County Ralls, Missouri

Ralls County occupies the glacial till-plain of northeast Missouri, characterized by level to gently rolling uplands formed by glacial ground moraine, with local relief typically 3 to 100 feet. The Mississippi River forms the county's eastern border, carving steep wooded bluffs—including the county's high point of 804 feet on Edward Anderson CA—above a broad bottomland zone of meander scars, sloughs, and mixed riparian forest (silver maple, cottonwood, green ash, pecan, pin oak, bur oak). Upland soils are productive glacial till supporting large corn and soybean operations that dominate the interior, creating high-quality agricultural deer habitat. Small intermittent streams cut through the uplands and drain east toward the Mississippi. Timber is concentrated along the river corridor and in conservation area hollows; the interior is largely open row-crop farmland with woodlot edges and fencerows.

Moderate. Ralls County lies roughly 120 miles northwest of St. Louis, close enough to draw weekend hunters from the metro but not at the saturation levels seen in counties immediately surrounding the city. North Missouri farmland deer hunting has a strong local following, and the county's limited public land concentrates pressure at Edward Anderson CA and DuPont Reservation CA during firearms season. Corps land around Mark Twain Lake draws significant hunter density near road-accessible trailheads. Hunters willing to walk beyond parking areas on public land or secure private-land access will encounter much lighter competition. Overall county pressure is lower than suburban St. Louis counties but above truly remote south-Missouri Ozark terrain.

Ralls County was added to the MDC CWD Management Zone for 2025-2026, placing it within 10 miles of a confirmed CWD detection. As a CWD Management Zone county, Ralls is open during the Firearms CWD Portion (Nov. 26-30, 2025). The antler-point restriction (APR) was removed in Ralls County for 2025-2026—any antlered deer is legal. Ralls falls in the blue zone allowing hunters to fill up to four firearms antlerless permits per season. Archery antlerless deer are available statewide during the archery season with no separate quota permit required. Placement of feed or minerals is prohibited in CWD Management Zone counties including Ralls. Hunters must Telecheck deer before transporting out of county or by 10 p.m. on harvest day, and unused deer parts must be disposed of in a sanitary landfill or on the harvest property.

Deer archery season: Sept. 15-Nov. 14 and Nov. 26-Jan. 15 (2025-2026); Sept. 15-Nov. 13 and Nov. 25-Jan. 15 (2026-2027). Firearms: Early Antlerless Oct. 10-12 (select counties); Youth Nov. 1-2; November Portion Nov. 15-25; CWD Portion Nov. 26-30 (Ralls open); Alternative Methods Dec. 27-Jan. 6. Spring turkey: Youth April 11-12, 2026; regular season April 20-May 10, 2026 (public land to 1 p.m., private land to sunset). Fall turkey archery runs concurrent with archery deer; fall firearms turkey Oct. 1-31 (open counties). Squirrel season May 23-Feb. 15 (limit 10/day). Rabbit Oct. 1-Feb. 15 (limit 6/day). The Mississippi River corridor and Mark Twain Lake provide productive waterfowl hunting for ducks and geese during migration.

Ralls County's defining asset is its Mississippi River corridor—wooded bluffs, broad river bottoms, and agricultural uplands converge to create ideal whitetail habitat where deer feed in corn and soybean fields and bed in dense riparian timber. Edward Anderson CA and DuPont Reservation CA deliver free public access to scenic river-bluff hunting ground with limited road pressure. Mark Twain Lake adds roughly 45,000 acres of mixed Corps ground with diverse hunting for deer, turkey, waterfowl, and small game. The 2025-2026 removal of the antler-point restriction opens harvest to any antlered buck, and CWD-zone status adds an extra five-day firearms window in late November. Private farmland in the county interior holds good deer numbers supported by abundant agricultural food sources, and the absence of suburban sprawl keeps the overall hunting atmosphere rural and unhurried.