FilledTag Get a hunt plan

Jackson County, Missouri: deer harvest and public hunting land

Jackson County covers 616 square miles around Kansas City. Hunters checked 2,415 deer here in the 2025 season, 1,069 of them antlered bucks, by MDC's harvest summary. That is up 8% from 2024, and the most in the 5 years shown. 7.9% of Jackson County is public land open to the public, the largest share county, city and regional land (18,703 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.

Map of Missouri's Jackson County: public land by manager, the counties around it, highways I-70, US 50 and MO 291; towns: Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit, Missouri City and Randolph

MDC conservation areasFederal land, mostly Corps of Engineers lakesNational wildlife refugesNational park land (Ozark National Scenic Riverways and others)Other state landCounty, city and regional landLand trusts and other open landMRAP landJackson CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway

Jackson County at a glance
Size394,507 acres (616 square miles)
Deer checked, 20252,415 (1,069 antlered bucks, 186 button bucks, 1,160 does)
Firearms and archery, 2025953 by firearms, 890 by archery
Public land7.9% (31,297 acres)
MDC lands13 (7,715 acres inside Jackson County)
MRAP landNone mapped this year
Towns in and near itKansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit, Missouri City, Randolph and Avondale

How many deer are harvested in Jackson County?

Hunters checked 2,415 deer in Jackson County in 2025: 1,069 antlered bucks, 186 button bucks and 1,160 does. By method: 953 by firearms (667 of them in the November portion) and 890 by archery; the rest came on managed hunts.

SeasonDeer checkedAntlered bucksButton bucksDoesFirearmsNovember portionArchery
20252,4151,0691861,160953667890
20242,2371,0111701,056922712809
20232,3741,0751761,1231,012779787
20222,1101,020178912989810804
20211,858890130838811754

Source: MDC deer harvest summaries (2021 to 2025 seasons), Jackson 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 Jackson County?

31,297 of Jackson County's 394,507 acres are public land open to the public (7.9%). The biggest share is county, city and regional land: 18,703 acres.

ManagerAcresShare of Jackson County
County, city and regional land18,7034.7%
MDC conservation areas7,7662%
Federal land, mostly Corps of Engineers lakes3,8231%
National wildlife refuges6930.2%
Other state land2040.1%
Land trusts and other open land95under 0.1%
National park land (Ozark National Scenic Riverways and others)13under 0.1%
All public land open to the public31,2977.9%

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 Jackson County

MDC lands in Jackson County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:

Other large public areas here, by PAD-US: Longview Recreation Area (4,761 acres) and Big Muddy National Fish And Wildlife Refuge (693 acres).

How do you get to Jackson County?

Highways through it: I-70 (about 58 miles inside), US 50 (about 56 miles inside), MO 291 (about 47 miles inside), US 40 (about 45 miles inside) and US 24 (about 43 miles inside). Towns inside: Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit, Blue Springs, Grandview and Sugar Creek. Nearby: Missouri City (on the line), Randolph (on the line), Avondale (on the line) and Napoleon (on the line).

Which counties border Jackson County?

Jackson County touches 5 other counties. Their latest MDC harvest and public land, for comparison:

CountyDeer harvestedYearPublic landMRAP land sites
Ray County1,80020250.7%
Cass County2,73120251.6%
Clay County1,13920257.2%1
Johnson County3,05720251.7%
Lafayette County1,68420251.2%

Questions hunters ask

How many deer were harvested in Jackson County in 2025?

Hunters checked 2,415 deer: 1,069 antlered bucks, 186 button bucks and 1,160 does (MDC). In 2024: 2,237.

Is there public hunting land in Jackson County?

Yes. 31,297 acres, 7.9% of the county, are public land open to the public by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and MDC conservation area boundaries, the largest share county, city and regional land (18,703 acres). MDC's map shows 13 conservation areas here.

Does Jackson County have MRAP land?

Not on MDC's MRAP layer of tracts open to hunting.

Get a Missouri hunt plan when they open

Hunt plans for Missouri are coming. Join the list and you'll hear first. The first 50 hunters in each new state get their plan free.

Until then, the free FilledTag app for iPhone has a map that works in every state, Missouri included.

Where these numbers come from

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 Cass County Clay County Johnson County Lafayette County