Morgan County, Missouri: deer harvest and public hunting land
Morgan County covers 614 square miles around Laurie. Hunters checked 3,962 deer here in the 2025 season, 1,774 of them antlered bucks, by MDC's harvest summary. That is up 10% from 2024. 1% of Morgan County is public land open to the public, the largest share MDC conservation areas (4,045 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 areasState parks and historic sitesCounty, city and regional landMRAP landMorgan CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 392,947 acres (614 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer checked, 2025 | 3,962 (1,774 antlered bucks, 388 button bucks, 1,800 does) |
| Firearms and archery, 2025 | 3,106 by firearms, 856 by archery |
| Public land | 1% (4,045 acres) |
| MDC lands | 8 (3,933 acres inside Morgan County) |
| MRAP land | None mapped this year |
| Towns in and near it | Laurie, Versailles, Stover, Otterville, Village of Four Seasons and Smithton |
How many deer are harvested in Morgan County?
Hunters checked 3,962 deer in Morgan County in 2025: 1,774 antlered bucks, 388 button bucks and 1,800 does. By method: 3,106 by firearms (1,872 of them in the November portion) and 856 by archery; the rest came on managed hunts.
| Season | Deer checked | Antlered bucks | Button bucks | Does | Firearms | November portion | Archery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3,962 | 1,774 | 388 | 1,800 | 3,106 | 1,872 | 856 |
| 2024 | 3,591 | 1,400 | 422 | 1,769 | 2,824 | 2,088 | 767 |
| 2023 | 4,291 | 1,730 | 470 | 2,091 | 3,530 | 2,602 | 761 |
| 2022 | 3,998 | 1,578 | 461 | 1,959 | 3,281 | 2,647 | 717 |
| 2021 | 4,349 | 1,813 | 463 | 2,073 | 3,477 | 870 |
Source: MDC deer harvest summaries (2021 to 2025 seasons), Morgan 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 Morgan County?
4,045 of Morgan County's 392,947 acres are public land open to the public (1%). The biggest share is MDC conservation areas: 4,045 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Morgan County |
|---|---|---|
| MDC conservation areas | 4,045 | 1% |
| All public land open to the public | 4,045 | 1% |
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 Morgan County
MDC lands in Morgan County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Big Buffalo Creek Conservation Area: 1,743 acres
- Lamine River Conservation Area: 1,541 acres
- Carpenter Memorial Conservation Area: 342 acres
- Hite Prairie Conservation Area: 101 acres
- Wigwam School Access: 75 acres
- Gravois Mills Access: 62 acres
- Manito Lake Conservation Area: 60 acres
- Coffman Beach Access: 9 acres
How do you get to Morgan County?
Highways through it: MO 135 (about 44 miles inside), MO 5 (about 32 miles inside), MO 52 (about 26 miles inside) and US 50 (about 12 miles inside). Towns inside: Laurie, Versailles, Stover, Gravois Mills, Syracuse and Barnett. Nearby: Otterville (on the line), Village of Four Seasons (2 miles), Smithton (2 miles) and Sunrise Beach (2 miles).
Which counties border Morgan County?
Morgan County touches 6 other counties. Their latest MDC harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land | MRAP land sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benton County | 4,228 | 2025 | 12.9% | |
| Camden County | 3,714 | 2025 | 4.4% | |
| Cooper County | 2,320 | 2025 | 2% | |
| Miller County | 2,850 | 2025 | 3.6% | |
| Pettis County | 2,867 | 2025 | 0.9% | |
| Moniteau County | 1,822 | 2025 | 1.8% | 3 |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Morgan County in 2025?
Hunters checked 3,962 deer: 1,774 antlered bucks, 388 button bucks and 1,800 does (MDC). In 2024: 3,591.
Is there public hunting land in Morgan County?
Yes. 4,045 acres, 1% 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 (4,045 acres). MDC's map shows 8 conservation areas here.
Does Morgan 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 Benton County Camden County Cooper County Miller County Pettis County Moniteau County