Dent County, Missouri: deer harvest and public hunting land
Dent County covers 755 square miles around Salem. Hunters checked 2,659 deer here in the 2025 season, 1,208 of them antlered bucks, by MDC's harvest summary. That is up 3% from 2024. 19.9% of Dent County is public land open to the public, the largest share national forest (74,570 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 forestNational park land (Ozark National Scenic Riverways and others)State parks and historic sitesOther state landCounty, city and regional landDent CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 482,911 acres (755 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer checked, 2025 | 2,659 (1,208 antlered bucks, 268 button bucks, 1,183 does) |
| Firearms and archery, 2025 | 2,270 by firearms, 374 by archery |
| Public land | 19.9% (96,321 acres) |
| MDC lands | 7 (17,517 acres inside Dent County) |
| MRAP land | None mapped this year |
| Towns in and near it | Salem, Bunker, Viburnum, Edgar Springs and Licking |
How many deer are harvested in Dent County?
Hunters checked 2,659 deer in Dent County in 2025: 1,208 antlered bucks, 268 button bucks and 1,183 does. By method: 2,270 by firearms (1,592 of them in the November portion) and 374 by archery; the rest came on managed hunts.
| Season | Deer checked | Antlered bucks | Button bucks | Does | Firearms | November portion | Archery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,659 | 1,208 | 268 | 1,183 | 2,270 | 1,592 | 374 |
| 2024 | 2,584 | 1,105 | 274 | 1,205 | 2,143 | 1,593 | 415 |
| 2023 | 3,865 | 1,508 | 339 | 2,018 | 3,388 | 2,627 | 477 |
| 2022 | 3,351 | 1,457 | 381 | 1,513 | 2,907 | 2,538 | 386 |
| 2021 | 4,186 | 1,789 | 449 | 1,948 | 3,619 | 566 |
Source: MDC deer harvest summaries (2021 to 2025 seasons), Dent 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 Dent County?
96,321 of Dent County's 482,911 acres are public land open to the public (19.9%). The biggest share is national forest: 74,570 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Dent County |
|---|---|---|
| National forest | 74,570 | 15.4% |
| MDC conservation areas | 17,626 | 3.6% |
| Other state land | 2,028 | 0.4% |
| National park land (Ozark National Scenic Riverways and others) | 2,019 | 0.4% |
| State parks and historic sites | 45 | under 0.1% |
| County, city and regional land | 33 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 96,321 | 19.9% |
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 Dent County
MDC lands in Dent County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Indian Trail Conservation Area: 13,562 acres
- White River Trace Conservation Area: 2,043 acres
- Cedar Grove Conservation Area: 880 acres
- R. F. Clement Memorial Forest and Wildlife Area: 513 acres
- Shawnee Mac Lakes Conservation Area: 249 acres
- Gerhild and Graham Brown Conservation Area: 191 acres
- Short Bend Access: 79 acres
Other large public areas here, by PAD-US: Mark Twain National Forest (74,570 acres) and Ozark National Scenic Riverways (2,019 acres).
How do you get to Dent County?
Highways through it: MO 32 (about 40 miles inside), MO 72 (about 36 miles inside), MO 19 (about 34 miles inside), MO 68 (about 11 miles inside) and MO 119 (about 10 miles inside). Towns inside: Salem and Bunker. Nearby: Viburnum (2 miles), Edgar Springs (3 miles), Licking (6 miles) and Raymondville (7 miles).
Which counties border Dent County?
Dent County touches 6 other counties. Their latest MDC harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land | MRAP land sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iron County | 1,903 | 2025 | 31.7% | |
| Texas County | 4,974 | 2025 | 9.1% | |
| Phelps County | 2,723 | 2025 | 16% | |
| Shannon County | 3,030 | 2025 | 41.7% | |
| Crawford County | 3,667 | 2025 | 13.5% | |
| Reynolds County | 2,746 | 2025 | 30.7% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Dent County in 2025?
Hunters checked 2,659 deer: 1,208 antlered bucks, 268 button bucks and 1,183 does (MDC). In 2024: 2,584.
Is there public hunting land in Dent County?
Yes. 96,321 acres, 19.9% of the county, are public land open to the public by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and MDC conservation area boundaries, the largest share national forest (74,570 acres). MDC's map shows 7 conservation areas here.
Does Dent 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 Iron County Texas County Phelps County Shannon County Crawford County Reynolds County