Stoddard County, Missouri: deer harvest and public hunting land
Stoddard County covers 829 square miles around Dexter. Hunters checked 1,935 deer here in the 2025 season, 784 of them antlered bucks, by MDC's harvest summary. That is down 9% from 2024, and the fewest in the 5 years shown. 4.3% of Stoddard County is public land open to the public, the largest share national wildlife refuges (11,832 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 wildlife refugesState parks and historic sitesCounty, city and regional landStoddard CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 530,486 acres (829 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer checked, 2025 | 1,935 (784 antlered bucks, 212 button bucks, 939 does) |
| Firearms and archery, 2025 | 1,366 by firearms, 539 by archery |
| Public land | 4.3% (22,596 acres) |
| MDC lands | 7 (10,613 acres inside Stoddard County) |
| MRAP land | None mapped this year |
| Towns in and near it | Dexter, Bernie, Bloomfield, Fisk, Morehouse and Canalou |
How many deer are harvested in Stoddard County?
Hunters checked 1,935 deer in Stoddard County in 2025: 784 antlered bucks, 212 button bucks and 939 does. By method: 1,366 by firearms (1,016 of them in the November portion) and 539 by archery; the rest came on managed hunts.
| Season | Deer checked | Antlered bucks | Button bucks | Does | Firearms | November portion | Archery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,935 | 784 | 212 | 939 | 1,366 | 1,016 | 539 |
| 2024 | 2,117 | 890 | 210 | 1,017 | 1,511 | 1,182 | 570 |
| 2023 | 2,158 | 930 | 215 | 1,013 | 1,576 | 1,346 | 563 |
| 2022 | 2,647 | 1,068 | 318 | 1,261 | 1,906 | 1,637 | 695 |
| 2021 | 2,150 | 939 | 240 | 971 | 1,534 | 591 |
Source: MDC deer harvest summaries (2021 to 2025 seasons), Stoddard 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 Stoddard County?
22,596 of Stoddard County's 530,486 acres are public land open to the public (4.3%). The biggest share is national wildlife refuges: 11,832 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Stoddard County |
|---|---|---|
| National wildlife refuges | 11,832 | 2.2% |
| MDC conservation areas | 10,669 | 2% |
| County, city and regional land | 95 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 22,596 | 4.3% |
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 Stoddard County
MDC lands in Stoddard County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Otter Slough Conservation Area: 4,716 acres
- Duck Creek Conservation Area: 2,609 acres
- Crowleys Ridge Conservation Area: 1,928 acres
- Holly Ridge Conservation Area: 1,012 acres
- Oak Ridge Conservation Area: 249 acres
- Aquilla Access: 88 acres
- Dexter City Lake: 11 acres
Other large public areas here, by PAD-US: Mingo National Wildlife Refuge (11,832 acres).
How do you get to Stoddard County?
Highways through it: US 60 (about 56 miles inside), MO 25 (about 42 miles inside), MO 51 (about 21 miles inside), MO 114 (about 19 miles inside) and MO 91 (about 16 miles inside). Towns inside: Dexter, Bernie, Bloomfield, Advance, Puxico and Bell City. Nearby: Fisk (on the line), Morehouse (on the line), Canalou (on the line) and Parma (on the line).
Which counties border Stoddard County?
Stoddard County touches 7 other counties. Their latest MDC harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land | MRAP land sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scott County | 900 | 2025 | 0.7% | |
| Wayne County | 4,081 | 2025 | 26.6% | |
| Butler County | 1,852 | 2025 | 13.7% | |
| Dunklin County | 496 | 2025 | 2% | |
| Bollinger County | 3,992 | 2025 | 4.3% | |
| New Madrid County | 323 | 2025 | 1.5% | |
| Cape Girardeau County | 3,186 | 2025 | 2.3% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Stoddard County in 2025?
Hunters checked 1,935 deer: 784 antlered bucks, 212 button bucks and 939 does (MDC). In 2024: 2,117.
Is there public hunting land in Stoddard County?
Yes. 22,596 acres, 4.3% of the county, are public land open to the public by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and MDC conservation area boundaries, the largest share national wildlife refuges (11,832 acres). MDC's map shows 7 conservation areas here.
Does Stoddard County have MRAP land?
Not on MDC's MRAP layer of tracts open to hunting.
Get a Missouri hunt plan when they open
Hunt plans for Missouri are coming. Join the list and you'll hear first. The first 50 hunters in each new state get their plan free.
Until then, the free FilledTag app for iPhone has a map that works in every state, Missouri included.
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 Scott County Wayne County Butler County Dunklin County Bollinger County New Madrid County Cape Girardeau County