Missouri deer research / Clay County
Clay County, Missouri Deer Hunting Research
Provisional FDR Deer Herd Index 67.3 Provisional, ranked #4 of 114 ranked Missouri counties. Built from Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) Telecheck records, 2015–2025 plus public-land access.
B - StrongWhat drives the Clay County index
Provisional components, each scored 0–100 against the ranked Missouri counties. Provisional.
Buck Index
67→ out of 100. How this county ranks on the Buck Index against every county we cover. 100 is the top. Land is measured as what a hunter can actually hunt (10 m estimate).
Hunting pressure
Pressure Index 9.5 / 10 (Higher). About 17 deer hunters per square mile of huntable land: 95th percentile of 3,051 rated counties in 48 states, 97th percentile within Missouri. How often deer run into people, 0 to 10 on one scale across every rated state; 10 is the most crowded county in the country.
Measured. Missouri Department of Conservation deer season summary, firearms hunters per square mile, 2024 season, places this county within Missouri. Missouri Department of Conservation report. Missouri averages 8.7 deer hunters per square mile of huntable land (state wildlife agency count, 2025 season).
2015–2025 harvest trend
| Season | Total harvest |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,139 |
| 2024 | 1,059 |
| 2023 | 1,117 |
| 2022 | 1,146 |
| 2021 | 1,082 |
| 2020 | 1,102 |
| 2019 | 987 |
| 2018 | 918 |
| 2017 | 837 |
| 2016 | 819 |
| 2015 | 907 |
Harvest totals from Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) Telecheck records, 2015–2025. MDC reports totals by county and season; archery / firearm splits are not broken out in this dataset.
See full Clay County harvest charts →
Harvest composition
MDC reports each deer as an Antlered Buck, Doe, or Button Buck (a male fawn). In 2025, the Clay County harvest was 596 antlered bucks, 442 does, and 101 button bucks.
| Season | Antlered buck | Doe | Button buck | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 596 | 442 | 101 | 1,139 |
| 2024 | 567 | 421 | 71 | 1,059 |
| 2023 | 603 | 432 | 82 | 1,117 |
| 2022 | 594 | 444 | 108 | 1,146 |
| 2021 | 602 | 407 | 73 | 1,082 |
| 2020 | 620 | 411 | 71 | 1,102 |
| 2019 | 504 | 409 | 74 | 987 |
| 2018 | 450 | 380 | 88 | 918 |
| 2017 | 462 | 316 | 59 | 837 |
| 2016 | 423 | 341 | 55 | 819 |
| 2015 | 395 | 386 | 126 | 907 |
Antlered buck = adult male; button buck = male fawn; doe = adult female. Only MDC's additive method portions are summed, so the three sum to the county total, with no double-counting.
See full Clay County composition charts →
Herd & land detail
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Latest season (2025) | 1,139 deer |
| Harvest per sq mi | 2.86 |
| Buck : doe ratio | 1.35 |
| County land (sq mi) | 397.70 |
| Public-land acres | 1,648 |
Methodology
Provisional index. Provisional index: herd, harvest, the Buck Index, and roadway (exposure-normalized deer-vehicle crash rate) components; habitat/age-structure partial where the state does not publish them.. FULLY DRAWN RESEARCH · Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) PROVISIONAL COUNTY DEER INDEX
Informational only. Built from public-record Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) county harvest data, US Census TIGER county land area, the Buck Index, and exposure-normalized deer-vehicle crash rates where published. Provisional index; some components partial or pending. Not a prediction or guarantee. Verify with the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC).
See Clay County on the map
Parcels with owner & acreage, public hunting land, leaf-off imagery, and this research, together on one hunting map.
Nearby counties
Frequently asked questions
Is Clay County, Missouri good for deer hunting?
Clay County scores 67.3 of 100 on the provisional FDR Deer Herd Index (B - Strong), ranked #4 of 114 ranked Missouri counties. The provisional index is built from MDC public harvest records, the Buck Index and deer-vehicle crash data; some components are partial, as noted in the methodology.
How many deer were harvested in Clay County last season?
MDC records show 1,139 deer harvested in Clay County, Missouri in 2025, the most recent reported season.
Cite this
Fully Drawn Research. "Clay County, Missouri deer hunting research." County page. https://www.fullydrawnresearch.ai/research/mo/clay. Accessed Nov 1, 2026.
Data and charts from this page are free to use with attribution. See the Content Lab.