Adair County, Missouri: deer harvest and public hunting land
Adair County covers 569 square miles around Kirksville. Hunters checked 2,639 deer here in the 2025 season, 1,344 of them antlered bucks, by MDC's harvest summary. That is down 7% from 2024. 2.9% of Adair County is public land open to the public, the largest share MDC conservation areas (7,379 acres), by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and MDC conservation area boundaries.
Data updated October 2026. Harvest: MDC's deer harvest summaries, 2021 to 2025. Land: PAD-US 4.1 and MDC's conservation area and MRAP layers.
MDC conservation areasState parks and historic sitesCounty, city and regional landMRAP landAdair CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 364,395 acres (569 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer checked, 2025 | 2,639 (1,344 antlered bucks, 207 button bucks, 1,088 does) |
| Firearms and archery, 2025 | 2,042 by firearms, 597 by archery |
| Public land | 2.9% (10,507 acres) |
| MDC lands | 9 (7,361 acres inside Adair County) |
| MRAP land | None mapped this year |
| Towns in and near it | Kirksville, Novinger, Brashear, Greentop, South Gifford and La Plata |
How many deer are harvested in Adair County?
Hunters checked 2,639 deer in Adair County in 2025: 1,344 antlered bucks, 207 button bucks and 1,088 does. By method: 2,042 by firearms (1,389 of them in the November portion) and 597 by archery; the rest came on managed hunts.
| Season | Deer checked | Antlered bucks | Button bucks | Does | Firearms | November portion | Archery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,639 | 1,344 | 207 | 1,088 | 2,042 | 1,389 | 597 |
| 2024 | 2,827 | 1,258 | 247 | 1,322 | 2,282 | 1,632 | 529 |
| 2023 | 2,823 | 1,489 | 206 | 1,128 | 2,232 | 1,623 | 549 |
| 2022 | 2,727 | 1,389 | 197 | 1,141 | 2,151 | 1,702 | 576 |
| 2021 | 2,566 | 1,363 | 187 | 1,016 | 1,990 | 575 |
Source: MDC deer harvest summaries (2021 to 2025 seasons), Adair County, from the county tables of each season (all methods, firearms, archery and the November portion). The 2021 summary has no separate November table.
How much public land is in Adair County?
10,507 of Adair County's 364,395 acres are public land open to the public (2.9%). The biggest share is MDC conservation areas: 7,379 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Adair County |
|---|---|---|
| MDC conservation areas | 7,379 | 2% |
| State parks and historic sites | 3,064 | 0.8% |
| County, city and regional land | 64 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 10,507 | 2.9% |
Measured by FilledTag inside the county line from USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public) and MDC conservation area boundaries. Hunting rules differ by manager: MDC conservation areas allow the hunting each area's page lists; national forest is open; Corps of Engineers lake land is open to hunting in many places under each project's own rules; refuges follow U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rules; the Ozark National Scenic Riverways allows hunting under state rules while most other national park land is closed; state parks and city and county land are closed to most hunting.
MDC lands in Adair County
MDC lands in Adair County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Sugar Creek Conservation Area: 2,589 acres
- Union Ridge Conservation Area: 2,378 acres
- Big Creek Conservation Area: 1,055 acres
- Hazel Creek Lake (Kirksville): 484 acres
- Montgomery Woods Conservation Area: 337 acres
- Shoemaker Conservation Area: 257 acres
- Rock Lake Conservation Area: 216 acres
- Northeast Regional Office: 32 acres
- Mullanix Ford Access: 13 acres
How do you get to Adair County?
Highways through it: US 63 (about 42 miles inside), MO 11 (about 38 miles inside), MO 149 (about 35 miles inside), MO 6 (about 29 miles inside) and MO 3 (about 8 miles inside). Towns inside: Kirksville, Novinger, Brashear, Gibbs, Millard and Connelsville. Nearby: Greentop (on the line), South Gifford (on the line), La Plata (on the line) and Green Castle (on the line).
Which counties border Adair County?
Adair County touches 7 other counties. Their latest MDC harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land | MRAP land sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knox County | 2,646 | 2025 | 0.4% | |
| Linn County | 2,590 | 2025 | 3.1% | 3 |
| Macon County | 4,525 | 2025 | 3.4% | 6 |
| Putnam County | 2,336 | 2025 | 1.7% | |
| Schuyler County | 1,512 | 2025 | 0.6% | |
| Scotland County | 2,640 | 2025 | 1.5% | |
| Sullivan County | 2,577 | 2025 | 2.5% | 1 |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Adair County in 2025?
Hunters checked 2,639 deer: 1,344 antlered bucks, 207 button bucks and 1,088 does (MDC). In 2024: 2,827.
Is there public hunting land in Adair County?
Yes. 10,507 acres, 2.9% of the county, are public land open to the public by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and MDC conservation area boundaries, the largest share MDC conservation areas (7,379 acres). MDC's map shows 9 conservation areas here.
Does Adair County have MRAP land?
Not on MDC's MRAP layer of tracts open to hunting.
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Where these numbers come from
- Deer harvest: MDC deer harvest summaries (2021 to 2025 seasons).
- Public land: USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public) and MDC conservation area boundaries. conservation areas: MDC conservation area boundaries. MRAP land: MDC Missouri Recreational Access Program (MRAP) lands.
- 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 Missouri Department of Conservation. Numbers are copied from MDC and the federal sources above, or measured from their maps; nothing on this page is estimated by FilledTag.
Missouri hunting Knox County Linn County Macon County Putnam County Schuyler County Scotland County Sullivan County