Laclede County, Missouri: deer harvest and public hunting land
Laclede County covers 768 square miles around Lebanon. Hunters checked 3,328 deer here in the 2025 season, 1,680 of them antlered bucks, by MDC's harvest summary. That is up 5% from 2024. 7.3% of Laclede County is public land open to the public, the largest share national forest (31,031 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 forestState parks and historic sitesOther state landCounty, city and regional landLand trusts and other open landLaclede CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 491,503 acres (768 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer checked, 2025 | 3,328 (1,680 antlered bucks, 282 button bucks, 1,366 does) |
| Firearms and archery, 2025 | 2,719 by firearms, 594 by archery |
| Public land | 7.3% (36,064 acres) |
| MDC lands | 13 (1,778 acres inside Laclede County) |
| MRAP land | None mapped this year |
| Towns in and near it | Lebanon, Evergreen, Conway, Stoutland, Richland and Plato |
How many deer are harvested in Laclede County?
Hunters checked 3,328 deer in Laclede County in 2025: 1,680 antlered bucks, 282 button bucks and 1,366 does. By method: 2,719 by firearms (1,817 of them in the November portion) and 594 by archery; the rest came on managed hunts.
| Season | Deer checked | Antlered bucks | Button bucks | Does | Firearms | November portion | Archery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3,328 | 1,680 | 282 | 1,366 | 2,719 | 1,817 | 594 |
| 2024 | 3,168 | 1,482 | 294 | 1,392 | 2,533 | 1,815 | 616 |
| 2023 | 4,001 | 1,854 | 329 | 1,818 | 3,403 | 2,412 | 598 |
| 2022 | 3,185 | 1,556 | 276 | 1,353 | 2,674 | 2,207 | 509 |
| 2021 | 3,501 | 1,807 | 346 | 1,348 | 2,863 | 635 |
Source: MDC deer harvest summaries (2021 to 2025 seasons), Laclede 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 Laclede County?
36,064 of Laclede County's 491,503 acres are public land open to the public (7.3%). The biggest share is national forest: 31,031 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Laclede County |
|---|---|---|
| National forest | 31,031 | 6.3% |
| State parks and historic sites | 1,847 | 0.4% |
| MDC conservation areas | 1,797 | 0.4% |
| Land trusts and other open land | 984 | 0.2% |
| Other state land | 314 | 0.1% |
| County, city and regional land | 91 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 36,064 | 7.3% |
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 Laclede County
MDC lands in Laclede County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Bear Creek Conservation Area: 729 acres
- Goose Creek Conservation Area: 440 acres
- Osage Fork Conservation Area: 281 acres
- Coffin Cave Conservation Area: 79 acres
- Coleman Memorial Conservation Area: 65 acres
- Mary Lawson Conservation Area: 62 acres
- Long Ford Access: 40 acres
- Davis Ford Access: 18 acres
- Anna M. Adams Access: 18 acres
- Drynob Access: 16 acres
- Lebanon Forestry Office: 12 acres
- Hull Ford Access: 11 acres
- Prosperine Access: 7 acres
Other large public areas here, by PAD-US: Mark Twain National Forest (31,031 acres).
How do you get to Laclede County?
Highways through it: I-44 (about 67 miles inside), MO 32 (about 44 miles inside), MO 5 (about 32 miles inside), MO 64 (about 12 miles inside) and MO 17 (about 4 miles inside). Towns inside: Lebanon, Evergreen, Conway, Phillipsburg and Bennett Springs. Nearby: Stoutland (on the line), Richland (on the line), Plato (2 miles) and Niangua (7 miles).
Which counties border Laclede County?
Laclede County touches 6 other counties. Their latest MDC harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land | MRAP land sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas County | 4,974 | 2025 | 9.1% | |
| Camden County | 3,714 | 2025 | 4.4% | |
| Dallas County | 2,951 | 2025 | 3.1% | |
| Wright County | 3,625 | 2025 | 2.2% | |
| Pulaski County | 2,501 | 2025 | 11.4% | |
| Webster County | 2,914 | 2025 | 0.5% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Laclede County in 2025?
Hunters checked 3,328 deer: 1,680 antlered bucks, 282 button bucks and 1,366 does (MDC). In 2024: 3,168.
Is there public hunting land in Laclede County?
Yes. 36,064 acres, 7.3% of the county, are public land open to the public by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and MDC conservation area boundaries, the largest share national forest (31,031 acres). MDC's map shows 13 conservation areas here.
Does Laclede 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 Texas County Camden County Dallas County Wright County Pulaski County Webster County