Livingston County, Missouri: deer harvest and public hunting land
Livingston County covers 538 square miles around Chillicothe. Hunters checked 2,120 deer here in the 2025 season, 1,124 of them antlered bucks, by MDC's harvest summary. That is up 7% from 2024. 2.8% of Livingston County is public land open to the public, the largest share MDC conservation areas (9,475 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 landLivingston CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 344,628 acres (538 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer checked, 2025 | 2,120 (1,124 antlered bucks, 131 button bucks, 865 does) |
| Firearms and archery, 2025 | 1,684 by firearms, 436 by archery |
| Public land | 2.8% (9,561 acres) |
| MDC lands | 4 (9,462 acres inside Livingston County) |
| MRAP land | None mapped this year |
| Towns in and near it | Chillicothe, Utica, Wheeling, Hale, Lock Springs and Sumner |
How many deer are harvested in Livingston County?
Hunters checked 2,120 deer in Livingston County in 2025: 1,124 antlered bucks, 131 button bucks and 865 does. By method: 1,684 by firearms (1,079 of them in the November portion) and 436 by archery; the rest came on managed hunts.
| Season | Deer checked | Antlered bucks | Button bucks | Does | Firearms | November portion | Archery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,120 | 1,124 | 131 | 865 | 1,684 | 1,079 | 436 |
| 2024 | 1,990 | 1,047 | 115 | 828 | 1,626 | 1,139 | 364 |
| 2023 | 2,153 | 1,155 | 135 | 863 | 1,817 | 1,240 | 336 |
| 2022 | 2,113 | 1,072 | 143 | 898 | 1,731 | 1,381 | 382 |
| 2021 | 1,977 | 1,089 | 106 | 782 | 1,594 | 383 |
Source: MDC deer harvest summaries (2021 to 2025 seasons), Livingston 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 Livingston County?
9,561 of Livingston County's 344,628 acres are public land open to the public (2.8%). The biggest share is MDC conservation areas: 9,475 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Livingston County |
|---|---|---|
| MDC conservation areas | 9,475 | 2.7% |
| County, city and regional land | 86 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 9,561 | 2.8% |
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 Livingston County
MDC lands in Livingston County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Poosey Conservation Area: 5,785 acres
- Fountain Grove Conservation Area: 3,602 acres
- Punkin Center Access: 54 acres
- Coval Gann - Chillicothe Access: 21 acres
How do you get to Livingston County?
Highways through it: US 36 (about 44 miles inside), US 65 (about 27 miles inside), MO 190 (about 12 miles inside) and MO 139 (about 6 miles inside). Towns inside: Chillicothe, Utica, Wheeling, Mooresville, Chula and Ludlow. Nearby: Hale (on the line), Lock Springs (on the line), Sumner (2 miles) and Jamesport (2 miles).
Which counties border Livingston County?
Livingston County touches 6 other counties. Their latest MDC harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land | MRAP land sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linn County | 2,590 | 2025 | 3.1% | 3 |
| Grundy County | 1,812 | 2025 | 0.8% | 1 |
| Carroll County | 2,358 | 2025 | 0.9% | |
| Daviess County | 2,873 | 2025 | 0.3% | 1 |
| Caldwell County | 2,129 | 2025 | 0.7% | 6 |
| Chariton County | 2,331 | 2025 | 2.6% | 3 |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Livingston County in 2025?
Hunters checked 2,120 deer: 1,124 antlered bucks, 131 button bucks and 865 does (MDC). In 2024: 1,990.
Is there public hunting land in Livingston County?
Yes. 9,561 acres, 2.8% 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 (9,475 acres). MDC's map shows 4 conservation areas here.
Does Livingston 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 Linn County Grundy County Carroll County Daviess County Caldwell County Chariton County