Missouri deer research / Ray County
Ray County, Missouri Deer Hunting Research
Provisional FDR Deer Herd Index 57 Provisional, ranked #29 of 114 ranked Missouri counties. Built from Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) Telecheck records, 2015–2025 plus public-land access.
B - StrongWhat drives the Ray County index
Provisional components, each scored 0–100 against the ranked Missouri counties. Provisional.
Buck Index
59→ 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 7.2 / 10 (Higher). About 8.0 deer hunters per square mile of huntable land: 72nd percentile of 3,051 rated counties in 48 states, 44th 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 | 1,800 |
| 2024 | 1,588 |
| 2023 | 1,746 |
| 2022 | 1,699 |
| 2021 | 1,567 |
| 2020 | 1,561 |
| 2019 | 1,412 |
| 2018 | 1,478 |
| 2017 | 1,420 |
| 2016 | 1,340 |
| 2015 | 1,335 |
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 Ray County harvest charts →
Harvest composition
MDC reports each deer as an Antlered Buck, Doe, or Button Buck (a male fawn). In 2025, the Ray County harvest was 994 antlered bucks, 663 does, and 143 button bucks.
| Season | Antlered buck | Doe | Button buck | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 994 | 663 | 143 | 1,800 |
| 2024 | 930 | 575 | 83 | 1,588 |
| 2023 | 1,031 | 585 | 130 | 1,746 |
| 2022 | 973 | 605 | 121 | 1,699 |
| 2021 | 894 | 575 | 98 | 1,567 |
| 2020 | 923 | 525 | 113 | 1,561 |
| 2019 | 758 | 559 | 95 | 1,412 |
| 2018 | 779 | 564 | 135 | 1,478 |
| 2017 | 766 | 528 | 126 | 1,420 |
| 2016 | 688 | 530 | 122 | 1,340 |
| 2015 | 545 | 619 | 171 | 1,335 |
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 Ray County composition charts →
Herd & land detail
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Latest season (2025) | 1,800 deer |
| Harvest per sq mi | 3.16 |
| Buck : doe ratio | 1.50 |
| County land (sq mi) | 569 |
| Public-land acres | 2,174 |
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 Ray 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 Ray County, Missouri good for deer hunting?
Ray County scores 57 of 100 on the provisional FDR Deer Herd Index (B - Strong), ranked #29 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 Ray County last season?
MDC records show 1,800 deer harvested in Ray County, Missouri in 2025, the most recent reported season.
Cite this
Fully Drawn Research. "Ray County, Missouri deer hunting research." County page. https://www.fullydrawnresearch.ai/research/mo/ray. Accessed Nov 1, 2026.
Data and charts from this page are free to use with attribution. See the Content Lab.