Starke County, Indiana: deer harvest and public hunting land
Starke County covers 312 square miles around Knox. Hunters took 2,013 deer here in the 2025 season, 952 of them antlered, by the DNR's deer report. That is up 11% from 2024, and the most in the 5 years shown. 2.2% of Starke County is public land open to the public, the largest share properties open to public hunting (DNR map) (3,983 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 landStarke CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 199,832 acres (312 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer taken, 2025 | 2,013 (952 antlered, 1,061 antlerless) |
| Public land | 2.2% (4,454 acres) |
| Public hunting properties | 7 (3,984 acres inside Starke County) |
| Towns in and near it | Knox, North Judson, Hamlet, Monterey, Culver and Walkerton |
How many deer are harvested in Starke County?
Hunters took 2,013 deer in Starke County in 2025: 952 antlered and 1,061 antlerless (53% antlerless).
| Season | Deer taken | Antlered | Antlerless |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,013 | 952 | 1,061 |
| 2024 | 1,812 | 857 | 955 |
| 2023 | 1,591 | 712 | 879 |
| 2022 | 1,546 | 759 | 787 |
| 2021 | 1,295 | 592 | 703 |
Source: Indiana DNR White-tailed Deer Reports (2021 to 2025 seasons, Table 3-4), Starke County.
How much public land is in Starke County?
4,454 of Starke County's 199,832 acres are public land open to the public (2.2%). The biggest share is properties open to public hunting (DNR map): 3,983 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Starke County |
|---|---|---|
| Properties open to public hunting (DNR map) | 3,983 | 2% |
| Other DNR land | 254 | 0.1% |
| Land trusts and other open land | 135 | 0.1% |
| County, city and regional land | 82 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 4,454 | 2.2% |
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 Starke County
Properties open to public hunting in Starke County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Kankakee Fish and Wildlife Area: 3,282 acres
- Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area: 241 acres
- Turkey Foot Wetland Conservation Area: 147 acres
- Round Lake Wetland Nature Preserve: 138 acres
- Bittern Bog Wetland Conservation Area: 72 acres
- Koontz Lake Wetland Conservation Area: 57 acres
- Round Lake Wetland Conservation Area: 47 acres
How do you get to Starke County?
Highways through it: US 30 (about 25 miles inside), US 35 (about 19 miles inside) and US 421 (about 6 miles inside). Towns inside: Knox, North Judson, Hamlet, Bass Lake, Koontz Lake and Groverton. Nearby: Monterey (on the line), Culver (2 miles), Walkerton (2 miles) and La Crosse (4 miles).
Which counties border Starke County?
Starke County touches 7 other counties. Their latest DNR harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fulton County | 1,665 | 2025 | 0.4% |
| Jasper County | 1,519 | 2025 | 2% |
| Porter County | 794 | 2025 | 5.7% |
| LaPorte County | 2,204 | 2025 | 3.1% |
| Pulaski County | 2,273 | 2025 | 3.9% |
| Marshall County | 2,665 | 2025 | 0.5% |
| St. Joseph County | 1,448 | 2025 | 3% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Starke County in 2025?
2,013: 952 antlered and 1,061 antlerless (DNR). In 2024: 1,812.
Is there public hunting land in Starke County?
4,454 acres, 2.2% 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) (3,983 acres). The DNR's map shows 7 properties open to public hunting here.
What is the deer bag limit in Starke 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 Fulton County Jasper County Porter County LaPorte County Pulaski County Marshall County St. Joseph County