Ripley County, Missouri: deer harvest and public hunting land
Ripley County covers 632 square miles around Doniphan. Hunters checked 3,088 deer here in the 2025 season, 1,221 of them antlered bucks, by MDC's harvest summary. That is up 8% from 2024. 27.2% of Ripley County is public land open to the public, the largest share national forest (100,809 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 forestNational park land (Ozark National Scenic Riverways and others)Land trusts and other open landRipley CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 404,207 acres (632 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer checked, 2025 | 3,088 (1,221 antlered bucks, 286 button bucks, 1,581 does) |
| Firearms and archery, 2025 | 2,594 by firearms, 494 by archery |
| Public land | 27.2% (110,103 acres) |
| MDC lands | 5 (8,705 acres inside Ripley County) |
| MRAP land | None mapped this year |
| Towns in and near it | Doniphan, Naylor, Fairdealing, Grandin, Neelyville and Ellsinore |
How many deer are harvested in Ripley County?
Hunters checked 3,088 deer in Ripley County in 2025: 1,221 antlered bucks, 286 button bucks and 1,581 does. By method: 2,594 by firearms (1,718 of them in the November portion) and 494 by archery; the rest came on managed hunts.
| Season | Deer checked | Antlered bucks | Button bucks | Does | Firearms | November portion | Archery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3,088 | 1,221 | 286 | 1,581 | 2,594 | 1,718 | 494 |
| 2024 | 2,848 | 1,093 | 308 | 1,447 | 2,368 | 1,696 | 480 |
| 2023 | 3,818 | 1,390 | 383 | 2,045 | 3,274 | 2,159 | 544 |
| 2022 | 3,144 | 1,260 | 345 | 1,539 | 2,606 | 2,184 | 535 |
| 2021 | 2,875 | 1,117 | 360 | 1,398 | 2,393 | 482 |
Source: MDC deer harvest summaries (2021 to 2025 seasons), Ripley 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 Ripley County?
110,103 of Ripley County's 404,207 acres are public land open to the public (27.2%). The biggest share is national forest: 100,809 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Ripley County |
|---|---|---|
| National forest | 100,809 | 24.9% |
| MDC conservation areas | 8,743 | 2.2% |
| Land trusts and other open land | 550 | 0.1% |
| National park land (Ozark National Scenic Riverways and others) | 1 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 110,103 | 27.2% |
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 Ripley County
MDC lands in Ripley County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Fourche Creek Conservation Area: 3,778 acres
- Little Black Conservation Area: 3,068 acres
- Mudpuppy Conservation Area: 1,384 acres
- Sand Pond Conservation Area: 302 acres
- Hemenway Conservation Area: 173 acres
Other large public areas here, by PAD-US: Mark Twain National Forest (100,622 acres) and Current River Purchase Unit (187 acres).
How do you get to Ripley County?
Highways through it: MO 142 (about 37 miles inside), US 160 (about 34 miles inside) and MO 21 (about 27 miles inside). Towns inside: Doniphan, Naylor, Fairdealing and Oxly. Nearby: Grandin (on the line), Neelyville (3 miles), Ellsinore (8 miles) and Poplar Bluff (11 miles).
Which counties border Ripley County?
Ripley County touches 3 other counties. Their latest MDC harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land | MRAP land sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butler County | 1,852 | 2025 | 13.7% | |
| Carter County | 2,210 | 2025 | 41.7% | |
| Oregon County | 4,176 | 2025 | 21.2% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Ripley County in 2025?
Hunters checked 3,088 deer: 1,221 antlered bucks, 286 button bucks and 1,581 does (MDC). In 2024: 2,848.
Is there public hunting land in Ripley County?
Yes. 110,103 acres, 27.2% 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 (100,809 acres). MDC's map shows 5 conservation areas here.
Does Ripley 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.