St. Charles County, Missouri: deer harvest and public hunting land
St. Charles County covers 592 square miles around O'Fallon. Hunters checked 2,141 deer here in the 2025 season, 976 of them antlered bucks, by MDC's harvest summary. That is down 4% from 2024. 8.3% of St. Charles County is public land open to the public, the largest share MDC conservation areas (24,524 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 refugesNational park land (Ozark National Scenic Riverways and others)State parks and historic sitesOther state landCounty, city and regional landLand trusts and other open landSt. Charles CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 379,146 acres (592 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer checked, 2025 | 2,141 (976 antlered bucks, 156 button bucks, 1,009 does) |
| Firearms and archery, 2025 | 1,301 by firearms, 610 by archery |
| Public land | 8.3% (31,415 acres) |
| MDC lands | 11 (24,318 acres inside St. Charles County) |
| MRAP land | None mapped this year |
| Towns in and near it | O'Fallon, West Alton, St. Charles, Chain of Rocks, Old Monroe and Three Creeks |
How many deer are harvested in St. Charles County?
Hunters checked 2,141 deer in St. Charles County in 2025: 976 antlered bucks, 156 button bucks and 1,009 does. By method: 1,301 by firearms (773 of them in the November portion) and 610 by archery; the rest came on managed hunts.
| Season | Deer checked | Antlered bucks | Button bucks | Does | Firearms | November portion | Archery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,141 | 976 | 156 | 1,009 | 1,301 | 773 | 610 |
| 2024 | 2,231 | 1,036 | 166 | 1,029 | 1,444 | 943 | 559 |
| 2023 | 2,297 | 1,030 | 221 | 1,046 | 1,526 | 1,005 | 496 |
| 2022 | 2,248 | 1,066 | 207 | 975 | 1,427 | 1,167 | 520 |
| 2021 | 2,122 | 992 | 194 | 936 | 1,326 | 519 |
Source: MDC deer harvest summaries (2021 to 2025 seasons), St. Charles 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 St. Charles County?
31,415 of St. Charles County's 379,146 acres are public land open to the public (8.3%). The biggest share is MDC conservation areas: 24,524 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of St. Charles County |
|---|---|---|
| MDC conservation areas | 24,524 | 6.5% |
| County, city and regional land | 5,562 | 1.5% |
| State parks and historic sites | 1,149 | 0.3% |
| Land trusts and other open land | 180 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 31,415 | 8.3% |
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 St. Charles County
MDC lands in St. Charles County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Weldon Spring Conservation Area: 8,539 acres
- August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area: 6,999 acres
- Upper Mississippi Conservation Area: 4,112 acres
- Howell Island Conservation Area: 2,678 acres
- Cuivre Island Conservation Area: 958 acres
- Marais Temps Clair Conservation Area: 948 acres
- Kluesner Lake (St. Charles): 25 acres
- Blanchette Landing Access: 21 acres
- Moore Lake (St. Charles): 18 acres
- Skate Park Lake (St. Charles): 12 acres
- Heartland Lake (Wentzville): 8 acres
How do you get to St. Charles County?
Highways through it: MO 94 (about 66 miles inside), I-70 (about 53 miles inside), US 61 (about 41 miles inside), US 40 (about 40 miles inside) and MO 364 (about 31 miles inside). Towns inside: O'Fallon, West Alton, St. Charles, St. Peters, Wentzville and Lake St. Louis. Nearby: Chain of Rocks (on the line), Old Monroe (on the line), Three Creeks (2 miles) and Chesterfield (2 miles).
Which counties border St. Charles County?
St. Charles County touches 4 other counties. Their latest MDC harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land | MRAP land sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warren County | 2,787 | 2025 | 2.9% | |
| Lincoln County | 4,503 | 2025 | 4.3% | |
| Franklin County | 6,751 | 2025 | 3.1% | |
| St. Louis County | 1,922 | 2025 | 9.8% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in St. Charles County in 2025?
Hunters checked 2,141 deer: 976 antlered bucks, 156 button bucks and 1,009 does (MDC). In 2024: 2,231.
Is there public hunting land in St. Charles County?
Yes. 31,415 acres, 8.3% 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 (24,524 acres). MDC's map shows 11 conservation areas here.
Does St. Charles 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 Warren County Lincoln County Franklin County St. Louis County