their authorized representative) before launching or landing on that property. The rule expressly does not authorize trespass to locate and recover a wounded animal.
• No firearm, bow, or take-implement while the drone is in flight. Under 3 CSR 10-7.410(1)(A)2.C, no one afield—alone or as part of a group—may possess or control a firearm, bow, or other implement whereby wildlife could be killed or taken while the drone is in flight. Concealable firearms as defined in Chapter 571, RSMo, may be possessed, but they may not be used to take wildlife under this exception.
• Do not harass wildlife. Under 3 CSR 10-7.410(1)(A)2.D, drones must be operated so they do not harass wildlife. The Code defines harass to include disturb, worry, molest, rally, concentrate, harry, chase, drive, herd, or torment. No one may pursue or take wildlife that has been harassed by or with the aid of a drone.
• Recovery use is carved out of “pursue” and “take”; pilot permits. Under 3 CSR 10-7.410(1)(A)2.E, using a drone as prescribed for recovery is specifically excluded from the Code definitions of pursue and take. Operators helping recover a wounded animal are exempt from hunting permit requirements if they are not the person who wounded the animal.

Source: Missouri Secretary of State, Code of State Regulations, 3 CSR 10-7 (PDF); also summarized in the FDT booklet’s drones section with a pointer to 3 CSR 10-7.410.

The 2025 FDT booklet tracks that language for hunters in plain English: get property-owner permission before launching; on a conservation area, get permission from a conservation agent; drone operators who did not wound the animal do not need hunting permits; while the drone is in flight, no one may possess a firearm, bow, or crossbow except concealable firearms under Chapter 571, RSMo—and those may not be used to take wildlife.

Private ground and MDC conservation areas are not the same paperwork.

MDC’s Recreational Drone Flying page states that drone pilots normally need a special use permit to launch, land, or operate a UAS on a conservation area. The stated exception: drones may be used to recover wounded black bear, deer, elk, and turkey with prior authorization from a conservation agent. That page also restates the statewide line: drones may not be used to pursue, take, attempt to take, drive, or molest wildlife; do not operate a UAS in a manner that harasses wildlife or other area users.

So if your trail ends on a CA, call a conservation agent before anyone launches. Do not treat “I shot a deer” as a blank check to fly the area without that authorization.

The About page puts the same rules in hunter talk: you may use a drone to locate an animal that is already down after a lawful hunt; you may not use one to find, pursue, drive, or take live game; and you may not use it to scout for a hunt in progress. Landowner permission is the hunter’s responsibility—on the ground you hunted and on any ground the deer crossed onto.

That is why every pilot listed on MDDR is framed as a post-harvest recovery contact, not a hunting guide with a camera in the air. If you are still on stand waiting for a deer, the drone stays in the case.

1. Hunt first, drone second. No drone possession or use while hunting. After a hit and a lost trail, then talk recovery.
2. Get permission. Private owner for private land; conservation agent before a CA recovery flight.
3. Clear hunting weapons for the flight. Follow the in-flight possession rules in the FDT booklet and 3 CSR 10-7.410.
4. Ask the pilot to find heat—not to drive the deer. Honest thermal work is search and locate. Using a drone to chase, herd, or flush wildlife is the opposite of what the Code allows.
5. Call an independent Part 107 pilot. Use the MDDR pilots directory. Confirm rates, ETA, and night capability when you call.

Deer seasons, methods, and county notes change. Start with MDC’s deer hub and deer regulations pages:

• Deer (species hub)
• Deer regulations
• Current Fall Deer & Turkey booklet (linked from those pages; 2025 example PDF cited above)

For calendar context only, MDC has announced 2026–2027 dates—including Firearms November Portion November 14–24, 2026—in its newsroom release MDC sets deer, turkey hunting dates for 2026–2027 seasons. Always confirm the dates in the booklet that covers the season you will hunt.

If you fly thermal recovery in Missouri and want to be on the map, apply through the join page. Listing is free; the network does not take a cut. Bring your Part 107 certificate, fly the recovery rules above, and send hunters back to MDC’s primary sources when they ask what the law allows.

Missouri allows drones to help locate downed game after a lawful hunt. Missouri does not allow drones to spot, drive, pursue, or take live deer. Permission, in-flight weapon rules, and no-harassment requirements are not optional footnotes—they are in the FDT booklet and in 3 CSR 10-7.410. Read the current Code, then call a listed pilot if you need eyes in the dark.

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