FilledTag Get a hunt plan

Cedar County, Missouri: deer harvest and public hunting land

Cedar County covers 499 square miles around El Dorado Springs. Hunters checked 2,334 deer here in the 2025 season, 1,211 of them antlered bucks, by MDC's harvest summary. That is up 7% from 2024. 8.9% of Cedar County is public land open to the public, the largest share federal land, mostly Corps of Engineers lakes (25,084 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 Cedar County: public land by manager, the counties around it, highways MO 32, MO 39 and MO 97; towns: El Dorado Springs, Stockton, Jerico Springs, Fair Play and Arcola

MDC conservation areasFederal land, mostly Corps of Engineers lakesNational wildlife refugesState parks and historic sitesCounty, city and regional landLand trusts and other open landCedar CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway

Cedar County at a glance
Size319,107 acres (499 square miles)
Deer checked, 20252,334 (1,211 antlered bucks, 174 button bucks, 949 does)
Firearms and archery, 20251,904 by firearms, 430 by archery
Public land8.9% (28,335 acres)
MDC lands6 (2,913 acres inside Cedar County)
MRAP landNone mapped this year
Towns in and near itEl Dorado Springs, Stockton, Jerico Springs, Fair Play, Arcola and Humansville

How many deer are harvested in Cedar County?

Hunters checked 2,334 deer in Cedar County in 2025: 1,211 antlered bucks, 174 button bucks and 949 does. By method: 1,904 by firearms (1,214 of them in the November portion) and 430 by archery; the rest came on managed hunts.

SeasonDeer checkedAntlered bucksButton bucksDoesFirearmsNovember portionArchery
20252,3341,2111749491,9041,214430
20242,1911,1072108741,7251,258406
20232,6581,2892091,1602,2641,528371
20222,7051,3182181,1692,1651,795481
20212,5541,3461781,0301,946503

Source: MDC deer harvest summaries (2021 to 2025 seasons), Cedar 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 Cedar County?

28,335 of Cedar County's 319,107 acres are public land open to the public (8.9%). The biggest share is federal land, mostly Corps of Engineers lakes: 25,084 acres.

ManagerAcresShare of Cedar County
Federal land, mostly Corps of Engineers lakes25,0847.9%
MDC conservation areas2,9180.9%
National wildlife refuges1870.1%
State parks and historic sites101under 0.1%
County, city and regional land28under 0.1%
Land trusts and other open land17under 0.1%
All public land open to the public28,3358.9%

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 Cedar County

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

Other large public areas here, by PAD-US: Stockton Recreation Area (25,795 acres).

How do you get to Cedar County?

Highways through it: MO 32 (about 34 miles inside), MO 39 (about 26 miles inside), MO 97 (about 15 miles inside), US 54 (about 15 miles inside) and MO 215 (about 9 miles inside). Towns inside: El Dorado Springs, Stockton, Jerico Springs and Umber View Heights. Nearby: Fair Play (2 miles), Arcola (2 miles), Humansville (3 miles) and Aldrich (4 miles).

Which counties border Cedar County?

Cedar County touches 5 other counties. Their latest MDC harvest and public land, for comparison:

CountyDeer harvestedYearPublic landMRAP land sites
Dade County1,70220259.4%
Polk County3,15220253.1%
Barton County1,84420252.9%1
Vernon County3,13120255%2
St. Clair County3,383202511.8%

Questions hunters ask

How many deer were harvested in Cedar County in 2025?

Hunters checked 2,334 deer: 1,211 antlered bucks, 174 button bucks and 949 does (MDC). In 2024: 2,191.

Is there public hunting land in Cedar County?

Yes. 28,335 acres, 8.9% of the county, are public land open to the public by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and MDC conservation area boundaries, the largest share federal land, mostly Corps of Engineers lakes (25,084 acres). MDC's map shows 6 conservation areas here.

Does Cedar County have MRAP land?

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

Get a Missouri hunt plan when they open

Hunt plans for Missouri are coming. Join the list and you'll hear first. The first 50 hunters in each new state get their plan free.

Until then, the free FilledTag app for iPhone has a map that works in every state, Missouri included.

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 Dade County Polk County Barton County Vernon County St. Clair County