Shelby County, Missouri: deer harvest and public hunting land
Shelby County covers 502 square miles around Shelbina. Hunters checked 2,559 deer here in the 2025 season, 1,162 of them antlered bucks, by MDC's harvest summary. That is up 1% from 2024. 0.8% of Shelby County is public land open to the public, the largest share MDC conservation areas (2,299 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 refugesMRAP landShelby CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 321,517 acres (502 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer checked, 2025 | 2,559 (1,162 antlered bucks, 207 button bucks, 1,190 does) |
| Firearms and archery, 2025 | 2,041 by firearms, 518 by archery |
| Public land | 0.8% (2,598 acres) |
| MDC lands | 6 (2,297 acres inside Shelby County) |
| MRAP land | None mapped this year |
| Towns in and near it | Shelbina, Clarence, Shelbyville, Newark, Novelty and Monroe City |
How many deer are harvested in Shelby County?
Hunters checked 2,559 deer in Shelby County in 2025: 1,162 antlered bucks, 207 button bucks and 1,190 does. By method: 2,041 by firearms (1,211 of them in the November portion) and 518 by archery; the rest came on managed hunts.
| Season | Deer checked | Antlered bucks | Button bucks | Does | Firearms | November portion | Archery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,559 | 1,162 | 207 | 1,190 | 2,041 | 1,211 | 518 |
| 2024 | 2,535 | 1,215 | 229 | 1,091 | 2,016 | 1,328 | 519 |
| 2023 | 2,617 | 1,110 | 270 | 1,237 | 2,152 | 1,488 | 465 |
| 2022 | 2,721 | 1,265 | 223 | 1,233 | 2,171 | 1,711 | 550 |
| 2021 | 2,410 | 1,141 | 205 | 1,064 | 1,882 | 528 |
Source: MDC deer harvest summaries (2021 to 2025 seasons), Shelby 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 Shelby County?
2,598 of Shelby County's 321,517 acres are public land open to the public (0.8%). The biggest share is MDC conservation areas: 2,299 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Shelby County |
|---|---|---|
| MDC conservation areas | 2,299 | 0.7% |
| National wildlife refuges | 299 | 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 2,598 | 0.8% |
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 Shelby County
MDC lands in Shelby County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Hunnewell Lake Conservation Area: 1,971 acres
- Arrow-Wood Conservation Area: 150 acres
- Pin Oak Conservation Area: 51 acres
- Mound View Access: 45 acres
- Fred Bollow Conservation Area: 42 acres
- Hunnewell Access: 38 acres
How do you get to Shelby County?
Highways through it: US 36 (about 51 miles inside), MO 151 (about 29 miles inside), MO 15 (about 23 miles inside) and MO 168 (about 11 miles inside). Towns inside: Shelbina, Clarence, Shelbyville, Hunnewell, Leonard and Bethel. Nearby: Newark (3 miles), Novelty (4 miles), Monroe City (6 miles) and Stoutsville (8 miles).
Which counties border Shelby County?
Shelby County touches 5 other counties. Their latest MDC harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land | MRAP land sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knox County | 2,646 | 2025 | 0.4% | |
| Lewis County | 2,407 | 2025 | 3.1% | |
| Macon County | 4,525 | 2025 | 3.4% | 6 |
| Marion County | 2,339 | 2025 | 1.6% | |
| Monroe County | 3,749 | 2025 | 0.7% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Shelby County in 2025?
Hunters checked 2,559 deer: 1,162 antlered bucks, 207 button bucks and 1,190 does (MDC). In 2024: 2,535.
Is there public hunting land in Shelby County?
Yes. 2,598 acres, 0.8% 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 (2,299 acres). MDC's map shows 6 conservation areas here.
Does Shelby 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 Knox County Lewis County Macon County Marion County Monroe County