Missouri deer research / Shelby County
Shelby County, Missouri Deer Hunting Research
Provisional FDR Deer Herd Index 46.2 Provisional, ranked #76 of 114 ranked Missouri counties. Built from Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) Telecheck records, 2015–2025 plus public-land access.
C - Above AverageWhat drives the Shelby County index
Provisional components, each scored 0–100 against the ranked Missouri counties. Provisional.
Trophy Index
65→ out of 100. How this county ranks for trophy bucks against every county we cover. 100 is the top. Ranked per acre of bow-huntable land (10 m estimate).
2015–2025 harvest trend
| Season | Total harvest |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,559 |
| 2024 | 2,535 |
| 2023 | 2,617 |
| 2022 | 2,721 |
| 2021 | 2,410 |
| 2020 | 2,585 |
| 2019 | 2,306 |
| 2018 | 2,986 |
| 2017 | 2,455 |
| 2016 | 2,343 |
| 2015 | 2,472 |
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 Shelby County harvest charts →
Harvest composition
MDC reports each deer as an Antlered Buck, Doe, or Button Buck (a male fawn). In 2025, Shelby County ran 1,162 antlered bucks, 1,190 does, and 207 button bucks.
| Season | Antlered buck | Doe | Button buck | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,162 | 1,190 | 207 | 2,559 |
| 2024 | 1,215 | 1,091 | 229 | 2,535 |
| 2023 | 1,110 | 1,237 | 270 | 2,617 |
| 2022 | 1,265 | 1,233 | 223 | 2,721 |
| 2021 | 1,141 | 1,064 | 205 | 2,410 |
| 2020 | 1,169 | 1,200 | 216 | 2,585 |
| 2019 | 950 | 1,096 | 260 | 2,306 |
| 2018 | 1,427 | 1,238 | 321 | 2,986 |
| 2017 | 1,209 | 978 | 268 | 2,455 |
| 2016 | 1,146 | 967 | 230 | 2,343 |
| 2015 | 1,142 | 1,032 | 298 | 2,472 |
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 Shelby County composition charts →
Herd & land detail
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Latest season (2025) | 2,559 deer |
| Harvest per sq mi | 5.11 |
| Buck : doe ratio | 0.98 |
| County land (sq mi) | 500.90 |
| Public-land acres | 2,333 |
Methodology
Provisional index. Provisional index: herd, harvest, trophy (the Trophy 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 Trophy 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 Shelby 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 Shelby County, Missouri good for deer hunting?
Shelby County scores 46.2 of 100 on the provisional FDR Deer Herd Index (C - Above Average), ranked #76 of 114 ranked Missouri counties. The provisional index is built from MDC public harvest records, the Trophy Index and deer-vehicle crash data; some components are partial, as noted in the methodology.
How many deer were harvested in Shelby County last season?
MDC records show 2,559 deer harvested in Shelby County, Missouri in 2025, the most recent reported season.