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From the MDC booklets, 2026-27
Missouri Hunting
656 public places from the loess hills to the Bootheel, all 114 counties and the city of St. Louis, 281 base towns, deer rules county by county, the bear zones, the elk counties and all 72 permit rows, each read against Missouri Department of Conservation sources on October 29, 2026.
Photo: Forest Service, Eastern Region (Public Domain Mark 1.0)
Missouri seasons open right now
Drawn from the 64 season rows of the 2026 MDC booklets. Deer rows can depend on the county, bear rows on the management zone and duck rows on the North, Middle or South zone, so check your county; the Today column reads the date on your own device.
Open on Nov 1, 2026 (16 rows)
| Game | Season or portion | Applies in | Opens | Closes | Today |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coyote | Coyote hunting | Statewide | Jan 1, 2026 | Dec 31, 2026 | |
| Groundhog | Groundhog | Statewide | May 11, 2026 | Dec 15, 2026 | |
| Gray Squirrel | Squirrel season | Statewide | May 23, 2026 | Feb 15, 2027 | |
| Wilson's Snipe | Snipe season | Statewide | Sep 1, 2026 | Dec 16, 2026 | |
| Mourning Dove | Dove season | Statewide | Sep 1, 2026 | Nov 29, 2026 | |
| Sora | Rail season | Statewide | Sep 1, 2026 | Nov 9, 2026 | |
| White-tailed Deer | Archery, first part | Statewide | Sep 15, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 | |
| White-tailed Deer | Managed deer hunts | Managed hunt areas | Sep 15, 2026 | Jan 15, 2027 | |
| Wild Turkey | Fall archery | Statewide | Sep 15, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 | |
| Eastern Cottontail | Rabbit hunting | Statewide | Oct 1, 2026 | Feb 15, 2027 | |
| American Woodcock | Woodcock season | Statewide | Oct 18, 2026 | Dec 1, 2026 | |
| Ducks | Regular ducks | North Zone | Oct 31, 2026 | Dec 29, 2026 | |
| Ducks | Youth waterfowl days | Middle Zone | Oct 31, 2026 | Nov 1, 2026 | |
| American Crow | Crow season | Statewide | Nov 1, 2026 | Mar 3, 2027 | |
| Northern Bobwhite Quail | Quail | Statewide | Nov 1, 2026 | Jan 15, 2027 | |
| Ring-necked Pheasant | Pheasant | Statewide | Nov 1, 2026 | Jan 15, 2027 |
The next ten openers
| Game | Season or portion | Applies in | Opens | Closes | Today |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ducks | Ducks, split 1 | Middle Zone | Nov 7, 2026 | Dec 13, 2026 | |
| Canada Goose | Regular geese | Statewide | Nov 11, 2026 | Feb 6, 2027 | |
| White-tailed Deer | Firearms, November | Statewide | Nov 14, 2026 | Nov 24, 2026 | |
| Ducks | Youth waterfowl days | South Zone | Nov 21, 2026 | Nov 22, 2026 | |
| White-tailed Deer | Archery, second part | Statewide | Nov 25, 2026 | Jan 15, 2027 | |
| Wild Turkey | Fall archery, part 2 | Statewide | Nov 25, 2026 | Jan 15, 2027 | |
| Ducks | Ducks, split 1 | South Zone | Nov 26, 2026 | Nov 29, 2026 | |
| White-tailed Deer | Firearms, late youth | Statewide | Nov 27, 2026 | Nov 29, 2026 | |
| White-tailed Deer | Firearms, late antlerless | 100 open counties | Dec 5, 2026 | Dec 13, 2026 | |
| Ducks | Ducks, split 2 | South Zone | Dec 7, 2026 | Jan 31, 2027 |
Trapping, falconry and no-season rows stay on the season and species pages. Sources: deer portions, FDT p. 17; fall turkey, FDT p. 22; 2026 bear digest; 2026 elk digest; waterfowl digest; small game summary, compared with the 2026 booklets on October 29, 2026.
Where Missouri hunters can walk in on public ground
MDC says it administers more than 975,000 acres, and its public areas layer lists 1,049 areas; deer hunting is allowed only on the 562 conservation areas on its deer quick-view list, each with its own methods. The Mark Twain National Forest adds about 1,485,738 acres of Forest Service land by GIS measure, and MRAP opens private tracts to walk-in hunters.
| Public land hub | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Conservation areas, by MDC region | 420 areas |
| Public access areas on rivers and lakes | 74 accesses |
| Corps of Engineers lake lands | 24 MDC-managed, 11 Corps lakes |
| State parks with managed deer hunts | 10 parks |
| Mark Twain NF, refuges, Riverways, Fort Leonard Wood | 8 refuges, 6 districts |
| Natural areas, state forests, towersites | 59 places |
| Access programs | MRAP, dove fields, wetlands |
| MRAP walk-in tracts | 33 private tracts |
| MDC dove fields | 75 dove areas |
| Managed waterfowl wetlands | 13 with the morning draw |
| Statewide land map | 654 pins |
The land hub also lists 557 MDC, state park and federal places that are closed to hunting, with the reason the manager gives. Public land hub
Every land page carries its own source links. Sources: MDC About Us; MDC area deer quick regs; MDC dove areas; managed wetlands, digest p. 28; MRAP page, compared with the 2026 booklets on October 29, 2026.
Every mapped Missouri hunting place on one map
654 places with a map point, from Loess Bluffs and the Grand River marshes in the northwest to Mingo Swamp, the Current River hills and the Bootheel ditches. Larger dots mark the places of 10,000 acres or more.
Missouri deer rules county by county, and the other units
Missouri has no deer units below the county. Each county carries a firearms antlerless fill limit of 0, 1, 2 or 4 deer and is either open or closed for the October and December antlerless portions, while the November portion, Nov 14-24, 2026, runs in every county. Bears are hunted in three management zones, elk in Carter, Reynolds and Shannon counties and ducks in three zones whose lines changed for 2026-2030.
| County rule set | Count |
|---|---|
| Antlerless portions open | 100 counties |
| Antlerless portions closed | 14 counties |
| Mandatory CWD sampling | 28 counties, 50 stations |
| Feed and mineral ban | 85 counties |
| Fall firearms turkey closed | 7 counties |
| No dogs, November portion | 10 counties |
| Black Bear Management Zones | 3 zones, 2,000 permits |
| Elk counties | 3, 5 permits |
| Duck zones | North, Middle, South |
| Managed deer hunts | 141 hunts |
| Conservation area methods | 553 areas |
Removed for 2026: CWD Management Zone removed; CWD portion removed; antler-point restriction removed; four-year mandatory sampling rotation begins. The old CWD portion and antler-point county lists no longer apply anywhere.
Sources: county rules; antlerless limits; CWD counties; bear zones; elk digest, p. 4; duck zones; changes, FDT p. 72, compared with the 2026 booklets on October 29, 2026.
Missouri hunting by the numbers
Hunters Telechecked 301,125 deer in the 2025 permit year, 158,171 of them in the November portion and 62,281 with archery gear. Spring 2026 turkey hunters checked 45,482 birds in the regular season, and MDC counts 938 chronic wasting disease positives in wild deer from 55 counties (as of June 2026).
Acres are a GIS union of public land polygons, not an official acreage; harvest figures are Telechecked harvest as MDC prints it. Sources: 2025 deer harvest summary; 2025 deer season report; 2026 turkey summary; bear harvest; CWD totals, compared with the 2026 booklets on October 29, 2026.
57 Missouri game, furbearer and protected species
Whitetails in every county, spring and fall turkey, bear by drawing in three zones since 2021, elk in three Ozark counties, quail and pheasant from Nov. 1, and ducks and geese on the big river flyways. Mountain Lion, Ruffed Grouse, Sandhill Crane, Black-tailed Jackrabbit and Greater Prairie-chicken have no season, and their pages explain why; feral hogs fall under eradication rules, not a season.
Mule Deer · Mountain Lion · Eastern Cottontail · Swamp Rabbit · Black-tailed Jackrabbit · Gray Squirrel · Fox Squirrel · Groundhog · Ring-necked Pheasant · Ruffed Grouse · Gray Partridge · Greater Prairie-chicken · Bullfrog · Green Frog · Mourning Dove · White-winged Dove · Eurasian Collared-Dove · Sora · Virginia Rail · King Rail · Wilson's Snipe · American Woodcock · Teal · Mergansers · American Coot · Canada Goose · Brant · Greater White-fronted Goose · Snow, Blue and Ross's Geese · Swans · Sandhill Crane · American Crow · Falconry · Raccoon · Virginia Opossum · Striped Skunk · Coyote · Red Fox · Gray Fox · American Badger · Bobcat · Mink · Muskrat · North American River Otter · American Beaver · Nutria · Long-tailed Weasel · Eastern Spotted Skunk · Feral Swine · House Sparrow · European Starling
Eight MDC regions, 115 county pages
MDC runs Missouri from eight regional offices in Cape Girardeau, Columbia, Kirksville, Lee's Summit, Springfield, St. Charles, St. Joseph and West Plains. Pick a county for its antlerless limit, antlerless portion status, CWD and feed rules, bear and duck zones, deer harvest by year and the nearest MDC office.
Northwest Region: the loess hills, the Missouri River bottoms and the Grand River country
Andrew, Atchison, Buchanan, Caldwell, Carroll, Chariton, Clinton, Daviess, DeKalb, Gentry, Grundy, Harrison, Holt, Linn, Livingston, Mercer, Nodaway, Ray, Worth
Northeast Region: the Mississippi River hills, the Salt River and the north Missouri farm country
Adair, Clark, Knox, Lewis, Macon, Marion, Monroe, Pike, Putnam, Ralls, Randolph, Schuyler, Scotland, Shelby, Sullivan
Kansas City Region: the Kansas City metro and the Osage Plains west of the Missouri River bend
Bates, Benton, Cass, Clay, Henry, Jackson, Johnson, Lafayette, Pettis, Platte, St. Clair, Vernon
Central Region: the Missouri River hills around Columbia and Jefferson City and the Lake of the Ozarks
Audrain, Boone, Callaway, Camden, Cole, Cooper, Gasconade, Howard, Maries, Miller, Moniteau, Montgomery, Morgan, Osage, Saline
St. Louis Region: the St. Louis metro, the Missouri and Mississippi River confluence and the Meramec valley
Crawford, Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, St. Charles, St. Louis, St. Louis City, Warren, Washington
Southwest Region: the Springfield Plateau, the western prairies and Table Rock and Stockton lakes
Barry, Barton, Cedar, Christian, Dade, Dallas, Greene, Hickory, Jasper, Laclede, Lawrence, McDonald, Newton, Polk, Stone, Taney, Webster
Ozark Region: the Ozark hills, the Current and Eleven Point rivers and the Mark Twain National Forest
Carter, Dent, Douglas, Howell, Oregon, Ozark, Phelps, Pulaski, Ripley, Shannon, Texas, Wright
Southeast Region: the Bootheel lowlands, the St. Francois Mountains and Mingo Swamp
Bollinger, Butler, Cape Girardeau, Dunklin, Iron, Madison, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscot, Perry, Reynolds, Scott, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve, Stoddard, Wayne
Regions follow county lines. Sources: MDC regions layer; MDC regional offices; MDC offices open to the public, compared with the 2026 booklets on October 29, 2026.
Eight Missouri rules to know before opening day
Permits, not licenses
Residents pay $19.50 for a Firearms Any-Deer permit and $11.50 for small game; nonresidents pay $360 and $108.50.
Notch and Telecheck
Notch the permit at once, then Telecheck deer, turkey, bear and elk by 10 p.m. on the day of harvest, online, in the MO Hunting app or by phone.
Hunter orange
A hunter-orange hat and a shirt, vest or coat, seen from all sides, for nearly everyone afield during the firearms deer portions; camouflage orange does not count.
Bait and the feed ban
No bait for deer, turkey, bear, elk or migratory birds; grain, salt and minerals for deer are banned year-round in 85 counties.
Deer guns
Centerfire rifles and handguns with expanding bullets, slug shotguns, .40-caliber air guns and muzzleloaders, bows and crossbows; no buckshot and no self-loaders holding more than 11 rounds.
Legal hours
Deer, bear and elk from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset; ducks, doves and fall firearms turkey stop at sunset; rabbits keep sunrise to sunset.
Draws and deadlines
Managed deer hunt applications closed July 31; bear and elk drawings take residents only, May 1-31, for a $10 fee. Managed wetlands add a morning draw.
Young hunters and veterans
Youth portions Oct 24-25, 2026 and Nov 27-29, 2026, youth quail and pheasant Oct 24-25, 2026, half-price youth permits, and resident prices for 60% service-disabled veterans.
Sources: permit prices, FDT p. 16; Telecheck, FDT p. 64; hunter orange, FDT p. 4; deer methods, 3 CSR 10-7; hours, FDT p. 71; managed hunts, FDT p. 32; youth, FDT p. 26, compared with the 2026 booklets on October 29, 2026.
Missouri banquets, MDC classes and shooting ranges
102 hunting events are dated from Nov 1, 2026 on, mostly conservation-group banquets, with MDC hunter education skills sessions, youth hunts, field trials and coon hunts among them. MDC runs staffed ranges near St. Louis, Kansas City and Springfield and many unstaffed ranges on conservation areas.
| Date | Event | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 3, 2026 | Hunter Education Skills Session | Macon, Macon County | Class |
| Nov 4, 2026 | Deer Hunting: Intro to Deer Hunting | Park Hills, St. Francois County | Class |
| Nov 4, 2026 | Wild Game Cooking: What's for Dinner? Wild Game | Cape Girardeau, Cape Girardeau County | Class |
| Nov 5, 2026 | Hunter Education Skills Session | Springfield, Greene County | Class |
| Nov 5, 2026 | Hunter Education Skills Session | Parkville, Platte County | Class |
| Nov 5, 2026 | MO State University Dinner | Springfield, Greene County | Banquet |
Who processes, mounts and outfits Missouri hunters
Deer processors
153 listed, 84 of them Share the Harvest processors.
Taxidermists
MDC lists 48 of these 270 shops as voluntary CWD sampling partners.
Preserves and guides
73 hunting preserves and guide services.
Gun and bow shops
501 gun, archery and outdoor shops.
MDC offices
68 offices: headquarters, eight regional offices, nature centers, staffed ranges and area field offices.
All services
Every listing pinned on one statewide map, sorted by distance on request.
Sources: Share the Harvest lookup; MDC CWD partners; MDC permit listing; MDC offices, compared with the 2026 booklets on October 29, 2026.
Missouri hunting questions
How many deer did Missouri hunters check in 2025?
301,125 deer. The highest total in the MDC tables since 2015 is 2023, at 326,448.
Who can hunt black bears in Missouri?
Residents drawn for one of 2,000 permits in Black Bear Management Zones 1, 2 and 3; the 2026 season ran Oct 17-30, 2026 with a combined quota of 60 bears.
Is there an elk season in Missouri?
Yes, for residents drawn for one of 5 permits, in Carter, Reynolds and Shannon counties outside the Peck Ranch refuge: archery Oct 17-25, 2026 and firearms Dec 12-20, 2026.
Are Missouri state parks open to deer hunters?
Only through MDC managed deer hunts by drawing; 10 parks hold one in 2026-27, and the rest are closed to hunting.
How much do out-of-state deer hunters pay in Missouri?
$360 for a Firearms Any-Deer permit or an Archer's permit; together the two allow only one antlered deer.
About how many acres can Missouri hunters use without asking a landowner?
Public land polygons add up to about 3,003,935 acres by GIS measure: conservation areas and other MDC land, the Mark Twain National Forest, Corps of Engineers lake land, refuges, the Ozark National Scenic Riverways and state parks. MRAP private tracts come on top.
When does the 2026 November firearms deer portion open?
Nov 14, 2026, statewide, through Nov 24, 2026. The antlerless portions run Oct 9-11, 2026 and Dec 5-13, 2026 in the 100 open counties, and the alternative methods portion runs Dec 26, 2026-Jan 5, 2027.
Does Missouri allow hunting on a Sunday?
Yes. Neither the Wildlife Code nor the MDC booklets restrict Sunday hunting, and seasons run straight through the weekend.
Is it legal to hunt deer over bait in Missouri?
No. Grain or other feed placed to attract deer or turkeys is bait, and an area stays baited for 10 days after it is removed. Feed and minerals for deer are banned year-round in 85 counties.
What changed for the 2026 deer season?
CWD Management Zone removed; CWD portion removed; antler-point restriction removed; four-year mandatory sampling rotation begins. Mandatory CWD sampling runs Nov. 14-15 in 28 counties.
Plan a Missouri season
Start with a county for its antlerless limit, portion status, CWD rules and public land, or with a town for the nearest conservation area, a processor and a range down the road.
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