Missouri deer research / Shelby County
Shelby County, Missouri Deer Hunting Research
Provisional FDR Deer Herd Index 49.2 Provisional, ranked #64 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.
Buck Index
69↓ 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 7.9 / 10 (Higher). About 9.2 deer hunters per square mile of huntable land: 79th percentile of 3,051 rated counties in 48 states, 64th 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 | 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, the Shelby County harvest was 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, 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 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 49.2 of 100 on the provisional FDR Deer Herd Index (C - Above Average), ranked #64 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 Shelby County last season?
MDC records show 2,559 deer harvested in Shelby County, Missouri in 2025, the most recent reported season.
Cite this
Fully Drawn Research. "Shelby County, Missouri deer hunting research." County page. https://www.fullydrawnresearch.ai/research/mo/shelby. Accessed Nov 1, 2026.
Data and charts from this page are free to use with attribution. See the Content Lab.