Carroll County, Missouri: deer harvest and public hunting land
Carroll County covers 701 square miles around Carrollton. Hunters checked 2,358 deer here in the 2025 season, 1,350 of them antlered bucks, by MDC's harvest summary. That is down 2% from 2024, and the fewest in the 5 years shown. 0.9% of Carroll County is public land open to the public, the largest share MDC conservation areas (4,042 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 areasNational wildlife refugesState parks and historic sitesCounty, city and regional landCarroll CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 448,913 acres (701 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer checked, 2025 | 2,358 (1,350 antlered bucks, 135 button bucks, 873 does) |
| Firearms and archery, 2025 | 1,932 by firearms, 426 by archery |
| Public land | 0.9% (4,080 acres) |
| MDC lands | 5 (4,013 acres inside Carroll County) |
| MRAP land | None mapped this year |
| Towns in and near it | Carrollton, Norborne, Bosworth, Miami, Brunswick and Waverly |
How many deer are harvested in Carroll County?
Hunters checked 2,358 deer in Carroll County in 2025: 1,350 antlered bucks, 135 button bucks and 873 does. By method: 1,932 by firearms (1,263 of them in the November portion) and 426 by archery; the rest came on managed hunts.
| Season | Deer checked | Antlered bucks | Button bucks | Does | Firearms | November portion | Archery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,358 | 1,350 | 135 | 873 | 1,932 | 1,263 | 426 |
| 2024 | 2,411 | 1,278 | 162 | 971 | 2,021 | 1,381 | 390 |
| 2023 | 2,745 | 1,408 | 194 | 1,143 | 2,373 | 1,527 | 371 |
| 2022 | 2,674 | 1,367 | 176 | 1,131 | 2,239 | 1,757 | 435 |
| 2021 | 2,404 | 1,324 | 169 | 911 | 1,982 | 420 |
Source: MDC deer harvest summaries (2021 to 2025 seasons), Carroll 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 Carroll County?
4,080 of Carroll County's 448,913 acres are public land open to the public (0.9%). The biggest share is MDC conservation areas: 4,042 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Carroll County |
|---|---|---|
| MDC conservation areas | 4,042 | 0.9% |
| County, city and regional land | 38 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 4,080 | 0.9% |
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 Carroll County
MDC lands in Carroll County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Bunch Hollow Conservation Area: 3,304 acres
- Little Compton Lake Conservation Area: 349 acres
- W. L. Schifferdecker Memorial Conservation Area: 236 acres
- McKinny Conservation Area: 112 acres
- Bosworth Access: 12 acres
How do you get to Carroll County?
Highways through it: US 24 (about 30 miles inside), US 65 (about 29 miles inside), MO 139 (about 18 miles inside), MO 10 (about 17 miles inside) and MO 41 (about 4 miles inside). Towns inside: Carrollton, Norborne, Bosworth, Hale, Bogard and Tina. Nearby: Miami (on the line), Brunswick (on the line), Waverly (on the line) and Dover (on the line).
Which counties border Carroll County?
Carroll County touches 6 other counties. Their latest MDC harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land | MRAP land sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ray County | 1,800 | 2025 | 0.7% | |
| Saline County | 2,048 | 2025 | 2.7% | 1 |
| Caldwell County | 2,129 | 2025 | 0.7% | 6 |
| Chariton County | 2,331 | 2025 | 2.6% | 3 |
| Lafayette County | 1,684 | 2025 | 1.2% | |
| Livingston County | 2,120 | 2025 | 2.8% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Carroll County in 2025?
Hunters checked 2,358 deer: 1,350 antlered bucks, 135 button bucks and 873 does (MDC). In 2024: 2,411.
Is there public hunting land in Carroll County?
Yes. 4,080 acres, 0.9% 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 (4,042 acres). MDC's map shows 5 conservation areas here.
Does Carroll 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 Ray County Saline County Caldwell County Chariton County Lafayette County Livingston County