Spencer County, Indiana: deer harvest and public hunting land
Spencer County covers 401 square miles around Santa Claus. Hunters took 1,217 deer here in the 2025 season, 613 of them antlered, by the DNR's deer report. That is down 2% from 2024. 3.1% of Spencer County is public land open to the public, the largest share land trusts and other open land (4,249 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 park landState parksOther DNR landCounty, city and regional landLand trusts and other open landSpencer CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 256,943 acres (401 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer taken, 2025 | 1,217 (613 antlered, 604 antlerless) |
| Public land | 3.1% (8,027 acres) |
| Public hunting properties | 1 (807 acres inside Spencer County) |
| Towns in and near it | Santa Claus, Dale, Rockport, Troy, Tennyson and Ferdinand |
How many deer are harvested in Spencer County?
Hunters took 1,217 deer in Spencer County in 2025: 613 antlered and 604 antlerless (50% antlerless).
| Season | Deer taken | Antlered | Antlerless |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,217 | 613 | 604 |
| 2024 | 1,244 | 562 | 682 |
| 2023 | 1,192 | 572 | 620 |
| 2022 | 1,288 | 615 | 673 |
| 2021 | 1,171 | 566 | 605 |
Source: Indiana DNR White-tailed Deer Reports (2021 to 2025 seasons, Table 3-4), Spencer County.
How much public land is in Spencer County?
8,027 of Spencer County's 256,943 acres are public land open to the public (3.1%). The biggest share is land trusts and other open land: 4,249 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Spencer County |
|---|---|---|
| Land trusts and other open land | 4,249 | 1.7% |
| State parks | 1,970 | 0.8% |
| Other DNR land | 817 | 0.3% |
| Properties open to public hunting (DNR map) | 807 | 0.3% |
| National park land | 184 | 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 8,027 | 3.1% |
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 Spencer County
Properties open to public hunting in Spencer County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
How do you get to Spencer County?
Highways through it: US 231 (about 87 miles inside) and I-64 (about 17 miles inside). Towns inside: Santa Claus, Dale, Rockport, Grandview, Chrisney and Richland. Nearby: Troy (on the line), Tennyson (on the line), Ferdinand (2 miles) and Holland (3 miles).
Which counties border Spencer County?
Spencer County touches 3 other counties. Their latest DNR harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perry County | 1,771 | 2025 | 26.6% |
| Dubois County | 2,018 | 2025 | 4.4% |
| Warrick County | 1,254 | 2025 | 3.5% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Spencer County in 2025?
1,217: 613 antlered and 604 antlerless (DNR). In 2024: 1,244.
Is there public hunting land in Spencer County?
8,027 acres, 3.1% 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 land trusts and other open land (4,249 acres). The DNR's map shows 1 property open to public hunting here.
What is the deer bag limit in Spencer 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
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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.