Holt County, Missouri: deer harvest and public hunting land
Holt County covers 470 square miles around Big Lake. Hunters checked 849 deer here in the 2025 season, 510 of them antlered bucks, by MDC's harvest summary. That is about the same as 2024. 8.3% of Holt County is public land open to the public, the largest share MDC conservation areas (17,177 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 sitesLand trusts and other open landHolt CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 301,025 acres (470 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer checked, 2025 | 849 (510 antlered bucks, 51 button bucks, 288 does) |
| Firearms and archery, 2025 | 634 by firearms, 212 by archery |
| Public land | 8.3% (25,049 acres) |
| MDC lands | 11 (17,162 acres inside Holt County) |
| MRAP land | None mapped this year |
| Towns in and near it | Big Lake, Mound City, Forest City, Graham, Fillmore and Skidmore |
How many deer are harvested in Holt County?
Hunters checked 849 deer in Holt County in 2025: 510 antlered bucks, 51 button bucks and 288 does. By method: 634 by firearms (512 of them in the November portion) and 212 by archery; the rest came on managed hunts.
| Season | Deer checked | Antlered bucks | Button bucks | Does | Firearms | November portion | Archery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 849 | 510 | 51 | 288 | 634 | 512 | 212 |
| 2024 | 846 | 520 | 34 | 292 | 653 | 587 | 192 |
| 2023 | 835 | 487 | 45 | 303 | 656 | 573 | 174 |
| 2022 | 987 | 523 | 70 | 394 | 776 | 696 | 206 |
| 2021 | 919 | 577 | 40 | 302 | 710 | 204 |
Source: MDC deer harvest summaries (2021 to 2025 seasons), Holt 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 Holt County?
25,049 of Holt County's 301,025 acres are public land open to the public (8.3%). The biggest share is MDC conservation areas: 17,177 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Holt County |
|---|---|---|
| MDC conservation areas | 17,177 | 5.7% |
| National wildlife refuges | 7,450 | 2.5% |
| State parks and historic sites | 400 | 0.1% |
| Land trusts and other open land | 22 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 25,049 | 8.3% |
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 Holt County
MDC lands in Holt County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Bob Brown Conservation Area: 3,362 acres
- Nodaway Valley Conservation Area: 2,551 acres
- H. F. Thurnau Conservation Area: 2,476 acres
- Riverbreaks Conservation Area: 2,275 acres
- Corning Conservation Area: 1,885 acres
- Monkey Mountain Conservation Area: 1,505 acres
- Rush Bottoms Conservation Area: 1,095 acres
- Wolf Creek Bend Conservation Area: 983 acres
- Deroin Bend Conservation Area: 680 acres
- Jamerson C. McCormack Conservation Area: 223 acres
- Little Tarkio Prairie: 127 acres
Other large public areas here, by PAD-US: Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge (7,450 acres).
How do you get to Holt County?
Highways through it: I-29 (about 66 miles inside), US 59 (about 38 miles inside), MO 111 (about 34 miles inside), US 159 (about 18 miles inside) and MO 113 (about 12 miles inside). Towns inside: Big Lake, Mound City, Forest City, Oregon, Maitland and Craig. Nearby: Graham (on the line), Fillmore (2 miles), Skidmore (2 miles) and Fairfax (5 miles).
Which counties border Holt County?
Holt County touches 3 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% | |
| Nodaway County | 1,433 | 2025 | 1.2% | 2 |
| Atchison County | 540 | 2025 | 3% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Holt County in 2025?
Hunters checked 849 deer: 510 antlered bucks, 51 button bucks and 288 does (MDC). In 2024: 846.
Is there public hunting land in Holt County?
Yes. 25,049 acres, 8.3% 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 (17,177 acres). MDC's map shows 11 conservation areas here.
Does Holt 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 Nodaway County Atchison County