Ozark County, Missouri: deer harvest and public hunting land
Ozark County covers 755 square miles around Gainesville. Hunters checked 2,819 deer here in the 2025 season, 1,457 of them antlered bucks, by MDC's harvest summary. That is up 7% from 2024. 14.1% of Ozark County is public land open to the public, the largest share national forest (40,171 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.
MDC conservation areasNational forestFederal land, mostly Corps of Engineers lakesOzark CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 483,344 acres (755 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer checked, 2025 | 2,819 (1,457 antlered bucks, 199 button bucks, 1,163 does) |
| Firearms and archery, 2025 | 2,298 by firearms, 468 by archery |
| Public land | 14.1% (68,213 acres) |
| MDC lands | 7 (27,706 acres inside Ozark County) |
| MRAP land | None mapped this year |
| Towns in and near it | Gainesville, Theodosia, Bakersfield, Ava, West Plains and Taneyville |
How many deer are harvested in Ozark County?
Hunters checked 2,819 deer in Ozark County in 2025: 1,457 antlered bucks, 199 button bucks and 1,163 does. By method: 2,298 by firearms (1,562 of them in the November portion) and 468 by archery; the rest came on managed hunts.
| Season | Deer checked | Antlered bucks | Button bucks | Does | Firearms | November portion | Archery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,819 | 1,457 | 199 | 1,163 | 2,298 | 1,562 | 468 |
| 2024 | 2,633 | 1,227 | 231 | 1,175 | 2,174 | 1,634 | 395 |
| 2023 | 3,257 | 1,538 | 241 | 1,478 | 2,803 | 2,029 | 410 |
| 2022 | 2,473 | 1,172 | 243 | 1,058 | 2,092 | 1,824 | 353 |
| 2021 | 2,728 | 1,336 | 247 | 1,145 | 2,254 | 419 |
Source: MDC deer harvest summaries (2021 to 2025 seasons), Ozark 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 Ozark County?
68,213 of Ozark County's 483,344 acres are public land open to the public (14.1%). The biggest share is national forest: 40,171 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Ozark County |
|---|---|---|
| National forest | 40,171 | 8.3% |
| MDC conservation areas | 27,790 | 5.7% |
| Federal land, mostly Corps of Engineers lakes | 251 | 0.1% |
| State parks and historic sites | 1 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 68,213 | 14.1% |
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 Ozark County
MDC lands in Ozark County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Bull Shoals Lake Management Lands: 14,582 acres
- Caney Mountain Conservation Area: 7,977 acres
- Norfork Lake Management Lands: 4,968 acres
- Patrick Bridge Access: 149 acres
- Sycamore Access: 15 acres
- Warren Bridge Access: 8 acres
- Blair Bridge Access: 7 acres
Other large public areas here, by PAD-US: Mark Twain National Forest (40,172 acres), Bull Shoals Recreation Area (14,655 acres) and Norfork Recreation Area (5,101 acres).
How do you get to Ozark County?
Highways through it: US 160 (about 42 miles inside), MO 95 (about 37 miles inside), MO 5 (about 28 miles inside) and MO 181 (about 23 miles inside). Towns inside: Gainesville, Theodosia, Bakersfield, Wasola, Pontiac and Sundown. Nearby: Ava (11 miles), West Plains (14 miles), Taneyville (15 miles) and Willow Springs (16 miles).
Which counties border Ozark County?
Ozark County touches 3 other counties. Their latest MDC harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land | MRAP land sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taney County | 2,452 | 2025 | 24.7% | |
| Howell County | 5,474 | 2025 | 10% | |
| Douglas County | 3,695 | 2025 | 8.3% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Ozark County in 2025?
Hunters checked 2,819 deer: 1,457 antlered bucks, 199 button bucks and 1,163 does (MDC). In 2024: 2,633.
Is there public hunting land in Ozark County?
Yes. 68,213 acres, 14.1% of the county, are public land open to the public by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and MDC conservation area boundaries, the largest share national forest (40,171 acres). MDC's map shows 7 conservation areas here.
Does Ozark County have MRAP land?
Not on MDC's MRAP layer of tracts open to hunting.
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Where these numbers come from
- Deer harvest: MDC deer harvest summaries (2021 to 2025 seasons).
- Public land: USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public) and MDC conservation area boundaries. conservation areas: MDC conservation area boundaries. MRAP land: MDC Missouri Recreational Access Program (MRAP) lands.
- Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 cartographic county boundaries. Highways and towns: U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2024 primary and secondary roads; U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer, places.
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.