Hunting & Fishing

Where you can go

Once you have the right permit, the next question is where. Missouri gives you a lot of public ground — and a clear rule for private land. Here's the lay of the land, with the deep guides one click away when you want to scout a specific spot.

Start with conservation areas

More than 1,000 areas — in every county

MDC manages more than 1,000 conservation areas — nearly a million acres, in every county. Many offer hunting, fishing, or both, but every area has its own permitted activities and special rules, so check before you go (use the MO Outdoors app or Find Places To Go at mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/places).

Hours

General conservation-area hours are usually 4 a.m. to 10 p.m., with hunting, fishing, trapping, camping, and boat-launching allowed around the clock where those are permitted.

Boat motors on MDC lakes

Boat-motor rules on MDC lakes: electric motors only on waters under 70 acres; outboards allowed on 70-acre-and-larger lakes, but anything over 10 horsepower must go slow, no-wake; no personal watercraft (jet skis).

There's more than MDC land

Other public ground

There's far more public land than just MDC areas: the Mark Twain National Forest (about 1.5 million acres), U.S. Army Corps lakes (Truman, Table Rock, Stockton), national wildlife refuges (some with managed hunts), and state parks (fishing is widely allowed; hunting is limited or by managed hunt). Each has its own rules.

Planning a trip around it? See Camping for where you stay, and Boating for the lakes.

Private land

Most of Missouri is private — so ask first

More than 90% of Missouri is privately owned, so a lot of the time the answer is: get permission first. Resident landowners can get no-cost deer and turkey permits for their own land (see the Hunting guide).

For scouting a specific spot — public or private — the deep guides go further: the Hunting guide and the Fishing guide.

MRAP

A way onto selected private tracts

MRAP — the Missouri Outdoor Recreational Access Program — opens selected private tracts for particular listed activities, not necessarily every kind of hunting or fishing. Check the tract map, the dates, and the posted rules for each one.

The permission rule

Never hunt or fish private land without permission

The law around posting, trespass, purple paint, and landowner permission lives in the Land & Property Rights hub. Never hunt or fish private land without permission — and know that letting people on for free does NOT automatically protect a landowner, because Missouri's Recreational Use Act excludes farming and agricultural land.

The full law on posting, trespass, purple paint, and permission lives in Land & Property Rights. One thing worth repeating: letting people on for free does not automatically protect a landowner from liability, because Missouri's Recreational Use Act excludes farming and agricultural land.

Always check before you go

Missouri Porch explains the system; the Wildlife Code is the law.

Last checked: 2026-06-18. Missouri Porch explains how the system works. The Wildlife Code of Missouri and applicable federal law are the authority; the current MDC summaries, species pages, and posted area rules are the practical guide — and they can change. Always check your species, season, water, and location before you go.

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