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Camden County, Missouri: deer harvest and public hunting land

Camden County covers 709 square miles around Osage Beach. Hunters checked 3,714 deer here in the 2025 season, 1,777 of them antlered bucks, by MDC's harvest summary. That is up 25% from 2024. 4.4% of Camden County is public land open to the public, the largest share state parks and historic sites (15,517 acres), by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and MDC conservation area boundaries.

Data updated October 2026. Harvest: MDC's deer harvest summaries, 2021 to 2025. Land: PAD-US 4.1 and MDC's conservation area and MRAP layers.

Map of Missouri's Camden County: public land by manager, the counties around it, highways MO 7, US 54 and MO 5; towns: Osage Beach, Sunrise Beach, Camdenton, Richland and Lake Ozark

MDC conservation areasFederal land, mostly Corps of Engineers lakesState parks and historic sitesCamden CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway

Camden County at a glance
Size453,522 acres (709 square miles)
Deer checked, 20253,714 (1,777 antlered bucks, 295 button bucks, 1,642 does)
Firearms and archery, 20252,794 by firearms, 895 by archery
Public land4.4% (19,954 acres)
MDC lands9 (3,152 acres inside Camden County)
MRAP landNone mapped this year
Towns in and near itOsage Beach, Sunrise Beach, Camdenton, Richland, Lake Ozark and Lakeside

How many deer are harvested in Camden County?

Hunters checked 3,714 deer in Camden County in 2025: 1,777 antlered bucks, 295 button bucks and 1,642 does. By method: 2,794 by firearms (1,816 of them in the November portion) and 895 by archery; the rest came on managed hunts.

SeasonDeer checkedAntlered bucksButton bucksDoesFirearmsNovember portionArchery
20253,7141,7772951,6422,7941,816895
20242,9631,3203461,2972,1991,632738
20233,8631,9103251,6283,1152,289748
20222,9531,3992521,3022,3111,889642
20213,6571,8133631,4812,871784

Source: MDC deer harvest summaries (2021 to 2025 seasons), Camden County, from the county tables of each season (all methods, firearms, archery and the November portion). The 2021 summary has no separate November table.

How much public land is in Camden County?

19,954 of Camden County's 453,522 acres are public land open to the public (4.4%). The biggest share is state parks and historic sites: 15,517 acres.

ManagerAcresShare of Camden County
State parks and historic sites15,5173.4%
MDC conservation areas4,3531%
Federal land, mostly Corps of Engineers lakes41under 0.1%
County, city and regional land32under 0.1%
Land trusts and other open land11under 0.1%
All public land open to the public19,9544.4%

Measured by FilledTag inside the county line from USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public) and MDC conservation area boundaries. Hunting rules differ by manager: MDC conservation areas allow the hunting each area's page lists; national forest is open; Corps of Engineers lake land is open to hunting in many places under each project's own rules; refuges follow U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rules; the Ozark National Scenic Riverways allows hunting under state rules while most other national park land is closed; state parks and city and county land are closed to most hunting.

MDC lands in Camden County

MDC lands in Camden County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:

How do you get to Camden County?

Highways through it: MO 7 (about 52 miles inside), US 54 (about 49 miles inside), MO 5 (about 32 miles inside) and MO 73 (about 2 miles inside). Towns inside: Osage Beach, Sunrise Beach, Camdenton, Village of Four Seasons, Linn Creek and Stoutland. Nearby: Richland (on the line), Lake Ozark (on the line), Lakeside (on the line) and Laurie (on the line).

Which counties border Camden County?

Camden County touches 7 other counties. Their latest MDC harvest and public land, for comparison:

CountyDeer harvestedYearPublic landMRAP land sites
Benton County4,228202512.9%
Dallas County2,95120253.1%
Miller County2,85020253.6%
Morgan County3,96220251%
Hickory County2,57820259.2%1
Laclede County3,32820257.3%
Pulaski County2,501202511.4%

Questions hunters ask

How many deer were harvested in Camden County in 2025?

Hunters checked 3,714 deer: 1,777 antlered bucks, 295 button bucks and 1,642 does (MDC). In 2024: 2,963.

Is there public hunting land in Camden County?

Yes. 19,954 acres, 4.4% of the county, are public land open to the public by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and MDC conservation area boundaries, the largest share state parks and historic sites (15,517 acres). MDC's map shows 9 conservation areas here.

Does Camden County have MRAP land?

Not on MDC's MRAP layer of tracts open to hunting.

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Where these numbers come from

FilledTag is not part of the Missouri Department of Conservation. Numbers are copied from MDC and the federal sources above, or measured from their maps; nothing on this page is estimated by FilledTag.

Missouri hunting Benton County Dallas County Miller County Morgan County Hickory County Laclede County Pulaski County