Wayne County, Missouri: deer harvest and public hunting land
Wayne County covers 774 square miles around Piedmont. Hunters checked 4,081 deer here in the 2025 season, 1,898 of them antlered bucks, by MDC's harvest summary. That is up 52% from 2024, and the most in the 5 years shown. 26.6% of Wayne County is public land open to the public, the largest share national forest (89,970 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 forestFederal land, mostly Corps of Engineers lakesNational wildlife refugesState parks and historic sitesWayne CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 495,380 acres (774 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer checked, 2025 | 4,081 (1,898 antlered bucks, 402 button bucks, 1,781 does) |
| Firearms and archery, 2025 | 3,158 by firearms, 902 by archery |
| Public land | 26.6% (132,017 acres) |
| MDC lands | 13 (23,896 acres inside Wayne County) |
| MRAP land | None mapped this year |
| Towns in and near it | Piedmont, Greenville, Mill Spring, Des Arc, Puxico and Ellsinore |
How many deer are harvested in Wayne County?
Hunters checked 4,081 deer in Wayne County in 2025: 1,898 antlered bucks, 402 button bucks and 1,781 does. By method: 3,158 by firearms (2,699 of them in the November portion) and 902 by archery; the rest came on managed hunts.
| Season | Deer checked | Antlered bucks | Button bucks | Does | Firearms | November portion | Archery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 4,081 | 1,898 | 402 | 1,781 | 3,158 | 2,699 | 902 |
| 2024 | 2,680 | 1,262 | 281 | 1,137 | 1,982 | 1,686 | 677 |
| 2023 | 4,014 | 1,888 | 421 | 1,705 | 3,169 | 2,854 | 828 |
| 2022 | 3,235 | 1,583 | 337 | 1,315 | 2,420 | 2,158 | 784 |
| 2021 | 3,053 | 1,606 | 315 | 1,132 | 2,247 | 788 |
Source: MDC deer harvest summaries (2021 to 2025 seasons), Wayne 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 Wayne County?
132,017 of Wayne County's 495,380 acres are public land open to the public (26.6%). The biggest share is national forest: 89,970 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Wayne County |
|---|---|---|
| National forest | 89,970 | 18.2% |
| MDC conservation areas | 25,376 | 5.1% |
| National wildlife refuges | 9,833 | 2% |
| State parks and historic sites | 6,088 | 1.2% |
| Federal land, mostly Corps of Engineers lakes | 750 | 0.2% |
| All public land open to the public | 132,017 | 26.6% |
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 Wayne County
MDC lands in Wayne County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Coldwater Conservation Area: 11,723 acres
- Graves Mountain Conservation Area: 3,063 acres
- University Forest Conservation Area: 2,597 acres
- Wappapello Lake Management Lands: 1,892 acres
- Duck Creek Conservation Area: 1,570 acres
- Riverside Conservation Area: 1,276 acres
- Flatwoods Conservation Area: 944 acres
- Bradley A. Hammer Memorial Conservation Area: 331 acres
- Yokum School Conservation Area: 160 acres
- Lon Sanders Canyon Conservation Area: 128 acres
- Coldwater Access: 78 acres
- Clearwater Lake Management Lands: 68 acres
- Iron Bridge Access: 66 acres
Other large public areas here, by PAD-US: Mark Twain National Forest (89,975 acres), Mingo National Wildlife Refuge (9,834 acres) and Clearwater Recreation Area (818 acres).
How do you get to Wayne County?
Highways through it: US 67 (about 61 miles inside), MO 34 (about 41 miles inside), MO 49 (about 40 miles inside) and MO 143 (about 12 miles inside). Towns inside: Piedmont, Greenville, Mill Spring and Williamsville. Nearby: Des Arc (on the line), Puxico (2 miles), Ellsinore (3 miles) and Annapolis (6 miles).
Which counties border Wayne County?
Wayne County touches 7 other counties. Their latest MDC harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land | MRAP land sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iron County | 1,903 | 2025 | 31.7% | |
| Butler County | 1,852 | 2025 | 13.7% | |
| Carter County | 2,210 | 2025 | 41.7% | |
| Madison County | 2,892 | 2025 | 17.8% | |
| Reynolds County | 2,746 | 2025 | 30.7% | |
| Stoddard County | 1,935 | 2025 | 4.3% | |
| Bollinger County | 3,992 | 2025 | 4.3% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Wayne County in 2025?
Hunters checked 4,081 deer: 1,898 antlered bucks, 402 button bucks and 1,781 does (MDC). In 2024: 2,680.
Is there public hunting land in Wayne County?
Yes. 132,017 acres, 26.6% 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 (89,970 acres). MDC's map shows 13 conservation areas here.
Does Wayne 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 Iron County Butler County Carter County Madison County Reynolds County Stoddard County Bollinger County