Prime Sit reads the weather and rut timing for every Missouri county to tell you which mornings and evenings deer are most likely to move, then points you to the public land nearby where you can hunt them.
The best mornings and evenings to be in the stand over the next 10 days.
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Best days to hunt
My stand works on a wind from
10-day hunt forecast
72Colored box = hunt score, 0 to 10058°FBlue-gray = weather (temperatures in °F)PRIMEDay rating: Prime, Good, Fair or Slow
DayRatingScore and tempWeather
Rut timing
Statewide map tap a county
To change county with a keyboard, use the County menu at the top of the page.
How the hunt score works
Score = 60% weather movement index + 40% rut phase
Each morning and evening hunt gets its own score from 0 to 100. Each day's rating comes from the better of the two: Prime 80+, Good 68–79, Fair 55–67, Slow under 55.
Weather movement index
Barometric pressure (30%). Deer daylight movement tends to rise with high, steady or rising pressure, especially the first calm day behind a cold front. Scored on the level (best from about 30.10 to 30.40 inHg) plus the 24-hour change at the same hour.
Temperature (30%). Cooler-than-normal days move deer earlier in the evening and later in the morning. A drop of 8°F or more from the day before adds a front bonus. Evenings at 80°F or warmer are capped low because deer wait for dark.
Wind (20%). 3 to 10 mph scores best. Over 15 mph deer bed tight and hunters lose hearing. Near-calm air is good for movement but thermals swirl scent, so play the terrain.
Precipitation (20%). Chance of rain in daylight lowers the score. The first dry window after an overnight or morning rain earns a bonus because deer move to feed once it clears.
Rut phase
Missouri's breeding peak falls in mid-November, with most does bred in November; the rut can run from October into January. Research on Missouri does puts peak breeding around November 16. Prime Sit models peak breeding at November 16 for the middle of the state and shifts it about a day and a half earlier per degree of latitude to the north and later to the south, so the northern tier peaks around November 13 and the Bootheel around November 19. Phases are measured from that date: seeking about two weeks ahead, chasing the week before, peak breeding the week after, and a smaller second rut roughly four weeks later. Photoperiod drives the timing, so it changes little from year to year; moon phase has not been shown to shift breeding dates and is shown for reference only.
Morning or evening
Early and late season favor evening hunts over food. From seeking through peak breeding, mornings get a small boost because bucks cruise at first light.
Data
Weather updates itself: when you open the app (at most once an hour, or when you tap Refresh) it pulls the latest forecast for 18 points across Missouri. Pressure, temperature, wind and rain amounts come from MET Norway, the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, whose forecast runs about 10 days. Chance of rain and the forecast wording come from the National Weather Service for the first 7 days; after that, chance of rain is estimated from the forecast rain amounts. Each county uses its nearest point. Morning hunts are scored about half an hour after sunrise and evening hunts about an hour before sunset. MET Norway's forecast is hourly for the first two to three days and every 6 hours after that, so later hunt times are estimated between forecast steps.
If the weather services can't be reached (no signal, or a viewer that blocks outside connections), the app shows the last forecast it saved, with its date.
Public land: Missouri Department of Conservation area centroids (areas of 40+ acres, excluding tower sites, hatcheries, offices, nature centers and community lakes), MRAP tracts that allow deer hunting, and major federal lands. Federal unit locations are approximate centers.
Season dates: MDC 2026–2027 deer seasons.
This is a planning aid. Always confirm area regulations, county antlerless rules and season dates with MDC before you hunt.
Public Land Finder
Public hunting land in and near your county, plus 2026–27 season dates and permit prices. Pick a county above or tap one on the map.
Hunting hours are half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset. Residents may take two antlered deer across the archery and firearms seasons combined, but only one before Nov. 14 and only one during the firearms portions. Nonresidents with the standard archer's or any-deer permit may take one antlered deer in all.
Permit prices
* Nonresidents must first buy the Nonresident Archer's Hunting Permit (for archery antlerless) or a nonresident firearms any-deer, landowner or managed hunt permit (for firearms antlerless).
Youth prices are for hunters ages 6 to 15, resident or nonresident.
Qualifying resident landowners get these permits at no cost. Nonresident landowner archer's and any-deer permits are $225.00.
Hunter education is required to buy firearms deer permits, with some exemptions, such as hunters born before Jan. 1, 1967.
Prices and dates are from the Missouri Department of Conservation, checked Oct. 11, 2026. Buy permits from MDC's permit site and check county antlerless limits before you hunt.