St. Joseph County, Indiana: deer harvest and public hunting land
St. Joseph County covers 461 square miles around South Bend. Hunters took 1,448 deer here in the 2025 season, 670 of them antlered, by the DNR's deer report. That is down 4% from 2024. 3% of St. Joseph County is public land open to the public, the largest share state parks (3,738 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)State parksOther DNR landCounty, city and regional landLand trusts and other open landSt. Joseph CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 295,167 acres (461 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer taken, 2025 | 1,448 (670 antlered, 778 antlerless) |
| Public land | 3% (8,765 acres) |
| Public hunting properties | None mapped |
| Towns in and near it | South Bend, Mishawaka, New Carlisle, La Paz, Bremen and Wakarusa |
How many deer are harvested in St. Joseph County?
Hunters took 1,448 deer in St. Joseph County in 2025: 670 antlered and 778 antlerless (54% antlerless).
| Season | Deer taken | Antlered | Antlerless |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,448 | 670 | 778 |
| 2024 | 1,516 | 683 | 833 |
| 2023 | 1,321 | 608 | 713 |
| 2022 | 1,426 | 652 | 774 |
| 2021 | 1,189 | 493 | 696 |
Source: Indiana DNR White-tailed Deer Reports (2021 to 2025 seasons, Table 3-4), St. Joseph County.
How much public land is in St. Joseph County?
8,765 of St. Joseph County's 295,167 acres are public land open to the public (3%). The biggest share is state parks: 3,738 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of St. Joseph County |
|---|---|---|
| State parks | 3,738 | 1.3% |
| County, city and regional land | 3,574 | 1.2% |
| Land trusts and other open land | 1,317 | 0.4% |
| Other DNR land | 136 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 8,765 | 3% |
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.
How do you get to St. Joseph County?
Highways through it: I-90 (about 50 miles inside), I-80 (about 50 miles inside), US 31 (about 47 miles inside), US 20 (about 47 miles inside) and US 6 (about 4 miles inside). Towns inside: South Bend, Mishawaka, New Carlisle, Walkerton, Osceola and North Liberty. Nearby: La Paz (on the line), Bremen (2 miles), Wakarusa (2 miles) and Nappanee (4 miles).
Which counties border St. Joseph County?
St. Joseph County touches 4 other counties. Their latest DNR harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starke County | 2,013 | 2025 | 2.2% |
| Elkhart County | 2,178 | 2025 | 1.4% |
| LaPorte County | 2,204 | 2025 | 3.1% |
| Marshall County | 2,665 | 2025 | 0.5% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in St. Joseph County in 2025?
1,448: 670 antlered and 778 antlerless (DNR). In 2024: 1,516.
Is there public hunting land in St. Joseph County?
8,765 acres, 3% 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 state parks (3,738 acres).
What is the deer bag limit in St. Joseph 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.
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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 Starke County Elkhart County LaPorte County Marshall County