Lincoln County, Missouri: deer harvest and public hunting land
Lincoln County covers 641 square miles around Troy. Hunters checked 4,503 deer here in the 2025 season, 1,890 of them antlered bucks, by MDC's harvest summary. That is up 10% from 2024. 4.3% of Lincoln County is public land open to the public, the largest share MDC conservation areas (13,282 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 landLand trusts and other open landLincoln CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 409,933 acres (641 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer checked, 2025 | 4,503 (1,890 antlered bucks, 414 button bucks, 2,199 does) |
| Firearms and archery, 2025 | 3,423 by firearms, 936 by archery |
| Public land | 4.3% (17,733 acres) |
| MDC lands | 11 (11,284 acres inside Lincoln County) |
| MRAP land | None mapped this year |
| Towns in and near it | Troy, Moscow Mills, Elsberry, Eolia, Flint Hill and Paynesville |
How many deer are harvested in Lincoln County?
Hunters checked 4,503 deer in Lincoln County in 2025: 1,890 antlered bucks, 414 button bucks and 2,199 does. By method: 3,423 by firearms (2,131 of them in the November portion) and 936 by archery; the rest came on managed hunts.
| Season | Deer checked | Antlered bucks | Button bucks | Does | Firearms | November portion | Archery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 4,503 | 1,890 | 414 | 2,199 | 3,423 | 2,131 | 936 |
| 2024 | 4,098 | 1,605 | 380 | 2,113 | 3,145 | 2,199 | 876 |
| 2023 | 4,515 | 1,802 | 460 | 2,253 | 3,698 | 2,565 | 747 |
| 2022 | 4,310 | 1,851 | 403 | 2,056 | 3,400 | 2,651 | 789 |
| 2021 | 3,884 | 1,686 | 416 | 1,782 | 2,966 | 773 |
Source: MDC deer harvest summaries (2021 to 2025 seasons), Lincoln 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 Lincoln County?
17,733 of Lincoln County's 409,933 acres are public land open to the public (4.3%). The biggest share is MDC conservation areas: 13,282 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Lincoln County |
|---|---|---|
| MDC conservation areas | 13,282 | 3.2% |
| State parks and historic sites | 4,371 | 1.1% |
| County, city and regional land | 63 | under 0.1% |
| Land trusts and other open land | 17 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 17,733 | 4.3% |
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 Lincoln County
MDC lands in Lincoln County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- B. K. Leach Memorial Conservation Area: 4,323 acres
- Upper Mississippi Conservation Area: 2,274 acres
- William R. Logan Conservation Area: 1,800 acres
- William G. and Erma Parke White Memorial Wildlife Area: 821 acres
- Cuivre Island Conservation Area: 713 acres
- Prairie Slough Conservation Area: 599 acres
- Sandy Island Conservation Area: 385 acres
- Vonaventure Memorial Forest and Wildlife Area: 203 acres
- Kessler Memorial Wildlife Area: 155 acres
- R. H. Crouch Access: 6 acres
- Millsap Bridge Access: 5 acres
How do you get to Lincoln County?
Highways through it: US 61 (about 9 miles inside). Towns inside: Troy, Moscow Mills, Elsberry, Cave, Winfield and Hawk Point. Nearby: Eolia (on the line), Flint Hill (on the line), Paynesville (3 miles) and Annada (3 miles).
Which counties border Lincoln County?
Lincoln County touches 4 other counties. Their latest MDC harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land | MRAP land sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pike County | 4,848 | 2025 | 3.9% | |
| Warren County | 2,787 | 2025 | 2.9% | |
| Montgomery County | 3,419 | 2025 | 1.4% | |
| St. Charles County | 2,141 | 2025 | 8.3% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Lincoln County in 2025?
Hunters checked 4,503 deer: 1,890 antlered bucks, 414 button bucks and 2,199 does (MDC). In 2024: 4,098.
Is there public hunting land in Lincoln County?
Yes. 17,733 acres, 4.3% 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 (13,282 acres). MDC's map shows 11 conservation areas here.
Does Lincoln 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 Pike County Warren County Montgomery County St. Charles County