Audrain County, Missouri: deer harvest and public hunting land
Audrain County covers 697 square miles around Mexico. Hunters checked 2,305 deer here in the 2025 season, 1,037 of them antlered bucks, by MDC's harvest summary. That is up 6% from 2024. 0.6% of Audrain County is public land open to the public, the largest share MDC conservation areas (2,270 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 landAudrain CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 445,965 acres (697 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer checked, 2025 | 2,305 (1,037 antlered bucks, 218 button bucks, 1,050 does) |
| Firearms and archery, 2025 | 1,842 by firearms, 463 by archery |
| Public land | 0.6% (2,527 acres) |
| MDC lands | 8 (2,246 acres inside Audrain County) |
| MRAP land | None mapped this year |
| Towns in and near it | Mexico, Vandalia, Laddonia, Sturgeon, Middletown and Centralia |
How many deer are harvested in Audrain County?
Hunters checked 2,305 deer in Audrain County in 2025: 1,037 antlered bucks, 218 button bucks and 1,050 does. By method: 1,842 by firearms (1,133 of them in the November portion) and 463 by archery; the rest came on managed hunts.
| Season | Deer checked | Antlered bucks | Button bucks | Does | Firearms | November portion | Archery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,305 | 1,037 | 218 | 1,050 | 1,842 | 1,133 | 463 |
| 2024 | 2,178 | 977 | 199 | 1,002 | 1,810 | 1,242 | 367 |
| 2023 | 2,634 | 1,048 | 330 | 1,256 | 2,274 | 1,676 | 358 |
| 2022 | 2,534 | 1,129 | 270 | 1,135 | 2,076 | 1,695 | 458 |
| 2021 | 2,173 | 899 | 231 | 1,043 | 1,732 | 441 |
Source: MDC deer harvest summaries (2021 to 2025 seasons), Audrain 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 Audrain County?
2,527 of Audrain County's 445,965 acres are public land open to the public (0.6%). The biggest share is MDC conservation areas: 2,270 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Audrain County |
|---|---|---|
| MDC conservation areas | 2,270 | 0.5% |
| County, city and regional land | 257 | 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 2,527 | 0.6% |
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 Audrain County
MDC lands in Audrain County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Robert M. White II Conservation Area: 1,089 acres
- Marshall I. Diggs Conservation Area: 523 acres
- F. O. and Leda J. Sears Memorial Wildlife Area: 163 acres
- Vandalia Community Lake: 149 acres
- William Lowe Conservation Area: 133 acres
- Teal Lake (Mexico): 82 acres
- Clarence L. Northcutt Memorial Conservation Area: 81 acres
- Lakeview Park Lake (Mexico): 26 acres
How do you get to Audrain County?
Highways through it: US 54 (about 41 miles inside), MO 19 (about 16 miles inside), MO 15 (about 16 miles inside), MO 22 (about 12 miles inside) and MO 151 (about 7 miles inside). Towns inside: Mexico, Vandalia, Laddonia, Vandiver, Farber and Martinsburg. Nearby: Sturgeon (on the line), Middletown (on the line), Centralia (2 miles) and Clark (2 miles).
Which counties border Audrain County?
Audrain County touches 7 other counties. Their latest MDC harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land | MRAP land sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pike County | 4,848 | 2025 | 3.9% | |
| Boone County | 3,439 | 2025 | 4.4% | |
| Ralls County | 2,742 | 2025 | 0.4% | |
| Monroe County | 3,749 | 2025 | 0.7% | |
| Callaway County | 5,197 | 2025 | 4.4% | |
| Randolph County | 2,476 | 2025 | 2.3% | |
| Montgomery County | 3,419 | 2025 | 1.4% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Audrain County in 2025?
Hunters checked 2,305 deer: 1,037 antlered bucks, 218 button bucks and 1,050 does (MDC). In 2024: 2,178.
Is there public hunting land in Audrain County?
Yes. 2,527 acres, 0.6% 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 (2,270 acres). MDC's map shows 8 conservation areas here.
Does Audrain 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 Pike County Boone County Ralls County Monroe County Callaway County Randolph County Montgomery County