Brown County, Indiana: deer harvest and public hunting land
Brown County covers 317 square miles around Nashville. Hunters took 1,400 deer here in the 2025 season, 648 of them antlered, by the DNR's deer report. That is down 6% from 2024. 33.7% of Brown County is public land open to the public, the largest share properties open to public hunting (DNR map) (43,544 acres), by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and the DNR's public hunting property boundaries.
Data updated October 2026. Harvest: the DNR's deer reports, 2021 to 2025. Land: PAD-US 4.1 and the DNR's public hunting property layer.
Properties open to public hunting (DNR map)National forestFederal land, mostly Corps of Engineers lakesState parksOther DNR landCounty, city and regional landLand trusts and other open landBrown CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 202,662 acres (317 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer taken, 2025 | 1,400 (648 antlered, 752 antlerless) |
| Public land | 33.7% (68,253 acres) |
| Public hunting properties | 4 (43,547 acres inside Brown County) |
| Towns in and near it | Nashville, Cordry Sweetwater Lakes, Helmsburg, Prince's Lakes, Morgantown and Trafalgar |
How many deer are harvested in Brown County?
Hunters took 1,400 deer in Brown County in 2025: 648 antlered and 752 antlerless (54% antlerless).
| Season | Deer taken | Antlered | Antlerless |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,400 | 648 | 752 |
| 2024 | 1,490 | 638 | 852 |
| 2023 | 1,343 | 605 | 738 |
| 2022 | 1,605 | 686 | 919 |
| 2021 | 1,320 | 567 | 753 |
Source: Indiana DNR White-tailed Deer Reports (2021 to 2025 seasons, Table 3-4), Brown County.
How much public land is in Brown County?
68,253 of Brown County's 202,662 acres are public land open to the public (33.7%). The biggest share is properties open to public hunting (DNR map): 43,544 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Brown County |
|---|---|---|
| Properties open to public hunting (DNR map) | 43,544 | 21.5% |
| State parks | 16,057 | 7.9% |
| Federal land, mostly Corps of Engineers lakes | 6,377 | 3.1% |
| Other DNR land | 1,233 | 0.6% |
| Land trusts and other open land | 703 | 0.3% |
| National forest | 339 | 0.2% |
| All public land open to the public | 68,253 | 33.7% |
Measured by FilledTag inside the county line from USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public) and the DNR's public hunting property boundaries. Hunting rules differ by manager: properties on the DNR's public hunting map are open under the DNR's rules for each; national forest is open; refuges follow U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rules; Corps of Engineers lake land is open in many places under each project's own rules; state parks hold only special hunts; city and county land sets its own rules.
Properties open to public hunting in Brown County
Properties open to public hunting in Brown County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Yellowwood State Forest: 24,001 acres
- Hoosier National Forest: 18,003 acres
- Mountain Tea State Forest: 1,225 acres
- Morgan-Monroe State Forest: 318 acres
Other large public areas here, by PAD-US: Monroe Recreation Area (7,571 acres).
How do you get to Brown County?
No numbered highway crosses it. Towns inside: Nashville, Cordry Sweetwater Lakes and Helmsburg. Nearby: Prince's Lakes (on the line), Morgantown (2 miles), Trafalgar (5 miles) and Martinsville (6 miles).
Which counties border Brown County?
Brown County touches 5 other counties. Their latest DNR harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monroe County | 1,652 | 2025 | 22.5% |
| Morgan County | 1,701 | 2025 | 3.6% |
| Jackson County | 1,232 | 2025 | 11.8% |
| Johnson County | 650 | 2025 | 3% |
| Bartholomew County | 850 | 2025 | 0.6% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Brown County in 2025?
1,400: 648 antlered and 752 antlerless (DNR). In 2024: 1,490.
Is there public hunting land in Brown County?
68,253 acres, 33.7% of the county, are public land open to the public by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and the DNR's public hunting property boundaries, the largest share properties open to public hunting (DNR map) (43,544 acres). The DNR's map shows 4 properties open to public hunting here.
What is the deer bag limit in Brown County?
Indiana's statewide limit is 1 antlered and 6 antlerless deer; each county has its own antlerless limit within that, on the DNR's county antlerless bag limit list.
Get a Indiana hunt plan when they open
Hunt plans for Indiana are coming. Join the list and you'll hear first. The first 50 hunters in each new state get their plan free.
Until then, the free FilledTag app for iPhone has a map that works in every state, Indiana included.
Where these numbers come from
- Deer harvest: Indiana DNR White-tailed Deer Reports (2021 to 2025 seasons, Table 3-4).
- Public land: USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public) and the DNR's public hunting property boundaries. DNR properties open to hunting: Indiana DNR properties with public hunting (managed lands layer).
- Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 cartographic county boundaries. Highways and towns: U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2024 primary and secondary roads; U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer, places.
FilledTag is not part of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Numbers are copied from the DNR and the federal sources above, or measured from their maps; nothing on this page is estimated by FilledTag.
Indiana hunting Monroe County Morgan County Jackson County Johnson County Bartholomew County