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Jefferson County, Missouri: deer harvest and public hunting land

Jefferson County covers 664 square miles around Arnold. Hunters checked 5,173 deer here in the 2025 season, 2,440 of them antlered bucks, by MDC's harvest summary. That is up 6% from 2024. 1.9% of Jefferson County is public land open to the public, the largest share MDC conservation areas (4,413 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 Jefferson County: public land by manager, the counties around it, highways I-55, MO 21 and US 67; towns: Arnold, Festus, Byrnes Mill, Eureka and Pacific

MDC conservation areasFederal land, mostly Corps of Engineers lakesNational wildlife refugesState parks and historic sitesOther state landCounty, city and regional landLand trusts and other open landJefferson CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway

Jefferson County at a glance
Size425,070 acres (664 square miles)
Deer checked, 20255,173 (2,440 antlered bucks, 455 button bucks, 2,278 does)
Firearms and archery, 20253,587 by firearms, 1,586 by archery
Public land1.9% (8,151 acres)
MDC lands9 (4,403 acres inside Jefferson County)
MRAP landNone mapped this year
Towns in and near itArnold, Festus, Byrnes Mill, Eureka, Pacific and Fenton

How many deer are harvested in Jefferson County?

Hunters checked 5,173 deer in Jefferson County in 2025: 2,440 antlered bucks, 455 button bucks and 2,278 does. By method: 3,587 by firearms (2,425 of them in the November portion) and 1,586 by archery; the rest came on managed hunts.

SeasonDeer checkedAntlered bucksButton bucksDoesFirearmsNovember portionArchery
20255,1732,4404552,2783,5872,4251,586
20244,8902,2194592,2123,3072,3631,582
20235,7572,5304972,7304,3062,9361,445
20224,9662,3984352,1333,5643,0631,395
20215,1562,4495082,1993,5731,579

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

8,151 of Jefferson County's 425,070 acres are public land open to the public (1.9%). The biggest share is MDC conservation areas: 4,413 acres.

ManagerAcresShare of Jefferson County
MDC conservation areas4,4131%
County, city and regional land1,5730.4%
National wildlife refuges1,1890.3%
State parks and historic sites6900.2%
Land trusts and other open land2860.1%
All public land open to the public8,1511.9%

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 Jefferson County

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

Other large public areas here, by PAD-US: Middle Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge (1,190 acres).

How do you get to Jefferson County?

Highways through it: I-55 (about 56 miles inside), MO 21 (about 55 miles inside), US 67 (about 51 miles inside), MO 30 (about 40 miles inside) and US 61 (about 32 miles inside). Towns inside: Arnold, Festus, Byrnes Mill, Pevely, Crystal City and De Soto. Nearby: Eureka (on the line), Pacific (on the line), Fenton (2 miles) and Sunset Hills (2 miles).

Which counties border Jefferson County?

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

CountyDeer harvestedYearPublic landMRAP land sites
Franklin County6,75120253.1%
St. Louis County1,92220259.8%
Washington County3,425202520%
St. Francois County3,38120254.4%
Ste. Genevieve County3,30620255.7%

Questions hunters ask

How many deer were harvested in Jefferson County in 2025?

Hunters checked 5,173 deer: 2,440 antlered bucks, 455 button bucks and 2,278 does (MDC). In 2024: 4,890.

Is there public hunting land in Jefferson County?

Yes. 8,151 acres, 1.9% of the county, are public land open to the public by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and MDC conservation area boundaries, the largest share MDC conservation areas (4,413 acres). MDC's map shows 9 conservation areas here.

Does Jefferson County have MRAP land?

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

Get a Missouri hunt plan when they open

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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 Franklin County St. Louis County Washington County St. Francois County Ste. Genevieve County