Indiana — where you can actually hunt
Indiana sells tags over the counter — there's no draw. So the question is where: which counties have public land you can walk onto and hunt. And “public land” isn't one thing — a national park or a refuge is closed or permit-only, so we count only what's truly open, and show the rest honestly. Pick your species below.
What “huntable” means here
National forest, BLM, and state game lands / WMAs are open to hunting (state wildlife-agency lands are managed forit); state forests generally are. National & state parks and military land are closed; wildlife refuges are permit-only — those are excluded from the number.
By huntable public land
Most huntable counties first
Ranked by open public land — state game lands / WMAs and national forest are the open categories that push a county up. The mix shows what kind; deer harvest (Indiana DNR reported deer kill) shows where the animals are.
| County | Huntable | Land mix | Deer harvest | Save |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perry | 26.4% | State Game Lands / WMA 25.9% · National Forest 0.5% | 1,831 | |
| Brown | 24.2% | State Game Lands / WMA 24.1% | 1,490 | |
| Crawford | 19.4% | State Game Lands / WMA 18.9% · National Forest 0.5% | 2,001 | |
| Monroe | 18.8% | State Game Lands / WMA 18.7% | 1,397 | |
| Orange | 18.6% | State Game Lands / WMA 17.9% · National Forest 0.7% | 1,967 | |
| Jackson | 11.5% | State Game Lands / WMA 11.4% | 1,719 | |
| Ripley | 9.6% | State Game Lands / WMA 9.6% | 1,333 | |
| Scott | 9% | State Game Lands / WMA 9% | 765 | |
| Pike | 8% | State Game Lands / WMA 8% | 1,477 | |
| Newton | 7.8% | State Game Lands / WMA 7.8% | 1,144 | |
| Martin | 7.8% | State Game Lands / WMA 7.7% | 1,735 | |
| Jefferson | 7.5% | State Game Lands / WMA 7.5% | 1,573 | |
| Union | 7.1% | State Game Lands / WMA 7.1% | 582 | |
| Jennings | 6.7% | State Game Lands / WMA 6.7% | 1,545 | |
| Huntington | 6.2% | State Game Lands / WMA 6.2% | 1,120 | |
| Clark | 6.1% | State Game Lands / WMA 6.1% | 1,375 | |
| Lawrence | 5.8% | State Game Lands / WMA 5.5% | 2,311 | |
| Wabash | 5.7% | State Game Lands / WMA 5.7% | 1,324 | |
| Washington | 5.1% | State Game Lands / WMA 5.1% | 2,445 | |
| Greene | 4.8% | State Game Lands / WMA 4.8% | 2,180 | |
| Harrison | 4.6% | State Game Lands / WMA 4.6% | 2,603 | |
| Owen | 4.2% | State Game Lands / WMA 4.2% | 1,922 | |
| Dubois | 4.1% | State Game Lands / WMA 4.1% | 2,067 | |
| Franklin | 3.7% | State Game Lands / WMA 3.7% | 1,667 | |
| LaGrange | 3.7% | State Game Lands / WMA 3.7% | 2,871 | |
| Sullivan | 3.4% | State Game Lands / WMA 3.4% | 1,902 | |
| Daviess | 3.2% | State Game Lands / WMA 3.2% | 1,425 | |
| Posey | 3.2% | State Game Lands / WMA 3.2% | 1,388 | |
| Warrick | 3.2% | State Game Lands / WMA 3.2% | 1,209 | |
| Pulaski | 2.8% | State Game Lands / WMA 2.8% | 2,182 | |
| Vigo | 2.6% | State Game Lands / WMA 2.6% | 1,608 | |
| Morgan | 2.5% | State Game Lands / WMA 2.5% | 1,461 | |
| Johnson | 2.3% | State Game Lands / WMA 2.3% | 616 | |
| LaPorte | 2.2% | State Game Lands / WMA 2.2% | 2,069 | |
| Putnam | 2% | State Game Lands / WMA 2% | 2,368 | |
| Steuben | 2% | State Game Lands / WMA 2% | 3,261 | |
| Starke | 1.8% | State Game Lands / WMA 1.8% | 1,812 | |
| Jasper | 1.5% | State Game Lands / WMA 1.5% | 1,435 | |
| Switzerland | 1.1% | State Game Lands / WMA 1.1% | 1,528 | |
| Kosciusko | 1% | State Game Lands / WMA 1% | 2,504 | |
| Clay | 0.9% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.9% | 1,323 | |
| Gibson | 0.7% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.7% | 1,287 | |
| Vermillion | 0.7% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.7% | 1,005 | |
| Noble | 0.7% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.7% | 2,681 | |
| Parke | 0.6% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.6% | 2,442 | |
| Grant | 0.5% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.5% | 1,067 | |
| Wells | 0.5% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.5% | 814 | |
| Miami | 0.5% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.5% | 1,593 | |
| Henry | 0.5% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.5% | 797 | |
| Lake | 0.4% | — | 1,391 | |
| Marshall | 0.4% | — | 2,416 | |
| Spencer | 0.3% | — | 1,244 | |
| Fulton | 0.3% | — | 1,451 | |
| Randolph | 0.3% | — | 904 | |
| Bartholomew | 0.2% | — | 1,055 | |
| Whitley | 0.1% | — | 1,205 | |
| Carroll | 0.1% | — | 1,175 | |
| Jay | 0% | — | 1,335 | |
| Delaware | 0% | — | 978 | |
| Wayne | 0% | — | 1,118 | |
| Shelby | 0% | — | 557 | |
| Tipton | 0% | — | 214 | |
| Knox | 0% | — | 1,057 | |
| Howard | 0% | — | 488 | |
| Blackford | 0% | — | 583 | |
| Vanderburgh | 0% | — | 763 | |
| Porter | 0% | — | 906 | |
| Ohio | 0% | — | 452 | |
| Decatur | 0% | — | 661 | |
| Tippecanoe | 0% | — | 1,327 | |
| Clinton | 0% | — | 555 | |
| Madison | 0% | — | 732 | |
| Montgomery | 0% | — | 1,158 | |
| Hancock | 0% | — | 381 | |
| Rush | 0% | — | 445 | |
| Boone | 0% | — | 541 | |
| Hendricks | 0% | — | 769 | |
| Cass | 0% | — | 1,536 | |
| Hamilton | 0% | — | 574 | |
| Warren | 0% | — | 1,325 | |
| St. Joseph | 0% | — | — | |
| Allen | 0% | — | 1,606 | |
| Adams | 0% | — | 798 | |
| Fountain | 0% | — | 1,474 | |
| Fayette | 0% | — | 659 | |
| Floyd | 0% | — | 637 | |
| Benton | 0% | — | 174 | |
| Elkhart | 0% | — | 1,954 | |
| DeKalb | 0% | — | 2,493 | |
| Dearborn | 0% | — | 1,749 | |
| Marion | 0% | — | 449 | |
| White | 0% | — | 1,143 |
huntablePct = state WMAs + national forest as a share of the county (Indiana DNR GIS + PAD-US, EPSG:5070); deer = Indiana DNR reported deer harvest by county. Turkey = IDNR CheckIN Game spring turkey harvest by county (verified 2025), sums exactly to the dashboard statewide total (15,494). National & state parks, military land, and permit-only refuges are computed but shown as the “mix,” not counted huntable; confirm the specific tract with the state agency.
Indiana — best of, ranked