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2026-27 · Fall Deer and Turkey rules

Carter County Hunting

Carter County under the 2026-27 MDC rules: a firearms antlerless fill limit of 1 deer, antlerless portions closed, 2,210 deer Telechecked in 2025, 132,965 mapped public acres and the nearest MDC office.

Rules for 2026 Mapped land Telecheck totals

1 deerFirearms antlerless

ClosedAntlerless portions

Nov. 14-15CWD sampling

2Bear zone

Elk countyElk

South / MiddleDuck zone

Photo: Gyrfalk (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The 2026 county row for Carter County

Census maps give Carter County 507 square miles of land; Van Buren is the county seat. Its population estimate for 2024 stands at 5,359, a 3.0% rise from 2020. In Carter County the county fill limit on firearms antlerless permits is 1 deer. Carter County is one of the 14 counties closed during both antlerless portions, so there is no Oct. 9-11 or Dec. 5-13 firearms hunting here. Mandatory CWD sampling applies in Carter County on Nov. 14-15, 2026: take the deer or its head to a station on the day of harvest, with the hunter present. Carter County is on the November dog rule list: no dogs for rabbit or squirrel hunting in daylight Nov. 14-24.

County rule	Status	When
Firearms antlerless fill limit	1 deer	All firearms portions
Antlerless portions	Closed	Oct. 9-11, Dec. 5-13
Mandatory CWD sampling	Nov. 14-15	Day of harvest
Feed and mineral ban	No	Year-round
Share the Harvest test	Not required	Before donating
November dog rule	Yes	November portion, daylight
Fall firearms turkey	Open	Oct. 1-31
Elk hunting county	Yes	Carter, Reynolds, Shannon
Black Bear Management Zone	2	Oct. 17-30, by permit
Waterfowl zone (map layer)	South / Middle	2021-2025 layer
SE flood closure zone	None	Gauge-based
CWD portion	Removed	Gone for 2026
Antler-point restriction	Removed	Gone for 2026

Carter County sampling sites

Site	Town	Address	Link
Van Buren MODOT Facility	Van Buren	9721 Hwy. 60	Pin
USFS Pinewoods Lake	Ellsinore	31620 Hwy. 60	Pin

County rules from the 2026 Fall Deer and Turkey booklet county table, the Wildlife Code 3 CSR 10-7 (antlerless limits and portions), CWD rules and stations, fall turkey counties, dog rule, bear digest, waterfowl digest. Checked October 29, 2026.

Nearby

Places to hunt and shoot around Carter County

Hunting Near Van Buren, Missouri

Town · 6 mi from Carter County

Directions

Carter Creek Conservation Area

Public land · 6 mi from Carter County

Directions

Hunting Near Hunter, Missouri

Town · 7 mi from Carter County

Directions

Hunting Near Fremont, Missouri

Town · 12 mi from Carter County

Directions

Doniphan / Eleven Point Ranger District (Mark Twain National Forest)

Public land · 15 mi from Carter County

Directions

Clearwater Lake Management Lands

Public land · 19 mi from Carter County

Directions

Harvest trend for Carter County deer

In 2025, 2,210 deer from Carter County went through Telecheck; antlered bucks made up 47% of them. The year before, 2024, ended at 1,539 (+44% change). Across 11 permit years the peak came in 2023 (2,942) and the low in 2024 (1,539). That total ranks 77th among 114 Missouri counties for 2025. 59% of the 2025 deer came during the November portion and 25% with archery tackle.

Permit year	Antlered	Button	Doe	Sum
2025	1,036	218	956	2,210
2024	757	165	617	1,539
2023	1,276	260	1,406	2,942
2022	941	199	712	1,852
2021	910	181	704	1,795
2020	1,261	264	1,018	2,543
2019	867	227	817	1,911
2018	1,266	298	1,100	2,664
2017	1,106	264	856	2,226
2016	1,204	276	908	2,388
2015	1,049	260	900	2,209

For 2017 to 2019, managed hunt deer are missing from county totals because MDC printed no county table for them.

Which portions produced Carter County deer

Portion	2024	2025
Archery	387	562
Early youth	100	148
Opening weekend*	440	627
November portion	943	1,301
Late youth	16	11
Alternative methods	57	94
Managed hunts	36	94

* The opening weekend row is a subset of November.

4.5Harvest density

8.4Gun hunters/sq mi

2.8Bowhunters/sq mi

4.6Ozark deer/sq mi

For 2025 MDC measured 4.5 deer per square mile in Carter County (4.6 regionwide).

White-tailed deer moving through autumn woods

Telechecked harvest from the MDC 2025 deer harvest summary and earlier deer harvest summaries (2015-2025); density from the 2025 Missouri Deer Season Summary and Population Status Report. Checked October 29, 2026.

Carter County managed hunts and zones

Managed hunt draws in Carter County

Ozark National Scenic Riverways — Big Spring Area, Ozark National Scenic Riverways — Big Spring Area Exceptional Warrior Mobility Impaired Hunt (573-323-4929) and Peck Ranch CA — Inside Fenced Portion hold 5 managed hunts this season; hunters were drawn from applications taken July 1-31, 2026.

Hunt	Location	Type	Dates	Drawn	Bag
63	Peck Ranch CA — Inside Fenced Portion	Archery	Nov. 4–8	175	2, 1 antlered
86	Peck Ranch CA — Inside Fenced Portion	Muzzleloader	Dec. 5–6	200	2, 1 antlered
117	Ozark National Scenic Riverways — Big Spring Area	Youth – Firearms	Dec. 5–6	10	3, 1 antlered
118	Peck Ranch CA — Inside Fenced Portion	Youth – Firearms	Oct. 10–11	65	1 either sex
None	Ozark National Scenic Riverways — Big Spring Area Exceptional Warrior Mobility Impaired Hunt (573-323-4929)	Disabled hunters – Firearms	Oct. 31–Nov. 1	10	2, 1 antlered

Carter County and the bear zones

Bear hunting reaches Carter County through Zone 2; residents applied for permits in May, and the season is Oct. 17-30, 2026.

Zone	Share of county	Permits 2026	Quota 2026
Zone 2	100%	750	22

Year	Statewide bears
2021	12
2022	8
2023	12
2024	15
2025	9

Carter County in the elk zone

Only 5 elk permits were issued for 2026, valid in Carter County and the other two elk counties outside the Peck Ranch refuge.

Portion	Dates
Archery portion	Oct 17–Oct 25
Firearms portion	Dec 12–Dec 20

Year	Elk taken statewide
2022	3
2025	3

Waterfowl dates in Carter County

MDC's map layer places Carter County in the South Zone and Middle Zone; zone lines changed for 2026-2030.

Season	Zone	Dates
Ducks, split 1	Middle	Nov 7–Dec 13
Ducks, split 2	Middle	Dec 19–Jan 10
Ducks, split 1	South	Nov 26–Nov 29
Ducks, split 2	South	Dec 7–Jan 31

Managed hunt list Zone maps

Managed hunts from the 2026 managed deer hunt tables; bear from the 2026 Black Bear Hunting Digest and MDC bear reports; elk from the 2026 Elk Hunting Digest; waterfowl and wetlands from the 2026-2027 Migratory Bird and Waterfowl Digest. Checked October 29, 2026.

Every 2026-27 season that reaches Carter County

Rows that depend on county lists (antlerless portions, fall firearms turkey, bear, elk, duck zones) are already filtered for Carter County.

Species	Window	Reach	From	Through
White-tailed deer	Archery, first part	Statewide	Sep 15, 2026	Nov 13, 2026
White-tailed deer	Firearms, early youth	Statewide	Oct 24, 2026	Oct 25, 2026
White-tailed deer	Firearms, November	Statewide	Nov 14, 2026	Nov 24, 2026
White-tailed deer	Archery, second part	Statewide	Nov 25, 2026	Jan 15, 2027
White-tailed deer	Firearms, late youth	Statewide	Nov 27, 2026	Nov 29, 2026
White-tailed deer	Firearms, alternative methods	Statewide	Dec 26, 2026	Jan 5, 2027
Black bear	Bear, zone 2	Bear zone 2	Oct 17, 2026	Oct 30, 2026
Elk	Archery portion	Elk zone	Oct 17, 2026	Oct 25, 2026
Elk	Firearms portion	Elk zone	Dec 12, 2026	Dec 20, 2026
Wild turkey	Fall archery	Statewide	Sep 15, 2026	Nov 13, 2026
Wild turkey	Fall firearms	Open county	Oct 1, 2026	Oct 31, 2026
Wild turkey	Fall archery, part 2	Statewide	Nov 25, 2026	Jan 15, 2027
Bobwhite quail	Youth quail	Statewide	Oct 24, 2026	Oct 25, 2026
Bobwhite quail	Quail	Statewide	Nov 1, 2026	Jan 15, 2027
Pheasant	Youth pheasant	Statewide	Oct 24, 2026	Oct 25, 2026
Pheasant	Pheasant	Statewide	Nov 1, 2026	Jan 15, 2027
Rabbits	Rabbit hunting	Statewide	Oct 1, 2026	Feb 15, 2027
Squirrels	Squirrel season	Statewide	May 23, 2026	Feb 15, 2027
Woodcock	Woodcock season	Statewide	Oct 18, 2026	Dec 1, 2026
Doves	Dove season	Statewide	Sep 1, 2026	Nov 29, 2026
Teal	September teal	Statewide	Sep 12, 2026	Sep 20, 2026
Youth waterfowl	Youth waterfowl days	Middle Zone	Oct 31, 2026	Nov 1, 2026
Youth waterfowl	Youth waterfowl days	South Zone	Nov 21, 2026	Nov 22, 2026
Ducks and coots	Ducks, split 1	Middle Zone	Nov 7, 2026	Dec 13, 2026
Ducks and coots	Ducks, split 1	South Zone	Nov 26, 2026	Nov 29, 2026
Ducks and coots	Ducks, split 2	South Zone	Dec 7, 2026	Jan 31, 2027
Ducks and coots	Ducks, split 2	Middle Zone	Dec 19, 2026	Jan 10, 2027
Early Canada goose	Early Canada goose	Statewide	Oct 3, 2026	Oct 11, 2026
Geese	Regular geese	Statewide	Nov 11, 2026	Feb 6, 2027
Light geese	Conservation order	Statewide	Feb 7, 2027	Apr 30, 2027
Coyote	Coyote hunting	Statewide	Jan 1, 2026	Dec 31, 2026
Groundhog	Groundhog	Statewide	May 11, 2026	Dec 15, 2026
Bullfrogs and green frogs	Frogging	Statewide	Jun 30, 2026	Oct 31, 2026
Raccoon, opossum, skunk	Hunt and trap, early	Statewide	Aug 1, 2026	Oct 15, 2026
Rails	Rail season	Statewide	Sep 1, 2026	Nov 9, 2026
Snipe	Snipe season	Statewide	Sep 1, 2026	Dec 16, 2026
Crow	Crow season	Statewide	Nov 1, 2026	Mar 3, 2027
Badger and foxes	Hunting and trapping	Statewide	Nov 15, 2026	Jan 31, 2027
Bobcat	Hunting and trapping	Statewide	Nov 15, 2026	Feb 28, 2027
Raccoon, opossum, skunk	Hunt and trap, main	Statewide	Nov 15, 2026	Feb 28, 2027

Duck zone lines changed for 2026-2030; counties shown by zone come from the MDC zone layer, so check the digest map near a line.

From the 2026 Fall Deer and Turkey Hunting Regulations, the 2026-2027 Migratory Bird and Waterfowl Digest and the 2026 hunting and trapping summary (Missouri Department of Conservation), checked October 29, 2026.

Turkeys and CWD testing in Carter County

Spring 2026 turkey hunters checked 152 birds in Carter County during the regular season, after 18 in the youth season. The best spring since 2016 was 2025 with 282. The fall 2025 count was 21 birds across both portions. Fall 2026 is still under way or unreported, and the spring 2027 season has no published dates yet.

Year	Youth days	Spring season	Fall gun	Fall bow
2026	18	152	—	—
2025	21	282	13	8
2024	13	182	2	2
2023	14	194	22	40
2022	14	152	11	11
2021	11	140	8	10
2020	11	161	2	17
2019	10	137	3	6
2018	11	204	4	16
2017	18	214	9	6
2016	25	243	35	22

Carter County CWD record

MDC's CWD dashboard records 803 samples from Carter County across the sample years shown, with 0 positives. No CWD detection is on record for Carter County.

Sample year	Samples	Positives
2026-27	16	0
2025-26	70	0
2024-25	65	0
2023-24	111	0
2022-23	101	0
2021-22	70	0
2020-21	89	0
2019-20	95	0
2018-19	90	0
2017-18	69	0
2016-17	27	0

Turkey harvest from the MDC 2026 turkey harvest summary and earlier turkey harvest summaries; CWD from the MDC CWD sampling results layers and the MDC CWD page. Checked October 29, 2026.

Public areas you can hunt in Carter County

132,965Public acres (GIS)

28,658MDC acres

89,522National forest acres

14,954Riverways acres

5 public areas inside Carter County make our Missouri list, with Ozark National Scenic Riverways the largest at 80,546 acres. Mapped public land adds up to about 132,965 acres, or 40.9% of Carter County. The Mark Twain National Forest share is roughly 89,522 acres. 2 other public places here allow no hunting.

Area	Acres	Deer allowed	Antlerless	Plus
Ozark National Scenic Riverways · National scenic riverway	80,546	—	—	2 managed hunts
Peck Ranch CA · Conservation area	29,567	Archery and firearms	archery antlerless	3 managed hunts
Current River CA · Conservation area	29,371	Archery and firearms	antlerless OK	—
Carter Creek CA · Conservation area	407	Archery and firearms	archery antlerless	—
Hunter Towersite · Towersite	75	Archery and firearms	archery antlerless	—

Doniphan / Eleven Point Ranger District (Mark Twain National Forest) · Mark Twain National Forest · Poplar Bluff Ranger District (Mark Twain National Forest)

Close to Carter County, across the line

Clearwater CA13 miles · 11,211 ac · Reynolds County
Little Black CA16 miles · 3,093 ac · Ripley County
Clearwater Lake (Corps)18 miles · Reynolds County and Wayne County
Clearwater Lake Lands19 miles · 12,659 ac · Reynolds County and Wayne County
Mudpuppy CA20 miles · 1,404 ac · Ripley County
Bradley A. Hammer Memorial CA21 miles · 344 ac · Wayne County

Public land hub Area deer and turkey rules

Areas from our Missouri land list (MDC area pages and the MDC area deer quick regs, USFS, USFWS, Corps and NPS records); acres by kind from MDC, USFS, USFWS, PAD-US and NPS GIS layers (GIS measures, not official acreages); MRAP from the MDC MRAP program. Checked October 29, 2026.

Who serves Carter County hunters

For regional questions, Carter County hunters call the Ozark office in West Plains at (417) 256-7161. The office nearest Carter County is Twin Pines Conservation Center (20 miles).

Ozark Regional Office — West Plains

Ozark Regional Office · 551 Joe Jones Blvd, West Plains, 65775

(417) 256-7161 Navigate Write

Twin Pines Conservation Center — Winona

Closest public office · 20086 Highway 60, Winona, 65588

(573) 469-0897 Navigate

Towns in Carter County

Van Burenpop. 775 · seat
Ellsinorepop. 417
FremontCDP
HunterCDP

Carter County deer processing and gear

Businesses inside the county come first, then those just across the line.

Bjg Meat Co LLC — Grandin

Grandin, Carter County · MDC permit holder

(573) 714-5869 Pin Online

Good's Deer Processing — Doniphan

Doniphan, Ripley County · 12 mi from mid-county · CWD sampling partner

(573) 727-4954 Pin

Gold Buckle Meats LLC — Fairdealing

Fairdealing, Ripley County · MDC permit holder

(573) 996-4169 Pin Online

County Line Taxidermy LLC — Ellsinore

Ellsinore, Carter County · 16 mi from mid-county · CWD sampling partner

(573) 429-2292 Pin

Mr. Big Horn's Taxidermy — Poplar Bluff

Poplar Bluff, Butler County · 17 mi from mid-county

(573) 998-2590 Pin Online

Legacy Firearms — Doniphan

Doniphan, Ripley County · 24 mi from mid-county

(573) 996-3928 Pin Online

After 5 Archery Range — Piedmont

Piedmont, Wayne County

(573) 223-2739 Pin Online

Baker Bucks, LLC — Ellsinore

Ellsinore, Carter County · MDC permit holder

(573) 714-2517 Pin Online

Counties that border Carter County

Offices from MDC offices open to the public; services from MDC lists and directories as tagged; towns from Census 2024. Checked October 29, 2026.

Events on file for Carter County

This county shows 1 upcoming event; kinds are youth managed deer hunt.

Coming up

Held on	Event	Where held	Link	Checked at
Dec 5–6, 2026	Ozark National Scenic Riverways (Big Spring Area) Youth Managed Deer Hunt 2026 · youth managed deer hunt	Ozark National Scenic Riverways — Carter County	Event details	Source, checked 10/29/2026

Events across the state Youth and Mentored Hunts

Know a nearby date that is not here? Send it in

Carter County ranges and shoot dates

Up to six Carter County ranges appear as cards; any more are in the table below.

Peck Ranch Conservation Area
Shooting Range

MDC unstaffed range

Fremont, Carter County

Offers static archery, rifle/pistol

Public, free · source: mdc.mo.gov

Call 573-469-0897

Map pin

MDC page

The surrounding counties have 8.

All ranges

Shooting events

Ranges from MDC area pages and its Shooting Ranges layer, the operators’ own sites and directory listings, checked October 29, 2026.

Carter County legal shooting light

For ducks, geese and doves in Carter County the day ends at sunset; deer, bear and elk hunters get another half hour.

Date	Season point	Sunrise	Sunset	Deer, bear, elk	Ducks, doves, geese
Sep 1, 2026	Dove opener	6:33 a.m.	7:34 p.m.	6:03 a.m. to 8:04 p.m.	6:03 a.m. to 7:34 p.m.
Sep 15, 2026	Archery opener	6:45 a.m.	7:12 p.m.	6:15 a.m. to 7:42 p.m.	6:15 a.m. to 7:12 p.m.
Oct 1, 2026	Fall firearms turkey	7:00 a.m.	6:46 p.m.	6:30 a.m. to 7:16 p.m.	6:30 a.m. to 6:46 p.m.
Nov 7, 2026	Middle Zone ducks	6:37 a.m.	4:57 p.m.	6:07 a.m. to 5:27 p.m.	6:07 a.m. to 4:57 p.m.
Nov 14, 2026	November firearms opener	6:45 a.m.	4:51 p.m.	6:15 a.m. to 5:21 p.m.	6:15 a.m. to 4:51 p.m.
Dec 26, 2026	Alternative methods	7:20 a.m.	4:49 p.m.	6:50 a.m. to 5:19 p.m.	6:50 a.m. to 4:49 p.m.
Jan 15, 2027	Archery close	7:20 a.m.	5:07 p.m.	6:50 a.m. to 5:37 p.m.	6:50 a.m. to 5:07 p.m.

Lights are allowed only for treed furbearers and coyotes in set periods.

Hours rule and the Jefferson City sunrise and sunset table from the MDC Migratory Bird and Waterfowl Digest (same table in the Fall Deer and Turkey booklet), adjusted 1 minute per 13.5 miles east or west as MDC directs; checked October 29, 2026. Legal hours for every county.