Missouri is home to about 1.3 million whitetail deer. That's the good news.

The bad news: Those deer haunt a little over 44 million acres. Cities and towns occupy some of that, but even with that acreage subtracted, Show-Me state whitetails have a lot of room in which to roam -- and the time available to hunters for deciding on where to seek their quarry is limited.

The Missouri Department of Conservation divides the state's 114 counties into eight regions. Last year, Missouri hunters killed 300,130 whitetails in all deer seasons combined -- 24,295 below 2006's state-record deer harvest tally of 324,425. Read on to find out which regions and counties held the most whitetails, produced the highest harvests, and attract the most hunters.

NORTHEAST REGION
The Northeast Region hosts the densest population of whitetails in Missouri, with MDC estimates reckoning 32 deer per square mile (which equals about 640 acres) in this region. The northeast also ranks second in the state in terms of firearms hunting pressure, with an estimated 68,020 hunters, or 14.32 percent of all Missouri hunters, participating here. Containing 15 counties, it's also tied with the Central Region for rank of Missouri's fourth-largest region.

Hunters in this region bagged a grand total of 51,735 deer in all portions of the 2007 deer seasons, enough to claim 1st place honors statewide. The top three counties in this region for overall deer harvest last season were Macon, with 5,018 deer checked in (5th); Pike, with 4,982 deer (7th); and Monroe 3,928 (15th). The last-place county in the Northeast Region was Sullivan, with 3,427 (27th).

Firearms Deer Season: 1st place statewide, with 35,799 deer killed. The top three counties in this region: Macon, with 3,440 deer taken (6th); Pike, with 3,361 (7th); and Monroe, with 2,852 (15th).

Archery Deer Season: 1st place statewide, with 6,683 deer taken. The top three counties: Pike 641 deer harvested (8th); Putnam, with 627 (10th); and Macon, with 600 (14th).

Muzzleloader Deer Season: 3rd place statewide, with 1,702 deer harvested. The top three counties in this region: Pike, with 182 deer killed (19th); Macon, with 165 (21st); and Putnam, with 156 (26th).

Antlerless Deer Season: 1st place statewide, with 5,589 antlerless deer taken. The top three counties: Macon, with 608 deer (1st); Pike, with 601 (2nd) and Shelby, with 441 (8th).

CENTRAL REGION
The Central Region boasts the second-highest deer population in Missouri, estimated at 28 whitetails per square mile. It ranks first in terms of firearms deer hunting pressure, with an estimated 76,808 hunters, or 16.17 percent of the state total. With 15 counties inside its borders, it's the state's fourth-largest region.

The region finished in 2nd place in terms of overall numbers of deer taken throughout the 2007 deer seasons, with 49,623 whitetails harvested. The top three counties: Callaway, with 5,899 deer killed (1st); Camden, with 4,476 (9th); and Morgan, with 4,347 (10th). The Central Region's lowest-ranked county was Cole, with 1,516 deer (99th).