Outside the Birmingham metro, Madison leads Alabama's Buck Index at 75, followed by Lawrence at 73. Inside the metro, Jefferson leads at 65. Montgomery and Russell share a displayed score of 66 in third and fourth place. The median county scores 40, and no Alabama county reaches 80 on the national scale. The county order compares documented big-buck history per estimated bow-huntable acre. That gives hunters a specific county comparison, while leaving permits and the actual property to be checked separately.
KEY FINDINGS
- Outside the Birmingham metro, Madison leads at 75. Inside the metro, Jefferson leads at 65. FDR names the leaders on each side of the line, and a big metro means a Census metro area of 1 million people or more.
- Madison leads at 75, followed by Lawrence at 73. Montgomery and Russell share a displayed score of 66 in third and fourth place. Jefferson is fifth at 65 inside the metro.
- Calhoun, Shelby and Autauga share a displayed score of 53. Their underlying order is kept, and a rounded tie is not a measured difference in hunting opportunity.
- All 67 Alabama counties are rated. The score is a relative Buck Index, not an official county harvest rate.
Alabama county finder
Where does your county rank?
Derived FDR scores on a national 0 to 100 scale. History: 2011 through 2025. Captured October 17, 2026. Order uses the underlying rate before rounding. Zero is a valid score. Not rated means the county has no qualifying bow-huntable acreage or is mostly inside city limits. Counties marked metro sit inside a Census metro area of 1 million people or more.
10 of 67 entries shown
| State rank | County | Buck Index |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Madison | 75 |
| 2 | Lawrence | 73 |
| 3 | Montgomery | 66 |
| 4 | Russell | 66 |
| 5 | Jefferson Birmingham metro | 65 |
| 6 | Bullock | 63 |
| 7 | Lamar | 63 |
| 8 | Limestone | 60 |
| 9 | Morgan | 59 |
| 10 | Lee | 59 |
01County comparison
Madison leads, with Lawrence and Montgomery next
Madison holds first place at 75 and Lawrence second at 73. Montgomery and Russell share a displayed score of 66 in third and fourth place, ahead of Jefferson at 65 in fifth. The national scoring frame matters: Madison's 75 sits on a 0 to 100 scale built for the whole country, so the score reads against that wider comparison.
The denominator is estimated bow-huntable acreage. A county with less qualifying acreage can rank high when its documented big-buck history is concentrated relative to that acreage. The score does not identify which parcel produced that history or whether a hunter can gain access to it.
02County comparison
Ranks eleven through twenty sit between 50 and 56
Cullman is fourteenth at 55, and Chambers follows at 54 in fifteenth place. Calhoun, Shelby and Autauga share a displayed score of 53 in sixteenth through eighteenth place. Morgan and Lee share a displayed score of 59 in ninth and tenth place, so the top ten cutoff falls inside a tie.
Madison in first through Lee in tenth span a displayed range from 75 to 59. Farther down, Choctaw, Marengo and Clarke share a displayed score of 22 in sixty-second through sixty-fourth place. The full table is more useful than a short winners list when a property becomes available outside the top few counties.
03County comparison
Jefferson, Mobile and Baldwin do not land in the same band
Jefferson ranks fifth at 65. Mobile is forty-fourth at 36, and Baldwin is sixty-seventh at 17.
Madison's 75 sits above Montgomery's 66 and Jefferson's 65 under this measure. That is a documented difference in county history after the acreage adjustment. Explaining it would require evidence beyond the score.
04County comparison
Keep the county, management unit and property together
The state wildlife agency's deer hunting information supplies the agency context for deer hunting rules. This report does not allocate management-unit harvest totals to counties. Before a county becomes a trip, check the season and unit conditions for the exact ground being considered.
The state wildlife agency's public hunting land information is the next step for public access. Start with a county you can actually hunt, then compare the substitutes that fit the same trip. Access may make that decision long before the index does.
05Basis of this report
Sources and method
FDR derived this October 17, 2026 snapshot from the 2011 through 2025 history window, estimated bow-huntable acreage and national scaling. The public display runs from 0 to 100 and is not an interpretation as harvest odds, population density or guaranteed access.
Compare the other states in the FDR county report series.
NOTES AND SOURCES
- Derived FDR scores on a national 0 to 100 scale. History: 2011 through 2025. Captured October 17, 2026. Order uses the underlying rate before rounding. Zero is a valid score. Not rated means the county has no qualifying bow-huntable acreage or is mostly inside city limits. Counties marked metro sit inside a Census metro area of 1 million people or more.
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.
Keep reading
FDR Scout puts county harvest history like this on the map of the ground you hunt. Open Scout →