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Buchanan County · Conservation area
Bluffwoods Conservation Area hunting
Seasons, methods and access for this conservation area in Buchanan County.
Photo: Tim Kiser (w:User:Malepheasant) (CC BY-SA 2.5)
Getting to Bluffwoods Conservation Area
Bluffwoods Conservation Area profile
Buchanan County is home to the 2,281 acres of Bluffwoods Conservation Area. In acreage it places 1st among 11 conservation areas in Buchanan County. Management sits with MDC: Loess Hills district, Northwest Region.
When hunting is slow, Bluffwoods Conservation Area offers trails (hiking) and camping (designated camping sites, individual campsites), per MDC.
In the agency's words: The Bluffwoods and Goodell Conservation Areas are located just nine miles south of St. Joseph in the Missouri River loess hills in southwestern Buchanan County. Bluffwoods was acquired in the mid-1970s for the purpose of providing a wide range of outdoor recreational opportunities and to maintain a portion of the last remaining oak-hickory forested areas in northwest Missouri. The forest on Bluffwoods is home to several different kinds of trees as one would expect including: northern red oak, chinkapin oak, basswood, black walnut, pawpaw and the spectacular fall color of the sugar maples. Other woodland plants that can be found include Adam and Eve orchids and showy orchids. The remaining acres on Bluffwoods consist of a mix of old crop fields, abandoned pasturelands, and homesteads (no structures remain) and a few native grass openings, likely remnants of dry loess hill prairies. Steep bluffs adjacent to the Missouri River valley provide numerous vantage points for scenic views that can be accessed by service roads and trail loops.
Species on the record: Deer, Turkey, Rabbit, Squirrel.
From the agency record (Missouri Department of Conservation); checked October 29, 2026.
Nearby
Places to hunt and shoot around Bluffwoods Conservation Area
Bluffwoods Conservation Area methods and area rules
Methods for Bluffwoods Conservation Area come from the MDC area page and the deer quick view.
| Quarry | Methods | Permits |
|---|---|---|
| White-tailed Deer | Archery and firearms | Not allowed |
| Wild Turkey | Archery and firearms | – |
| Eastern Cottontail | Statewide methods | – |
| Gray Squirrel | Statewide methods | – |
Plan on archery and firearms for deer at Bluffwoods Conservation Area; antlerless permits may not be used. For turkey, MDC allows archery and firearms on Bluffwoods Conservation Area. Antlerless code C applies to Bluffwoods Conservation Area, so antlerless permits not allowed. MDC limits deer hunting on its areas to the listed ones, and Bluffwoods Conservation Area is listed.
Sources: area page, area regulations, deer quick view; booklet table: 2026 Fall Deer and Turkey booklet, pp. 42-55. Checked October 29, 2026.
Buchanan County rules on Bluffwoods Conservation Area
| County rule | Buchanan County |
|---|---|
| Firearms antlerless limit | 4 deer |
| Antlerless portions | Open |
| CWD sampling Nov. 14-15 | Mandatory |
| Feed and mineral ban | No |
| Share the Harvest CWD test | No |
| Fall firearms turkey | Open |
| Dogs, November portion | No rule |
| Elk county | No |
| Bear zone | None |
| Duck zone | North / Middle |
For deer, Buchanan County sets the rules on Bluffwoods Conservation Area: firearms antlerless limit 4. Antlerless portions: open in October and December for Buchanan County. Mandatory CWD sampling applies in Buchanan County on opening weekend of the November portion (1 station in the county). No CWD portion, no CWD Management Zone and no antler-point restriction this season.
- Agency Community Center, 11351 Hwy. Ff SE., Agency
2026 Fall Deer and Turkey booklet county rules, MDC CWD rules and 2026 bear digest; checked October 29, 2026.
Open dates on Bluffwoods Conservation Area
Open-now status is in the last column; 13 rows apply to Bluffwoods Conservation Area.
| Quarry | Season | Where | Opening | Closing | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White-tailed deer | Archery, first part | Statewide | Sep 15, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 | |
| White-tailed deer | Firearms, early antlerless | Antlerless county | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 11, 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, late antlerless | Antlerless county | Dec 5, 2026 | Dec 13, 2026 | |
| White-tailed deer | Firearms, alternative methods | Statewide | Dec 26, 2026 | Jan 5, 2027 | |
| 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 | |
| Rabbits | Rabbit hunting | Statewide | Oct 1, 2026 | Feb 15, 2027 | |
| Squirrels | Squirrel season | Statewide | May 23, 2026 | Feb 15, 2027 |
Archery deer is closed during the November firearms portion, Nov. 14-24.
From the 2026 Fall Deer and Turkey booklet, the 2026-2027 waterfowl digest and the 2026 hunting and trapping summary (Missouri Department of Conservation); checked October 29, 2026. All Missouri seasons.
Buchanan County deer and turkey harvest near Bluffwoods Conservation Area
County-level data from MDC.
MDC reports deer harvest by county, not by area: Buchanan County checked 867 deer in the 2025 permit year, 3% more than in 2024. Public land gave up 13 of the 125 spring 2026 turkeys in Buchanan County. CWD samples from Buchanan County turned up 0 positives in recent years.
| Season | Antlered bucks | Button bucks | Does | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 460 | 54 | 353 | 867 |
| 2024 | 467 | 54 | 323 | 844 |
| 2023 | 488 | 59 | 343 | 890 |
| 2022 | 479 | 65 | 317 | 861 |
| 2021 | 473 | 52 | 282 | 807 |
| 2020 | 479 | 51 | 279 | 809 |
| Year | Spring | Public land | Youth | Fall firearms | Fall archery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 125 | 13 | 9 | – | – |
| 2025 | 127 | 12 | 8 | 3 | 1 |
| 2024 | 124 | 11 | 15 | 2 | 2 |
| 2023 | 115 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 4 |
| 2022 | 94 | – | 5 | 4 | 3 |
| 2021 | 91 | – | 5 | 6 | 4 |
| Year | Deer tested | Positive |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 19 | 0 |
| 2024 | 25 | 0 |
| 2023 | 36 | 0 |
| 2022 | 30 | 0 |
| 2021 | 25 | 0 |
MDC 2025 deer harvest summary, MDC turkey harvest summaries and MDC CWD dashboard; earlier years from the yearly reports. Checked October 29, 2026.
Bluffwoods Conservation Area and nearby public land, mapped
Bluffwoods Conservation Area – Goodell Memorial Annex (2.8 mi, northeast) tops the neighbor list for Bluffwoods Conservation Area, measured as the crow flies.
| Neighbor | Category | Acreage | County | Distance | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluffwoods CA – Goodell Memorial Annex | Conservation area | 63 | Buchanan | 2.8 mi | northeast |
| Wilfrid V. and Anna C. Kneib Memorial CA | Conservation area | 40 | Buchanan | 6.1 mi | north |
| Pigeon Hill CA | Conservation area | 419 | Buchanan | 8.9 mi | east |
| Bee Creek CA | Conservation area | 109 | Buchanan | 9.7 mi | southeast |
| Little Bean Marsh CA | Conservation area | 440 | Platte | 10.0 mi | southwest |
| Arthur DuPree Memorial CA | Conservation area | 236 | Buchanan | 11 mi | north |
| Agency CA | Conservation area | 94 | Buchanan | 11 mi | east |
| Belcher Branch Lake CA | Conservation area | 405 | Buchanan | 12 mi | east |
Points: MDC Conservation Area Centroids layer (https://gisblue.mdc.mo.gov/arcgis/rest/services/Discover_Nature/MDC_Administrative_Areas/FeatureServer/4). Straight-line distances. Statewide public land map.
Getting supplies near Bluffwoods Conservation Area
Nearest town with its own page: Faucett, 8.0 mi. For a hardware store or a motel, St. Joseph (71,098 people) is 11 mi away. Getting there, per MDC: From St. Joseph, take Highway 59 south 8 miles, then east on Bethel Road 0.60 mile to area entrance. The closest MDC office on file is Northwest Regional Office, about 13 mi from Bluffwoods Conservation Area.
| Place | County | Population | Distance | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Faucett | Buchanan | – | 8.0 mi | east |
| St. Joseph | Buchanan | 71,098 | 11 mi | northeast |
| Tracy | Platte | 319 | 19 mi | southeast |
| Platte City | Platte | 4,867 | 21 mi | southeast |
| Savannah | Andrew | 5,076 | 22 mi | north |
Towns from places.json (Census 2024); offices and businesses from services.json (MDC offices and business listings, chain stores and permit vendors left out); straight-line miles. Checked October 29, 2026.
Bluffwoods Conservation Area hunting hours on key dates
MDC prints one sunrise and sunset table for Jefferson City and tells hunters to adjust it by 1 minute for every 13.5 miles east or west. For Bluffwoods Conservation Area that means add 11 minutes.
| Date | Opener or close | Sunrise | Sunset | Deer | Migratory |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1, 2026 | Dove opener | 6:49 a.m. | 7:50 p.m. | 6:19 a.m. to 8:20 p.m. | 6:19 a.m. to 7:50 p.m. |
| Sep 15, 2026 | Archery opener | 7:01 a.m. | 7:28 p.m. | 6:31 a.m. to 7:58 p.m. | 6:31 a.m. to 7:28 p.m. |
| Oct 1, 2026 | Fall firearms turkey | 7:16 a.m. | 7:02 p.m. | 6:46 a.m. to 7:32 p.m. | 6:46 a.m. to 7:02 p.m. |
| Nov 7, 2026 | Middle Zone ducks | 6:53 a.m. | 5:13 p.m. | 6:23 a.m. to 5:43 p.m. | 6:23 a.m. to 5:13 p.m. |
| Nov 14, 2026 | November firearms opener | 7:01 a.m. | 5:07 p.m. | 6:31 a.m. to 5:37 p.m. | 6:31 a.m. to 5:07 p.m. |
| Dec 26, 2026 | Alternative methods | 7:36 a.m. | 5:05 p.m. | 7:06 a.m. to 5:35 p.m. | 7:06 a.m. to 5:05 p.m. |
| Jan 15, 2027 | Archery close | 7:36 a.m. | 5:23 p.m. | 7:06 a.m. to 5:53 p.m. | 7:06 a.m. to 5:23 p.m. |
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.
Bluffwoods Conservation Area hunters: public range and clubs
Platte County has the public range nearest Bluffwoods Conservation Area: Platte Falls Conservation Area Archery Range (20 miles). Two club ranges follow.
From MDC area pages and the MDC Shooting Ranges layer, the operators’ pages and directory listings, checked October 29, 2026.
Photo strip for Bluffwoods Conservation Area
Bluffwoods Conservation Area hunter FAQ
Is Bluffwoods Conservation Area good for fall turkey?
Turkey is archery and firearms; fall firearms is open.
Bluffwoods Conservation Area shooting hours for the November opener?
Roughly 6:31 a.m. until 5:37 p.m., worked out for this spot.
Bluffwoods Conservation Area crowded: where next?
In order of distance: Bluffwoods Conservation Area – Goodell Memorial Annex (2.8 mi), Wilfrid V. and Anna C. Kneib Memorial Conservation Area (6.1 mi) and Pigeon Hill Conservation Area (8.9 mi).
Nearest town with services to Bluffwoods Conservation Area?
Faucett (Buchanan County), about 8.0 mi away.
Bluffwoods Conservation Area: size and manager?
The record lists 2,281 acres; Missouri Department of Conservation is in charge.
Can hunters camp on Bluffwoods Conservation Area?
Hours are not posted; campsites are listed.
Is there an area permit for Bluffwoods Conservation Area?
Missouri permits for the game you hunt; deer need an Archer's or Firearms permit, migratory birds a Migratory Bird permit.
May the public hunt at Bluffwoods Conservation Area?
Open for deer, turkey, rabbit and squirrel, with the methods shown in the rules section.
What deer methods are allowed on Bluffwoods Conservation Area?
The deer rule is archery and firearms. Antlerless permits are not allowed.
Which antlerless rule covers Bluffwoods Conservation Area?
Missouri sets it by county; Buchanan County allows 4 on firearms permits. Antlerless portions are open.
Is deer feeding banned near Bluffwoods Conservation Area?
CWD rules in Buchanan County: sampling mandatory Nov. 14-15, feed ban no.
Bluffwoods Conservation Area final checklist
Signs on the ground outrank any web page; look for posted refuge and closed zones on Bluffwoods Conservation Area.
Sources: source · source · source · source; regulations from the 2026 Fall Deer and Turkey booklet. Checked October 29, 2026.
Other photos on this page: Jack Flanagan (CC BY 2.0); USFWS Midwest Region (Public Domain Mark 1.0); USFWS Midwest Region (Public Domain Mark 1.0).