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Conservation area · Missouri 2026-27
Pigeon Hill Conservation Area hunting
A 2026-27 hunter guide to this conservation area in Buchanan County, 419 acres.
Photo: Tim Kiser (w:User:Malepheasant) (CC BY-SA 2.5)
Getting to Pigeon Hill Conservation Area
Parking, trailheads and gates near Pigeon Hill Conservation Area
- Parking areaParking · 3.4 mi from the centreDirections
- Parking areaParking · 3.4 mi from the centreDirections
Parking, trailhead and gate locations come from OpenStreetMap contributors. Roads into public land can be gated or seasonal; check with the managing agency before you go.
Pigeon Hill Conservation Area profile
Expect about 419 acres of public ground at Pigeon Hill Conservation Area, Buchanan County. By size it ranks 3rd of the 11 conservation areas we list in Buchanan County. MDC manages it from the Loess Hills district of the Northwest Region.
What the area page says about it: Note: This area is closed until further notice The Conservation Department purchased land for this area in 1967 in part with Pittman-Robertson funds from the federal excise tax on sporting arms and ammunition. Thearea includesupland hardwood forestand old field habitat or cropland. Target shooting is popular on the area. All ranges are unstaffed. The archery target area providesa sight-in range. The area also features a rifle range, a pistol range, and a shotgun range. The public firearms range offers a 25-, 50- and 100-yard target area.
Listed game: Deer, Turkey, Rabbit, Squirrel.
From the agency record (Missouri Department of Conservation); checked October 29, 2026.
Nearby
Places to hunt and shoot around Pigeon Hill Conservation Area
Pigeon Hill Conservation Area: methods MDC allows
The rules below are what MDC lists for Pigeon Hill Conservation Area on top of statewide seasons.
| Game | Allowed methods | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| White-tailed Deer | Muzzleloader, archery | Archery only |
| Wild Turkey | Archery and firearms | – |
| Eastern Cottontail | Statewide methods | – |
| Gray Squirrel | Statewide methods | – |
Area-specific Code rules, Pigeon Hill Conservation Area
- An unstaffed range is located on this department area. Target shooting is not allowed anywhere on this area except for designated shooting range(s).
- Shooting hours are one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset. Ranges may be closed to public use at any time for maintenance or department sponsored events or programs.
- Possession of alcoholic beverages is prohibited on all ranges and associated parking lots.
- Groups of more than 10 people must obtain a special use permit prior to using the range. To obtain a special use permit, contact the area manager at the phone number listed for this area in the area details section.
Deer hunters on Pigeon Hill Conservation Area are limited to muzzleloader and archery methods; only archery antlerless permits may be used. Pigeon Hill Conservation Area is archery and firearms for turkey. Booklet code B for Pigeon Hill Conservation Area means archery antlerless permits only. On MDC land, deer hunting is legal only where the area is listed; Pigeon Hill Conservation Area qualifies.
Sources: area page, area regulations, deer quick view; booklet table: 2026 Fall Deer and Turkey booklet, pp. 42-55. Checked October 29, 2026.
Pigeon Hill Conservation Area county rules for 2026-27
| Item | 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 |
County rules apply on Pigeon Hill Conservation Area; Buchanan County has a firearms antlerless limit of 4 for 2026-27. In Buchanan County, the Oct. 9-11 and Dec. 5-13 antlerless portions apply. Buchanan County is one of the 28 mandatory sampling counties: present deer shot Nov. 14-15 for testing. Removed for 2026: the CWD portion, the management zone and the antler-point restriction.
- 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.
Pigeon Hill Conservation Area: what is open when
Filtered for Pigeon Hill Conservation Area by its game list: 4 species, 13 season rows.
| Species | Season | Applies | Opens | Closes | Today |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
During firearms portions, Pigeon Hill Conservation Area allows muzzleloaders, not modern guns. Spring 2027 turkey dates were not published when these pages were checked.
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.
Map around Pigeon Hill Conservation Area
Crow-flight distance from Pigeon Hill Conservation Area to Agency Conservation Area is 3.8 mi (southeast); the table runs outward from there.
| Place | Type | Acres | County | Miles off | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agency CA | Conservation area | 94 | Buchanan | 3.8 mi | southeast |
| Belcher Branch Lake CA | Conservation area | 405 | Buchanan | 6.2 mi | southeast |
| Bee Creek CA | Conservation area | 109 | Buchanan | 6.8 mi | south |
| Bluffwoods CA – Goodell Memorial Annex | Conservation area | 63 | Buchanan | 6.9 mi | west |
| Wilfrid V. and Anna C. Kneib Memorial CA | Conservation area | 40 | Buchanan | 8.8 mi | northwest |
| Bluffwoods CA | Conservation area | 2,281 | Buchanan | 8.9 mi | west |
| Arthur DuPree Memorial CA | Conservation area | 236 | Buchanan | 9.5 mi | northwest |
| Sunbridge Hills CA | Conservation area | 146 | Buchanan | 11 mi | northwest |
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.
Pigeon Hill Conservation Area area harvest by year
Whole-county counts.
Hunters in Buchanan County checked 867 deer in 2025, against 844 the year before; there is no figure for Pigeon Hill Conservation Area alone. The spring 2026 count for Buchanan County was 125 turkeys (13 on public land). Recent CWD results for Buchanan County: 0 positives, none on record.
| Permit year | 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 |
| Season | Spring | Public | Youth | Firearms (fall) | Archery (fall) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Samples | CWD found |
|---|---|---|
| 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.
Towns, MDC offices and shops by Pigeon Hill Conservation Area
From Pigeon Hill Conservation Area, Faucett is 4.7 mi away. Largest of the five: St. Joseph, 71,098 people. Directions on file: From St. Joseph, take I-29 south, then Highway 169 east 0.25 mile, then Route FF south 2.50 miles, then Route O west 1.50 miles, then SE 50 Road south to the area. Northwest Regional Office (St Joseph) sits 6.6 mi from Pigeon Hill Conservation Area, closer than any other MDC office.
| Town | County | People (2024) | Distance | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Faucett | Buchanan | – | 4.7 mi | south |
| St. Joseph | Buchanan | 71,098 | 6.7 mi | north |
| Plattsburg | Clinton | 2,256 | 19 mi | southeast |
| Savannah | Andrew | 5,076 | 19 mi | north |
| Tracy | Platte | 319 | 20 mi | south |
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.
Pigeon Hill Conservation Area hunters: public range and clubs
From Pigeon Hill Conservation Area, Platte Falls Conservation Area Archery Range is the nearest MDC or other public range (20 miles). Nearby gun clubs fill the other cards.
From MDC area pages and the MDC Shooting Ranges layer, the operators’ pages and directory listings, checked October 29, 2026.
Legal hours for Pigeon Hill Conservation Area
Rabbits are sunrise to sunset, migratory birds half an hour before sunrise to sunset, and big game gets the extra half hour after sunset.
| Day | Moment | First sun | Last sun | Deer hours | Bird hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.
Events tied to Pigeon Hill Conservation Area and its surroundings
Kinds close by: NWTF chapter dinner and RMEF chapter dinner. Count: 2 upcoming events.
Booked dates
| Held on | Event | Miles off | Where held | Link | Checked at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 20, 2027 | RMEF Pony Express Chapter Banquet · RMEF chapter dinner | 7 | St. Joseph | Buy tickets | Source |
| Mar 27, 2027 | Platte Purchase NWTF Banquet · NWTF chapter dinner | 7 | St. Joseph | Buy tickets | Source |
Scenery to match Pigeon Hill Conservation Area
Pigeon Hill Conservation Area questions with sourced answers
Pigeon Hill Conservation Area: size and manager?
Missouri Department of Conservation handles it, and it spans 419 acres.
How far is the nearest town from Pigeon Hill Conservation Area?
Faucett is the nearest town we cover, 4.7 mi off.
Is Pigeon Hill Conservation Area open for hunting this season?
Yes, deer, turkey, rabbit and squirrel, following statewide seasons and any area limits.
Pigeon Hill Conservation Area: which permits apply?
The right MDC permit: Archer's or Firearms for deer, Small Game for small game, Migratory Bird for doves and ducks.
What is the firearms antlerless limit around Pigeon Hill Conservation Area?
4 antlerless deer with firearms permits, under the Buchanan County rule.
Can I use a rifle for deer on Pigeon Hill Conservation Area?
Muzzleloader and archery methods on this area. Only archery antlerless permits may be used.
Can I hunt turkey on Pigeon Hill Conservation Area?
Use archery and firearms. Fall gun season: Oct. 1-31.
What are the CWD rules around Pigeon Hill Conservation Area?
Bring opening-weekend deer to a station. The feed ban does not apply.
Pigeon Hill Conservation Area crowded: where next?
Next in line: Agency Conservation Area (3.8 mi), Belcher Branch Lake Conservation Area (6.2 mi) and Bee Creek Conservation Area (6.8 mi).
What are deer hours at Pigeon Hill Conservation Area on Nov. 14?
Nov. 14 at the Pigeon Hill Conservation Area point: 6:30 a.m. to 5:36 p.m. for deer (sunrise 7:00 a.m.).
Last word on Pigeon Hill Conservation Area
Confirm methods, permits and the Buchanan County deer rules for Pigeon Hill Conservation Area before the drive.
Sources: source · source · source · source; regulations from the 2026 Fall Deer and Turkey booklet. Checked October 29, 2026.
Other photos on this page: USFWS Midwest Region (Public Domain Mark 1.0); USFWS Midwest Region (Public Domain Mark 1.0); fishhawk (CC BY 2.0).