Working Paper 109 · Herd & HarvestMissouri · 114 counties + St. Louis city · Provisional FDR Index · October 2026 snapshot
Missouri Deer Counties Ranked: Henry Leads, Worth Stands Out
FDR Research Desk · Published FDR county analysis · Agency sources and methods linked below
Henry leads Missouri's provisional FDR Index at 69.4, with Macon and Caldwell within 2.2 displayed points. Worth is the only county in the first ten of both the composite and Trophy Index rankings. St. Louis County sits at the opposite extreme: first in trophy order and ninety-fifth in the composite. Missouri's table is most revealing when the two measures sit beside each other.
KEY FINDINGS
- Henry leads the provisional composite at 69.4. Macon scores 67.4 and Caldwell 67.2.
- Worth places fifth in the composite. Its Trophy Index of 87 also puts it near the top of the separate trophy order.
- St. Louis County leads Missouri's Trophy Index at 99. It is distinct from St. Louis city, which is not rated by that acreage-based calculation.
Missouri county finder
Where does your county rank?
Derived FDR scores captured October 5, 2026. Both indices use a 0 to 100 scale. Equal displayed composite scores keep the published model order. Zero is a valid score; unavailable scores are marked Not rated.
10 of 115 entries shown
| State rank | County | Provisional FDR Index | Trophy Index |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Henry | 69.4 | 70 |
| 2 | Macon | 67.4 | 63 |
| 3 | Caldwell | 67.2 | 72 |
| 4 | Harrison | 66.4 | 79 |
| 5 | Worth | 65 | 87 |
| 6 | Adair | 64.6 | 73 |
| 7 | Warren | 64 | 75 |
| 8 | Lincoln | 63.9 | 80 |
| 9 | Vernon | 63.7 | 63 |
| 10 | Linn | 63.4 | 72 |
01County comparison
Henry leads a compact upper group
Henry scores 69.4, Macon 67.4 and Caldwell 67.2. Harrison, Worth and Adair follow. Macon and Caldwell have a near tie in the composite, but their Trophy Index scores are 63 and 72. Henry displays 70. None of the composite's leading three appears in Missouri's trophy top ten.
The composite puts these counties first while the trophy order starts with St. Louis County, Jackson and Putnam. A hunter choosing among them needs to decide which measure fits the question. The table makes that choice explicit.
02County comparison
Worth looks strong under both measures
Worth is fifth in the composite at 65.0 and fourth in trophy order at 87. It is the only Missouri county in the first ten of both. Harrison is fourth in the composite but fifteenth in trophy order, while Lincoln is eighth and twelfth. Worth is where the two leading groups overlap in this snapshot.
The overlap is useful, but the rankings share trophy information and are not independent tests. For someone interested in both the broader model and trophy history, Worth is a concrete county to compare with Henry. Henry leads the composite but places thirty-sixth in trophy order.
03County comparison
St. Louis County is the warning against reading a score as access
St. Louis County leads the Trophy Index at 99, followed by Jackson at 95 and Putnam at 92. Their composite positions are ninety-fifth, eighty-second and seventeenth. Putnam therefore has a very different two-column profile from the counties immediately above it in trophy order.
Trophy history relative to modeled bow-huntable acreage can produce a high score in a county where arranging a hunt is difficult. Nothing in this table identifies permission, parcel restrictions or an available lease. St. Louis city is a separate county-equivalent geography; the habitat model maps no qualifying bow-huntable acres there and leaves its Trophy Index unrated. Combining city and county would corrupt the comparison.
04County comparison
Keep Missouri's season totals attached to their source
MDC's deer reports provide Telecheck summaries and county reporting routes. A season can appear in preliminary releases and later tables, so a quoted total needs the exact season and edition. This article compares FDR's saved model output rather than presenting a newly assembled harvest leaderboard.
Search Henry, Worth and Putnam, then the county where you already hunt. Henry represents the composite lead, Worth the top-ten overlap and Putnam a trophy leader that also places relatively high in the composite. The comparison gives you specific alternatives to investigate, with the source season and the available property still attached to the decision.
05Basis of this report
Sources and method
Missouri's broader score incorporates herd and harvest signals, trophy history, habitat, historical change and a roadway component. The October 5, 2026 capture contains derived FDR ranks and scores. Composite coverage includes Missouri's counties and the separate St. Louis city geography; the model is provisional. Trophy scores compare 2011 through 2025 history per modeled bow-huntable acre with a national group. Unrated means the acreage calculation is unavailable, not that deer are absent. All 114 counties have composite scores. St. Louis city appears separately as not rated.
Compare the other states in the FDR county report series.
NOTES AND SOURCES
- Derived FDR scores captured October 5, 2026. Both indices use a 0 to 100 scale. Equal displayed composite scores keep the published model order. Zero is a valid score; unavailable scores are marked Not rated.
Fully Drawn Research is an independent data analysis desk, not affiliated with any state wildlife agency, transportation agency, mapping provider or outfitter. FDR county scores and interpretations are independent analysis. A county ranking does not evaluate an individual property.
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