Howard County, Missouri: deer harvest and public hunting land
Howard County covers 472 square miles around Fayette. Hunters checked 2,304 deer here in the 2025 season, 1,084 of them antlered bucks, by MDC's harvest summary. That is up 11% from 2024. 3.5% of Howard County is public land open to the public, the largest share MDC conservation areas (8,424 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 landMRAP landHoward CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 301,764 acres (472 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer checked, 2025 | 2,304 (1,084 antlered bucks, 157 button bucks, 1,063 does) |
| Firearms and archery, 2025 | 1,848 by firearms, 446 by archery |
| Public land | 3.5% (10,634 acres) |
| MDC lands | 10 (8,349 acres inside Howard County) |
| MRAP land | None mapped this year |
| Towns in and near it | Fayette, Glasgow, New Franklin, Rocheport, Arrow Rock and Boonville |
How many deer are harvested in Howard County?
Hunters checked 2,304 deer in Howard County in 2025: 1,084 antlered bucks, 157 button bucks and 1,063 does. By method: 1,848 by firearms (1,080 of them in the November portion) and 446 by archery; the rest came on managed hunts.
| Season | Deer checked | Antlered bucks | Button bucks | Does | Firearms | November portion | Archery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,304 | 1,084 | 157 | 1,063 | 1,848 | 1,080 | 446 |
| 2024 | 2,077 | 992 | 111 | 974 | 1,683 | 1,072 | 371 |
| 2023 | 2,441 | 1,069 | 170 | 1,202 | 2,116 | 1,447 | 314 |
| 2022 | 2,671 | 1,231 | 156 | 1,284 | 2,204 | 1,681 | 453 |
| 2021 | 2,484 | 1,258 | 140 | 1,086 | 1,959 | 490 |
Source: MDC deer harvest summaries (2021 to 2025 seasons), Howard 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 Howard County?
10,634 of Howard County's 301,764 acres are public land open to the public (3.5%). The biggest share is MDC conservation areas: 8,424 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Howard County |
|---|---|---|
| MDC conservation areas | 8,424 | 2.8% |
| National wildlife refuges | 2,104 | 0.7% |
| State parks and historic sites | 64 | under 0.1% |
| County, city and regional land | 42 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 10,634 | 3.5% |
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 Howard County
MDC lands in Howard County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Davisdale Conservation Area: 2,784 acres
- Franklin Island Conservation Area: 1,668 acres
- Diana Bend Conservation Area: 1,342 acres
- Rudolf Bennitt Conservation Area: 1,259 acres
- Moniteau Creek Conservation Area: 744 acres
- Hungry Mother Conservation Area: 270 acres
- D. C. Rogers Lake (Fayette): 203 acres
- Peters Lake (Fayette): 62 acres
- Fayette (Ricketts Lake): 9 acres
- Stump Island Park Access: 8 acres
Other large public areas here, by PAD-US: Big Muddy National Fish And Wildlife Refuge (2,104 acres).
How do you get to Howard County?
Highways through it: MO 5 (about 26 miles inside), MO 87 (about 21 miles inside), MO 240 (about 12 miles inside), US 40 (about 11 miles inside) and MO 3 (about 8 miles inside). Towns inside: Fayette, Glasgow, New Franklin, Armstrong and Franklin. Nearby: Rocheport (on the line), Arrow Rock (on the line), Boonville (on the line) and Harrisburg (on the line).
Which counties border Howard County?
Howard County touches 5 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% | |
| Cooper County | 2,320 | 2025 | 2% | |
| Saline County | 2,048 | 2025 | 2.7% | 1 |
| Chariton County | 2,331 | 2025 | 2.6% | 3 |
| Randolph County | 2,476 | 2025 | 2.3% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Howard County in 2025?
Hunters checked 2,304 deer: 1,084 antlered bucks, 157 button bucks and 1,063 does (MDC). In 2024: 2,077.
Is there public hunting land in Howard County?
Yes. 10,634 acres, 3.5% 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 (8,424 acres). MDC's map shows 10 conservation areas here.
Does Howard 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 Cooper County Saline County Chariton County Randolph County