Nebraska Hunting Pressure

Hesseltine32

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I'm thinking about doing a DIY hunt to Ne next season in the SE portion opening week in September. Hunted turkeys here this spring and saw a decent amount of deer and found a few sheds while out. Been doing some searches on several forums seems to be a mix bag on the amount for hunting pressure.

Curious of those that have hunted there early season if there was a lot of pressure then. Assume most is during the rut when rifle opens. We plan on hunting mostly public but do have a few private spots as well.

Thanks
 
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My experience has been that pressure is definitely light early in the bow season especially compared to the rifle season. If you can get a pattern on those early season bucks you should have a good hunt. That first week of September you could possibly get one still in velvet. Bugs can still be bad that early though just depending on where you are hunting.
 
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Hesseltine32

Hesseltine32

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Thanks husker. Nice to kill a velvet buck passed lots of smaller bucks here in Maryland.
 
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Hesseltine32

Hesseltine32

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Ended up being a pretty tough hunt. Beans were yellowing and there was lots of dry standing corn. Deer were bedding and feeding in the corn. Saw decent amount of deer and a few good bucks but they were at night coming back to camp. Ended up shooting a smaller 8. Almost all the deer we saw were coming out of the corn. Think it would be a different ball game once the crops come out

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pete

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Congrats on the successful hunt! I'm interested in heading there for a hunt next year.
 

KJH

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Just curious... of all the great places in the US to hunt, why would you pick Nebraska for a whitetail deer hunt? Especially why Southeast NE?

I'm absolutely not criticizing or questioning you... I'm really interested in why Nebraska would show up on your list.

Maybe, OTC tags?
 

xziang

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Congrats on the deer!! You are 100% correct with standing corn they will a lot of times just stay in there for LONG periods at a time. Early season can be tough for they just do NOT want to move during daylight anyway.

I haven't been out for deer yet, but with the cooler temps I need to.
 

Osprey

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Just curious... of all the great places in the US to hunt, why would you pick Nebraska for a whitetail deer hunt? Especially why Southeast NE?

I'm absolutely not criticizing or questioning you... I'm really interested in why Nebraska would show up on your list.

Maybe, OTC tags?

Whats wrong with NE? Its substantially easier to kill mature bucks on DIY hunts west of the Mississippi river than it is east of the Miss river Wisconsin and Illinois are decent too for DIY hunters east of that is dramatically tougher with a few pockets of decent public land hunting for mature bucks to be found. This guy just hunted whitetails at one of the tougher times to kill a mature buck and still killed a buck that in most states east of the miss would be considered a really good one and a lot of hunters best.

I don't think many hunters that live and hunt Whitetails west of the Miss realize how much tougher it is to kill bucks 3.5yr+ in many of those states. Booners in many states east of Miss simply do not exist and very rarely is one over shot however its not uncommon for one to be taken in many of the midwest states west of the Miss. Its not really a suprise when you see good hunters coming from these tougher Whitetail states to the west to hunt Elk etc and have great success because they are used to tough hunting and have the proper mindset and drive to get it done.

Most of the mature bucks I take in my home state have prev wounds from other hunters you don't see that pressure in a lot of states West of the Miss. NE doesn't look to bad when you see what most guys deal with.
 
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Thunder head

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Congrats on a nice buck!

We went to Nebraska one time. A friend introduced us to a farmer. He says don't you know the hunting no good until the corn is cut?
 

KJH

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Nothing wrong with NE at all. I was just very curious about how someone ended up there vs. another State. Its not even a hunting question... pure curiosity. I am not judging anyone's choice, nor the deer they kill. I'm just as happy for someone if they kill a big buck vs. a small one as long as they enjoyed the experience. Really.

Nebraska, especially that part of the State, isn't known for being a hotbed for large numbers of big bucks. Although they are there too. I know a lot of serious whitetail hunters from Nebraska and they all go somewhere else each fall to chase whitetails. They might hunt a little by home just to get out int he woods or to be with family, but the guys I'm close to from Nebraska who regularly hunt for 150"+ all go to another State for their serious hunting.

For the last few years I've been thinking about Nebraska deer hunting in general and that sparked my curiosity. There are a lot of factors that come into play when hunting that state and its interesting to me...

For example the things I think about- Nebraska has cheap and unlimited Non-resident archery deer tags. They have long seasons, they have lots of deer (likely way too many WT)... they have less than 2% in public land and most of what they have is poorly managed if at all. Almost all public land by % is in the western 1/4 of the state. Private land permission isn't easy to come by (not impossible though). The State is almost 2 different states in geography... East and west are vastly different so really different hunting conditions. It has big weather swings... Early seasons with large amounts of corn in can be tough. The state doesn't manage for mature deer or trophy deer. The state manages deer for revenue with 80's era staff decisions and does the same old thing...

Anyway Nebraska is a unique "buffer" state to western hunting. It is intriguing to me how someone balances the pros, cons, and location to choose where to hunt. If someone wants to hunt Nebraska, good for them. I hope they go.
 
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Murdy

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I've pondered Nebraska for whitetails just because of the proximity to me and the better (compared to Illinois) access to public land and lower cost (relative to Iowa)
 
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Hesseltine32

Hesseltine32

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Just curious... of all the great places in the US to hunt, why would you pick Nebraska for a whitetail deer hunt? Especially why Southeast NE?

I'm absolutely not criticizing or questioning you... I'm really interested in why Nebraska would show up on your list.

Maybe, OTC tags?

It's a over looked OTC state with lots of ground open for public. They have a great walk in program. Also the area I hunted does produce some really good deer.
They also open on sept 1. I wanted to go somewhere that opens before My home state of Maryland.
Still hasn't recovered from the EHD a few years ago and got hit again this year. Saw few good deer out of range and on the way home at night
 
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I was born and raised in Nebraska. Been living in Colorado for last +20 years. I live to go back every fall to SE Nebraska and bowhunt family farms (very lucky). Last week in October thru 2nd week in November its Whitetail time for me. I wouldn't trade another state for it.
 

Sekora

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I hunted SE Nebraska for several years in rifle season. We seen huge bucks every year we went, and killed a few good ones too. The first 2 years I went the CRP was up and the deer herd was unbelievable in the area I hunted. Then the CRP fields were all cut and planted with crops, the state changed their season to "earn a buck", and EHD hit hard. We ended up canceling our trip the following year based on advice from the landowners who let us hunt and I never went back. The good years I experienced there were absolutely phenomenal. Nebraska has great whitetail hunting if you can find the right property. I can't imagine any state being better than what I experienced.
 
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I'm looking into NW nebraska for OTC on public land in the next month or so. It will be my first time deer hunting Nebraska, but I am looking forward to it. I assume there's a fair amount of hunting pressure on public land coming from Colorado, but really don't know what to expect. Doing some google scouting for a few areas now. Just want to get some meat in the freezer after an unsuccessful archery season in CO!
 
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