Buchanan County, Missouri: deer harvest and public hunting land
Buchanan County covers 415 square miles around St. Joseph. Hunters checked 867 deer here in the 2025 season, 460 of them antlered bucks, by MDC's harvest summary. That is up 3% from 2024. 2.1% of Buchanan County is public land open to the public, the largest share MDC conservation areas (4,302 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 sitesOther state landCounty, city and regional landLand trusts and other open landBuchanan CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 265,784 acres (415 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer checked, 2025 | 867 (460 antlered bucks, 54 button bucks, 353 does) |
| Firearms and archery, 2025 | 685 by firearms, 182 by archery |
| Public land | 2.1% (5,495 acres) |
| MDC lands | 16 (4,234 acres inside Buchanan County) |
| MRAP land | None mapped this year |
| Towns in and near it | St. Joseph, Agency, Lewis and Clark Village, Gower, Dearborn and Country Club |
How many deer are harvested in Buchanan County?
Hunters checked 867 deer in Buchanan County in 2025: 460 antlered bucks, 54 button bucks and 353 does. By method: 685 by firearms (547 of them in the November portion) and 182 by archery; the rest came on managed hunts.
| Season | Deer checked | Antlered bucks | Button bucks | Does | Firearms | November portion | Archery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 867 | 460 | 54 | 353 | 685 | 547 | 182 |
| 2024 | 844 | 467 | 54 | 323 | 669 | 530 | 175 |
| 2023 | 890 | 488 | 59 | 343 | 735 | 565 | 154 |
| 2022 | 861 | 479 | 65 | 317 | 723 | 631 | 138 |
| 2021 | 807 | 473 | 52 | 282 | 685 | 122 |
Source: MDC deer harvest summaries (2021 to 2025 seasons), Buchanan 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 Buchanan County?
5,495 of Buchanan County's 265,784 acres are public land open to the public (2.1%). The biggest share is MDC conservation areas: 4,302 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Buchanan County |
|---|---|---|
| MDC conservation areas | 4,302 | 1.6% |
| County, city and regional land | 959 | 0.4% |
| State parks and historic sites | 161 | 0.1% |
| Land trusts and other open land | 61 | under 0.1% |
| Other state land | 12 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 5,495 | 2.1% |
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 Buchanan County
MDC lands in Buchanan County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Bluffwoods Conservation Area: 2,247 acres
- Pigeon Hill Conservation Area: 460 acres
- Belcher Branch Lake Conservation Area: 395 acres
- Anthony and Beatrice Kendzora Conservation Area: 296 acres
- Arthur Dupree Memorial Conservation Area: 185 acres
- Sunbridge Hills Conservation Area: 152 acres
- Bee Creek Conservation Area: 113 acres
- Mark Youngdahl Urban Conservation Area: 96 acres
- Agency Conservation Area: 93 acres
- Bluffwoods Conservation Area - Goodell Memorial Annex: 58 acres
- Caroline Sheridan Logan Memorial Wildlife Area: 40 acres
- Wilfrid V. and Anna C. Kneib Memorial Conservation Area: 35 acres
- Jentell Brees Access: 31 acres
- Burton Bridge Access: 18 acres
- Northwest Regional Office: 8 acres
- Saxton Access: 7 acres
How do you get to Buchanan County?
Highways through it: US 71 (about 40 miles inside), I-29 (about 40 miles inside), US 59 (about 29 miles inside), MO 116 (about 27 miles inside) and US 36 (about 25 miles inside). Towns inside: St. Joseph, Agency, Lewis and Clark Village, Easton, De Kalb and Rushville. Nearby: Gower (on the line), Dearborn (on the line), Country Club (2 miles) and Edgerton (2 miles).
Which counties border Buchanan County?
Buchanan County touches 4 other counties. Their latest MDC harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land | MRAP land sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew County | 1,065 | 2025 | 2.4% | |
| DeKalb County | 1,097 | 2025 | 1.8% | 1 |
| Platte County | 1,153 | 2025 | 2.9% | |
| Clinton County | 1,016 | 2025 | 3.4% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Buchanan County in 2025?
Hunters checked 867 deer: 460 antlered bucks, 54 button bucks and 353 does (MDC). In 2024: 844.
Is there public hunting land in Buchanan County?
Yes. 5,495 acres, 2.1% 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 (4,302 acres). MDC's map shows 16 conservation areas here.
Does Buchanan 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 Andrew County DeKalb County Platte County Clinton County