County Reynolds, Missouri

Reynolds County occupies 809 square miles of rugged Ozark Highland plateau in southeastern Missouri. Topography is characterized by steep-sided hills, narrow hollows, and prominent chert and dolomite ridges, with elevations ranging from roughly 760 feet along river corridors to over 1,100 feet on upland ridges. The county is drained primarily by the Black River and its tributaries including Stouts Creek and Logan Creek, with karst features — sinkholes, springs, and losing streams — common throughout the landscape. Land cover is predominantly mature oak-hickory forest with scattered shortleaf pine, producing abundant hard and soft mast. Chert-laden, acidic Ozark soils support good mast production but limit row-crop agriculture, meaning deer rely heavily on natural browse, acorns, and soft mast rather than farm fields. River-bottom flats along the Black River and Logan Creek offer narrow but productive edges and food plots on private inholdings.

Low. Reynolds County is one of Missouri's least populated counties, with fewer than 7,000 residents and no major city within easy driving distance — St. Louis is roughly 120 miles northeast and Kansas City is 230-plus miles northwest. Deep Ozark terrain, winding county roads, and predominantly foot-access interior public land deter casual hunters. Logan Creek CA sees moderate use near trailheads and road-accessible areas but interior pressure is very low. By Missouri standards — where counties near St. Louis or in the agricultural belt experience intense firearms-season crowding — Reynolds ranks among the lightest-pressured counties in the state.

Reynolds County is open to antlerless deer hunting during the firearms season; hunters may take one antlerless deer on a standard Firearms Antlerless Permit (over the counter, available statewide). The county has been open to both the early antlerless firearms portion (typically October) and the late antlerless portion (typically December) in recent seasons — confirm the current year's county list at mdc.mo.gov before hunting. Archery hunters may take antlerless deer throughout the archery season statewide with no county restriction. Resident landowners with 75 or more qualifying acres may obtain no-cost Resident Landowner Antlerless Permits. Reynolds County is outside Missouri's CWD Management Zone; the separate CWD firearms portion is eliminated beginning with the 2026-27 season, simplifying the season structure. No quota or lottery antlerless permit is required — all antlerless tags are over the counter.

Deer: archery season runs September 15 through November 13 and November 25 through January 15 (2026-27); firearms November portion runs November 14-24; alternative methods (archery equipment, crossbow, handgun, muzzleloader) run late December through early January. Turkey: spring season runs April 20 through May 10 with a youth weekend April 11-12 (2026 dates); Reynolds County holds solid Ozark turkey populations in mixed oak-hickory timber. Fall archery turkey runs concurrent with archery deer season; fall firearms turkey is open October 1-31 in eligible counties. Squirrel season opens May 23 through February 15 with excellent Ozark hardwood habitat throughout the county. Rabbit season runs October 1 through February 15. The Black River and its tributaries support outstanding smallmouth bass fishing but offer limited waterfowl hunting due to swift, clear Ozark stream character; significant waterfowl hunting is more accessible along the Mississippi River corridor to the east.

Reynolds County offers some of the most remote, lightly pressured public-land deer hunting in Missouri. Logan Creek Conservation Area's 12,000-acre multi-block layout gives archery hunters realistic opportunities at mature bucks that rarely encounter hunting pressure — a genuine rarity on Missouri public land. The county sits squarely in the Salem Plateau subregion of the Ozarks, where dense oak-hickory canopy produces heavy mast crops that concentrate deer in predictable patterns during October and early November. The complete absence of row-crop agriculture means hunters must key on mast flats, soft-mast draws, and natural travel corridors along creek drainages rather than field edges, which rewards scouting and woodsmanship over blind pressure. The Black River corridor provides habitat diversity and travel corridors connecting the county's major timber blocks. Turkey hunters find deep hollows and ridge systems holding mature gobblers that respond well to calling in a low-pressure environment. The county's distance from urban Missouri and limited road access to interior tracts act as meaningful natural filters, making Reynolds one of the few Missouri counties where a dedicated public-land hunter can find genuine solitude during firearms season.