Adair County, Iowa: deer harvest and public hunting land
Adair County covers 570 square miles around Stuart. Hunters reported 679 deer here in the 2025 season, 307 of them antlered bucks, through the DNR's harvest reporting. That is down 12% from 2024, and the fewest in the 5 years shown. 0.6% of Adair County is public land open to the public, the largest share public hunting areas on the DNR atlas (1,494 acres), by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and the DNR's public hunting area boundaries.
Data updated October 2026. Harvest: the DNR's harvest reporting results, 2021 to 2025. Land: PAD-US 4.1 and the DNR's Hunting Atlas layer.
Public hunting areas on the DNR atlasState parks and recreation areasCounty conservation board and city landLand trusts and other open landIHAP landAdair CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 364,956 acres (570 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer reported, 2025 | 679 (307 antlered bucks, 47 button bucks, 313 does and doe fawns) |
| Deer zone (2026) | Zone A |
| Public land | 0.6% (2,108 acres) |
| Hunting areas | 9 (1,495 acres inside Adair County) |
| IHAP land | None mapped this year |
| Towns in and near it | Stuart, Adair, Greenfield, Casey, Dexter and Menlo |
How many deer are harvested in Adair County?
Hunters reported 679 deer in Adair County in 2025: 307 antlered bucks, 47 button bucks, 313 does and doe fawns and 12 bucks that had shed their antlers.
| Season | Deer reported | Antlered bucks | Button bucks | Does | Doe fawns | Shed-antler bucks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 679 | 307 | 47 | 309 | 4 | 12 |
| 2024 | 775 | 338 | 58 | 348 | 24 | 7 |
| 2023 | 852 | 360 | 73 | 391 | 22 | 6 |
| 2022 | 1,107 | 462 | 89 | 512 | 34 | 10 |
| 2021 | 992 | 436 | 78 | 444 | 29 | 5 |
Source: Iowa DNR harvest reporting (2021 to 2025 seasons), Adair County. Every county's numbers add up to the DNR's statewide row for each season shown.
How much public land is in Adair County?
2,108 of Adair County's 364,956 acres are public land open to the public (0.6%). The biggest share is public hunting areas on the DNR atlas: 1,494 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Adair County |
|---|---|---|
| Public hunting areas on the DNR atlas | 1,494 | 0.4% |
| County conservation board and city land | 606 | 0.2% |
| Land trusts and other open land | 7 | under 0.1% |
| Other DNR land | 1 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 2,108 | 0.6% |
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 area boundaries. Hunting rules differ by manager: DNR wildlife management areas and state forests are open to hunting unless posted as a refuge; Corps of Engineers lake land is open in many places under each project's own rules; national wildlife refuges and waterfowl production areas follow U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rules; county conservation boards set the rules on their own land; state parks are closed to most hunting.
Public hunting areas in Adair County
Public hunting areas in Adair County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Adair Wildlife Area: 338 acres
- Meadow Lake: 317 acres
- Wright Timber Wildlife Area: 240 acres
- Mormon Trail Park: 176 acres
- E. Rex Sullivan Wildlife Area: 154 acres
- Hoskins Wildlife Area: 116 acres
- Lake Orient: 82 acres
- Jensen-Butler Wildlife Area: 61 acres
- Jesse James Historical Park: 11 acres
How do you get to Adair County?
Highways through it: US 6 (about 48 miles inside), I-80 (about 48 miles inside), IA 25 (about 26 miles inside) and IA 92 (about 25 miles inside). Towns inside: Stuart, Adair, Greenfield, Fontanelle, Orient and Bridgewater. Nearby: Casey (on the line), Dexter (on the line), Menlo (on the line) and Macksburg (3 miles).
Which counties border Adair County?
Adair County touches 7 other counties. Their latest DNR harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land | IHAP land sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cass County | 298 | 2025 | 0.5% | 3 |
| Adams County | 518 | 2025 | 0.8% | 2 |
| Union County | 1,051 | 2025 | 2.6% | 5 |
| Dallas County | 1,172 | 2025 | 2.3% | |
| Audubon County | 204 | 2025 | 0.2% | 6 |
| Guthrie County | 1,613 | 2025 | 3.2% | |
| Madison County | 2,470 | 2025 | 1.4% | 1 |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Adair County in 2025?
Hunters reported 679 deer: 307 antlered bucks, 47 button bucks and 313 does and doe fawns (DNR). In 2024: 775.
Is there public hunting land in Adair County?
Yes. 2,108 acres, 0.6% of the county, are public land open to the public by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and the DNR's public hunting area boundaries, the largest share public hunting areas on the DNR atlas (1,494 acres). The DNR's atlas shows 9 public hunting areas here.
Does Adair County have IHAP land?
Not on the DNR's IHAP layer.
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Where these numbers come from
- Deer harvest: Iowa DNR harvest reporting (2021 to 2025 seasons).
- Public land: USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public) and the DNR's public hunting area boundaries. public hunting areas: Iowa DNR public hunting areas (Hunting Atlas layer). IHAP land: Iowa DNR Iowa Habitat and Access Program (IHAP) tracts.
- 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 Iowa 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.
Iowa hunting Cass County Adams County Union County Dallas County Audubon County Guthrie County Madison County