Carroll County, Iowa: deer harvest and public hunting land
Carroll County covers 570 square miles around Carroll. Hunters reported 199 deer here in the 2025 season, 125 of them antlered bucks, through the DNR's harvest reporting. That is about the same as 2024, and the fewest in the 5 years shown. 0.9% of Carroll County is public land open to the public, the largest share public hunting areas on the DNR atlas (2,165 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 atlasCounty conservation board and city landLand trusts and other open landCarroll CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 364,970 acres (570 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer reported, 2025 | 199 (125 antlered bucks, 14 button bucks, 58 does and doe fawns) |
| Deer zone (2026) | Zone A |
| Public land | 0.9% (3,110 acres) |
| Hunting areas | 23 (2,162 acres inside Carroll County) |
| IHAP land | None mapped this year |
| Towns in and near it | Carroll, Manning, Lidderdale, Westside, Gray and Aspinwall |
How many deer are harvested in Carroll County?
Hunters reported 199 deer in Carroll County in 2025: 125 antlered bucks, 14 button bucks, 58 does and doe fawns and 2 bucks that had shed their antlers.
| Season | Deer reported | Antlered bucks | Button bucks | Does | Doe fawns | Shed-antler bucks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 199 | 125 | 14 | 53 | 5 | 2 |
| 2024 | 199 | 132 | 11 | 49 | 4 | 3 |
| 2023 | 273 | 147 | 20 | 95 | 8 | 3 |
| 2022 | 280 | 172 | 20 | 80 | 5 | 3 |
| 2021 | 274 | 165 | 18 | 80 | 8 | 3 |
Source: Iowa DNR harvest reporting (2021 to 2025 seasons), Carroll County. Every county's numbers add up to the DNR's statewide row for each season shown.
How much public land is in Carroll County?
3,110 of Carroll County's 364,970 acres are public land open to the public (0.9%). The biggest share is public hunting areas on the DNR atlas: 2,165 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Carroll County |
|---|---|---|
| Public hunting areas on the DNR atlas | 2,165 | 0.6% |
| County conservation board and city land | 896 | 0.2% |
| Land trusts and other open land | 48 | under 0.1% |
| Other DNR land | 1 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 3,110 | 0.9% |
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 Carroll County
Public hunting areas in Carroll County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Great Western Park: 300 acres
- Artesian Lake: 178 acres
- Middle Raccoon River Access: 170 acres
- Sauk Rail Trail: 169 acres
- Reinart Bend: 166 acres
- Butrick Bluff Wildlife Area: 164 acres
- Bennett Access Area: 149 acres
- Dickson Timber: 148 acres
- Hobbs Pitts: 109 acres
- Buck Run Creek Area: 87 acres
- Tigges North Wildlife Area: 84 acres
- Daniel Davis Timber: 77 acres
- Hazelbrush WMA: 76 acres
- Tigges South Wildlife Area: 73 acres
- Merrit Access: 56 acres
- Russell White Nature Trail: 31 acres
- Carroll County Access: 29 acres
- Christy Pond: 25 acres
- Mid-Prairie Park: 22 acres
- North Raccoon-Andrews Access: 22 acres
- Halbur Ridge Wildlife Area: 15 acres
- West Botna Wildlife Area: 6 acres
- Sorenson Wildlife Area: 6 acres
How do you get to Carroll County?
Highways through it: US 71 (about 27 miles inside), US 30 (about 24 miles inside), IA 141 (about 23 miles inside) and IA 286 (about 10 miles inside). Towns inside: Carroll, Manning, Lidderdale, Ralston, Coon Rapids and Glidden. Nearby: Westside (on the line), Gray (on the line), Aspinwall (2 miles) and Auburn (3 miles).
Which counties border Carroll County?
Carroll County touches 7 other counties. Their latest DNR harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land | IHAP land sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sac County | 285 | 2025 | 1.7% | 3 |
| Greene County | 351 | 2025 | 1.7% | 1 |
| Shelby County | 142 | 2025 | 0.5% | |
| Audubon County | 204 | 2025 | 0.2% | 6 |
| Calhoun County | 84 | 2025 | 0.6% | 1 |
| Guthrie County | 1,613 | 2025 | 3.2% | |
| Crawford County | 245 | 2025 | 0.4% | 2 |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Carroll County in 2025?
Hunters reported 199 deer: 125 antlered bucks, 14 button bucks and 58 does and doe fawns (DNR). In 2024: 199.
Is there public hunting land in Carroll County?
Yes. 3,110 acres, 0.9% 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 (2,165 acres). The DNR's atlas shows 23 public hunting areas here.
Does Carroll 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 Sac County Greene County Shelby County Audubon County Calhoun County Guthrie County Crawford County