Osage Prairie Conservation Area: hunting and access
Osage Prairie Conservation Area is 1,562 acres of MDC land in Vernon County, next to Milo. MDC lists deer hunting here (muzzleloader and archery, antlerless permits allowed). Hunters checked 3,131 deer in Vernon County in 2025.
Data updated October 2026. Area facts: MDC's conservation area data, read 2026-10. Harvest: MDC deer harvest summaries, 2021 to 2025.
MDC conservation areasLand trusts and other open landOsage Prairie Conservation AreaCounty lineLakeHighway
| Size | 1,562 acres |
|---|---|
| County | Vernon County |
| Deer harvest unit | Vernon County |
| MDC lists for hunting | Deer, Bear, Turkey, Rabbit, Dove and Quail |
| MDC area number | 6130 |
| MDC region | Kansas City |
| Nearest towns | Milo (next to it), Sheldon (5 mi) and Moundville (6 mi) |
What is Osage Prairie Conservation Area like?
Osage Prairie is a remnant of the prairie ecosystem that once covered more than a quarter of Missouri. It is also home to plants and animals that are specially adapted for life on the open prairie. Less than one-half of one percent of original prairie remains in Missouri making some of these species increasingly rare.
Managers use prescribed burning, grazing, and other tools to simulate historic disturbances that maintain healthy grasslands and limit the negative impacts of invasive plants, including trees, which were historically uncommon here. Management priorities include providing nesting and brood-rearing habitat for Greater prairie-chickens, bobwhite quail, and grassland birds, such as Henslow's sparrow and upland sandpiper. Monitoring and management for a number of lesser known species is also important. Some species may include: Mead's milkweed, prairie mole crickets, Regal fritillary butterflies, northern crawfish frog, slender glass lizard, blacknose shiner, grasshopper sparrow, Loggerhead shrike, short-eared owl, and Northern harrier.
In MDC's words, from the Osage Prairie Conservation Area page.
What can you hunt on Osage Prairie Conservation Area?
MDC's page for Osage Prairie Conservation Area lists: Deer: muzzleloader and archery, antlerless permits allowed; Bear: archery and firearms; Turkey: archery and firearms; Rabbit; Dove; Quail.
What are the rules on Osage Prairie Conservation Area?
MDC's standard conservation area rules (Chapter 11 of the Wildlife Code) apply; the area's rules on MDC's site list any it adds.
How many deer are taken around Osage Prairie Conservation Area?
Osage Prairie Conservation Area lies in Vernon County. Hunters checked 3,131 deer in Vernon County in 2025, against 3,183 in 2024.
| County | Osage Prairie Conservation Area acres in it | Deer, 2025 | Deer, 2024 | Deer, 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vernon County | 1,562 | 3,131 | 3,183 | 3,197 |
Harvest for the whole county, not the conservation area alone: MDC deer harvest summaries (2021 to 2025 seasons).
How do you get to Osage Prairie Conservation Area?
MDC's directions: From Nevada, take I-49/Highway 71 south 6 miles, then Tally Bend Road west 0.50 mile, and 1725 Road south 0.50 mile.
Nearest towns: Milo (next to it), Sheldon (5 miles), Moundville (6 miles) and Nevada (6 miles). Highways within 5 miles: I-49 and US 71.
What other public land is near Osage Prairie Conservation Area?
MDC lands within 10 miles:
- Little Osage Prairie: 80 acres, next to it
- Bushwhacker Lake Conservation Area: 4,817 acres, 3.7 miles away
- Bristow Conservation Area: 157 acres, 3.9 miles away
- Clear Creek Conservation Area: 980 acres, 6.3 miles away
- Buffalo Wallow Prairie Conservation Area: 1,144 acres, 6.5 miles away
- Gay Feather Prairie Conservation Area: 111 acres, 7.5 miles away
Public land within 3 miles of Osage Prairie Conservation Area
Counting Osage Prairie Conservation Area itself, 1,643 of the 32,349 acres within 3 miles of its boundary are public land open to the public (5.1%), by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and MDC conservation area boundaries.
| Manager | Acres within 3 miles |
|---|---|
| MDC conservation areas | 1,642 |
| Land trusts and other open land | 1 |
Questions hunters ask
Where is Osage Prairie Conservation Area?
In Vernon County, next to Milo.
Can you deer hunt on Osage Prairie Conservation Area?
Yes, by MDC's page: muzzleloader and archery, antlerless permits allowed.
How much public land is around Osage Prairie Conservation Area?
1,643 acres within 3 miles of its boundary, Osage Prairie Conservation Area included, by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and MDC conservation area boundaries. The closest other MDC area is Little Osage Prairie (next to it).
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 facts come from
- Area description, species, rules and directions: MDC, Osage Prairie Conservation Area; MDC conservation area boundaries.
- Boundary and acres: MDC's map layer above. Surrounding public land: USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public) and MDC conservation area boundaries.
- Deer harvest: MDC deer harvest summaries (2021 to 2025 seasons).
FilledTag is not part of the Missouri Department of Conservation. Check MDC's rules and posted signs before you go.