Ray County, Missouri: deer harvest and public hunting land
Ray County covers 574 square miles around Richmond. Hunters checked 1,800 deer here in the 2025 season, 994 of them antlered bucks, by MDC's harvest summary. That is up 13% from 2024, and the most in the 5 years shown. 0.7% of Ray County is public land open to the public, the largest share MDC conservation areas (2,235 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 landRay CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 367,434 acres (574 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer checked, 2025 | 1,800 (994 antlered bucks, 143 button bucks, 663 does) |
| Firearms and archery, 2025 | 1,497 by firearms, 303 by archery |
| Public land | 0.7% (2,674 acres) |
| MDC lands | 11 (2,161 acres inside Ray County) |
| MRAP land | None mapped this year |
| Towns in and near it | Richmond, Wood Heights, Orrick, Wellington, Napoleon and Lawson |
How many deer are harvested in Ray County?
Hunters checked 1,800 deer in Ray County in 2025: 994 antlered bucks, 143 button bucks and 663 does. By method: 1,497 by firearms (1,031 of them in the November portion) and 303 by archery; the rest came on managed hunts.
| Season | Deer checked | Antlered bucks | Button bucks | Does | Firearms | November portion | Archery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,800 | 994 | 143 | 663 | 1,497 | 1,031 | 303 |
| 2024 | 1,588 | 930 | 83 | 575 | 1,300 | 990 | 287 |
| 2023 | 1,746 | 1,031 | 130 | 585 | 1,523 | 1,125 | 223 |
| 2022 | 1,699 | 973 | 121 | 605 | 1,406 | 1,189 | 293 |
| 2021 | 1,567 | 894 | 98 | 575 | 1,312 | 254 |
Source: MDC deer harvest summaries (2021 to 2025 seasons), Ray 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 Ray County?
2,674 of Ray County's 367,434 acres are public land open to the public (0.7%). The biggest share is MDC conservation areas: 2,235 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Ray County |
|---|---|---|
| MDC conservation areas | 2,235 | 0.6% |
| National wildlife refuges | 317 | 0.1% |
| County, city and regional land | 74 | under 0.1% |
| State parks and historic sites | 44 | under 0.1% |
| Land trusts and other open land | 4 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 2,674 | 0.7% |
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 Ray County
MDC lands in Ray County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Crooked River Conservation Area: 1,412 acres
- Hardin Conservation Area: 242 acres
- Ray County Community Lake: 166 acres
- Frank E. Wagner Conservation Area: 133 acres
- Crystal Lake: 65 acres
- Foxglove Conservation Area: 56 acres
- Blue Jay Trail Access: 32 acres
- Lawson City Lake: 23 acres
- Pigg's Landing Access: 16 acres
- Crystal Lakes (Arrowhead Lake): 9 acres
- Crystal Lakes (Timber Lake): 7 acres
Other large public areas here, by PAD-US: Big Muddy National Fish And Wildlife Refuge (317 acres).
How do you get to Ray County?
Highways through it: MO 13 (about 32 miles inside), MO 210 (about 26 miles inside) and MO 10 (about 18 miles inside). Towns inside: Richmond, Wood Heights, Orrick, Crystal Lakes, Hardin and Henrietta. Nearby: Wellington (on the line), Napoleon (on the line), Lawson (on the line) and Sibley (on the line).
Which counties border Ray County?
Ray County touches 6 other counties. Their latest MDC harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land | MRAP land sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clay County | 1,139 | 2025 | 7.2% | 1 |
| Carroll County | 2,358 | 2025 | 0.9% | |
| Clinton County | 1,016 | 2025 | 3.4% | |
| Jackson County | 2,415 | 2025 | 7.9% | |
| Caldwell County | 2,129 | 2025 | 0.7% | 6 |
| Lafayette County | 1,684 | 2025 | 1.2% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Ray County in 2025?
Hunters checked 1,800 deer: 994 antlered bucks, 143 button bucks and 663 does (MDC). In 2024: 1,588.
Is there public hunting land in Ray County?
Yes. 2,674 acres, 0.7% 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 (2,235 acres). MDC's map shows 11 conservation areas here.
Does Ray 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.
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