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St. Francois County, Missouri: deer harvest and public hunting land

St. Francois County covers 455 square miles around Park Hills. Hunters checked 3,381 deer here in the 2025 season, 1,431 of them antlered bucks, by MDC's harvest summary. That is up 35% from 2024, and the most in the 5 years shown. 4.4% of St. Francois County is public land open to the public, the largest share state parks and historic sites (10,864 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.

Map of Missouri's St. Francois County: public land by manager, the counties around it, highways US 67, MO 32 and MO 221; towns: Park Hills, Farmington, Bonne Terre, Pilot Knob and Irondale

MDC conservation areasNational forestFederal land, mostly Corps of Engineers lakesNational wildlife refugesState parks and historic sitesCounty, city and regional landSt. Francois CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway

St. Francois County at a glance
Size291,010 acres (455 square miles)
Deer checked, 20253,381 (1,431 antlered bucks, 322 button bucks, 1,628 does)
Firearms and archery, 20252,697 by firearms, 653 by archery
Public land4.4% (12,926 acres)
MDC lands6 (702 acres inside St. Francois County)
MRAP landNone mapped this year
Towns in and near itPark Hills, Farmington, Bonne Terre, Pilot Knob, Irondale and Ironton

How many deer are harvested in St. Francois County?

Hunters checked 3,381 deer in St. Francois County in 2025: 1,431 antlered bucks, 322 button bucks and 1,628 does. By method: 2,697 by firearms (1,736 of them in the November portion) and 653 by archery; the rest came on managed hunts.

SeasonDeer checkedAntlered bucksButton bucksDoesFirearmsNovember portionArchery
20253,3811,4313221,6282,6971,736653
20242,5091,0772891,1431,8961,348562
20233,2701,2913911,5882,7101,829551
20222,4611,1292771,0551,9351,676514
20212,8281,2543291,2452,147592

Source: MDC deer harvest summaries (2021 to 2025 seasons), St. Francois 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. Francois County?

12,926 of St. Francois County's 291,010 acres are public land open to the public (4.4%). The biggest share is state parks and historic sites: 10,864 acres.

ManagerAcresShare of St. Francois County
State parks and historic sites10,8643.7%
MDC conservation areas1,0760.4%
National forest6910.2%
County, city and regional land2910.1%
Land trusts and other open land4under 0.1%
All public land open to the public12,9264.4%

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. Francois County

MDC lands in St. Francois County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:

Other large public areas here, by PAD-US: Mark Twain National Forest (691 acres).

How do you get to St. Francois County?

Highways through it: US 67 (about 64 miles inside), MO 32 (about 29 miles inside), MO 221 (about 12 miles inside), MO 8 (about 9 miles inside) and MO 47 (about 7 miles inside). Towns inside: Park Hills, Farmington, Bonne Terre, Desloge, Iron Mountain Lake and Leadwood. Nearby: Pilot Knob (on the line), Irondale (on the line), Ironton (3 miles) and Arcadia (4 miles).

Which counties border St. Francois County?

St. Francois County touches 6 other counties. Their latest MDC harvest and public land, for comparison:

CountyDeer harvestedYearPublic landMRAP land sites
Iron County1,903202531.7%
Perry County3,16020251.1%
Madison County2,892202517.8%
Jefferson County5,17320251.9%
Washington County3,425202520%
Ste. Genevieve County3,30620255.7%

Questions hunters ask

How many deer were harvested in St. Francois County in 2025?

Hunters checked 3,381 deer: 1,431 antlered bucks, 322 button bucks and 1,628 does (MDC). In 2024: 2,509.

Is there public hunting land in St. Francois County?

Yes. 12,926 acres, 4.4% of the county, are public land open to the public by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and MDC conservation area boundaries, the largest share state parks and historic sites (10,864 acres). MDC's map shows 6 conservation areas here.

Does St. Francois County have MRAP land?

Not on MDC's MRAP layer of tracts open to hunting.

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Where these numbers come from

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 Iron County Perry County Madison County Jefferson County Washington County Ste. Genevieve County