Cooper County, Missouri: deer harvest and public hunting land
Cooper County covers 569 square miles around Boonville. Hunters checked 2,320 deer here in the 2025 season, 1,066 of them antlered bucks, by MDC's harvest summary. That is up 5% from 2024. 2% of Cooper County is public land open to the public, the largest share MDC conservation areas (5,648 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 landLand trusts and other open landCooper CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 364,241 acres (569 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer checked, 2025 | 2,320 (1,066 antlered bucks, 200 button bucks, 1,054 does) |
| Firearms and archery, 2025 | 1,849 by firearms, 471 by archery |
| Public land | 2% (7,103 acres) |
| MDC lands | 5 (5,635 acres inside Cooper County) |
| MRAP land | None mapped this year |
| Towns in and near it | Boonville, Bunceton, Windsor Place, Nelson, Rocheport and Arrow Rock |
How many deer are harvested in Cooper County?
Hunters checked 2,320 deer in Cooper County in 2025: 1,066 antlered bucks, 200 button bucks and 1,054 does. By method: 1,849 by firearms (1,287 of them in the November portion) and 471 by archery; the rest came on managed hunts.
| Season | Deer checked | Antlered bucks | Button bucks | Does | Firearms | November portion | Archery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,320 | 1,066 | 200 | 1,054 | 1,849 | 1,287 | 471 |
| 2024 | 2,216 | 994 | 155 | 1,067 | 1,818 | 1,366 | 398 |
| 2023 | 2,587 | 1,077 | 221 | 1,289 | 2,214 | 1,617 | 372 |
| 2022 | 2,464 | 1,160 | 218 | 1,086 | 2,070 | 1,679 | 394 |
| 2021 | 2,209 | 1,052 | 191 | 966 | 1,848 | 361 |
Source: MDC deer harvest summaries (2021 to 2025 seasons), Cooper 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 Cooper County?
7,103 of Cooper County's 364,241 acres are public land open to the public (2%). The biggest share is MDC conservation areas: 5,648 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Cooper County |
|---|---|---|
| MDC conservation areas | 5,648 | 1.6% |
| National wildlife refuges | 1,234 | 0.3% |
| County, city and regional land | 186 | 0.1% |
| State parks and historic sites | 35 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 7,103 | 2% |
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 Cooper County
MDC lands in Cooper County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Lamine River Conservation Area: 4,542 acres
- Prairie Home Conservation Area: 1,032 acres
- Harriman Hill Access: 38 acres
- Swinging Bridge Access: 17 acres
- Roberts Bluff Access: 6 acres
Other large public areas here, by PAD-US: Big Muddy National Fish And Wildlife Refuge (1,234 acres).
How do you get to Cooper County?
Highways through it: I-70 (about 56 miles inside), US 40 (about 34 miles inside), MO 5 (about 23 miles inside), MO 135 (about 21 miles inside) and MO 87 (about 17 miles inside). Towns inside: Boonville, Bunceton, Windsor Place, Otterville, Pilot Grove and Prairie Home. Nearby: Nelson (on the line), Rocheport (on the line), Arrow Rock (on the line) and Syracuse (on the line).
Which counties border Cooper County?
Cooper County touches 6 other counties. Their latest MDC harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land | MRAP land sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boone County | 3,439 | 2025 | 4.4% | |
| Howard County | 2,304 | 2025 | 3.5% | |
| Morgan County | 3,962 | 2025 | 1% | |
| Pettis County | 2,867 | 2025 | 0.9% | |
| Saline County | 2,048 | 2025 | 2.7% | 1 |
| Moniteau County | 1,822 | 2025 | 1.8% | 3 |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Cooper County in 2025?
Hunters checked 2,320 deer: 1,066 antlered bucks, 200 button bucks and 1,054 does (MDC). In 2024: 2,216.
Is there public hunting land in Cooper County?
Yes. 7,103 acres, 2% 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 (5,648 acres). MDC's map shows 5 conservation areas here.
Does Cooper 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 Boone County Howard County Morgan County Pettis County Saline County Moniteau County