Atchison County, Missouri: deer harvest and public hunting land
Atchison County covers 550 square miles around Rock Port. Hunters checked 540 deer here in the 2025 season, 408 of them antlered bucks, by MDC's harvest summary. That is down 6% from 2024. 3% of Atchison County is public land open to the public, the largest share MDC conservation areas (10,453 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 areasAtchison CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 352,073 acres (550 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer checked, 2025 | 540 (408 antlered bucks, 17 button bucks, 115 does) |
| Firearms and archery, 2025 | 372 by firearms, 168 by archery |
| Public land | 3% (10,454 acres) |
| MDC lands | 10 (10,399 acres inside Atchison County) |
| MRAP land | None mapped this year |
| Towns in and near it | Rock Port, Tarkio, Fairfax, Corning, Elmo and Craig |
How many deer are harvested in Atchison County?
Hunters checked 540 deer in Atchison County in 2025: 408 antlered bucks, 17 button bucks and 115 does. By method: 372 by firearms (321 of them in the November portion) and 168 by archery; the rest came on managed hunts.
| Season | Deer checked | Antlered bucks | Button bucks | Does | Firearms | November portion | Archery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 540 | 408 | 17 | 115 | 372 | 321 | 168 |
| 2024 | 575 | 443 | 14 | 118 | 403 | 342 | 171 |
| 2023 | 562 | 410 | 18 | 134 | 401 | 336 | 161 |
| 2022 | 508 | 365 | 23 | 120 | 392 | 343 | 116 |
| 2021 | 549 | 395 | 21 | 133 | 405 | 144 |
Source: MDC deer harvest summaries (2021 to 2025 seasons), Atchison 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 Atchison County?
10,454 of Atchison County's 352,073 acres are public land open to the public (3%). The biggest share is MDC conservation areas: 10,453 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Atchison County |
|---|---|---|
| MDC conservation areas | 10,453 | 3% |
| State parks and historic sites | 1 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 10,454 | 3% |
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 Atchison County
MDC lands in Atchison County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Brickyard Hill Conservation Area: 2,930 acres
- Nishnabotna Conservation Area: 2,832 acres
- Lower Hamburg Bend Conservation Area: 2,404 acres
- Aspinwall Bend: 704 acres
- Tarkio Prairie Conservation Area: 633 acres
- Deroin Bend Conservation Area: 472 acres
- Star School Hill Prairie Conservation Area: 292 acres
- Corning Conservation Area: 113 acres
- Langdon Bend Access: 12 acres
- Hoot Owl Bend Access: 7 acres
How do you get to Atchison County?
Highways through it: I-29 (about 50 miles inside), US 136 (about 27 miles inside), US 59 (about 24 miles inside), US 275 (about 16 miles inside) and MO 111 (about 13 miles inside). Towns inside: Rock Port, Tarkio, Fairfax, Westboro, Watson and Blanchard. Nearby: Corning (on the line), Elmo (4 miles), Craig (5 miles) and Skidmore (5 miles).
Which counties border Atchison County?
Atchison County touches 2 other counties. Their latest MDC harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land | MRAP land sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holt County | 849 | 2025 | 8.3% | |
| Nodaway County | 1,433 | 2025 | 1.2% | 2 |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Atchison County in 2025?
Hunters checked 540 deer: 408 antlered bucks, 17 button bucks and 115 does (MDC). In 2024: 575.
Is there public hunting land in Atchison County?
Yes. 10,454 acres, 3% 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 (10,453 acres). MDC's map shows 10 conservation areas here.
Does Atchison 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.