2021 Nebraska Pine Ridge Unit - Mule Deer Hunt

[The_Jim]

Also of note, I don't think there is enough public ground in the area to actually out work someone. Those guys we talked to from Wisconsin and Iowa were putting in 10+ miles per day. I don't think there were effective miles but they were walking a long way to get w
here they wanted to be.

As a NE resident I hunt western Nebraska every year and watch this play out every season. Most guys just aimlessly pound out a bunch of miles and don't end up seeing anything. Having a bunch of guys hiking around the little public ground NE has doesn't help things out but if you have a good glassing spot and some patience you will definitely see deer. Sometimes you even see good deer.

I know a guy that comes up from New Mexico every year with his kids just to have a fun hunt, see deer, and fill his freezer. You just have to have realistic expectations...and you probably dont need to reserve a spot ahead of time at your taxidermist LOL

 

[stutlerbw]

Took my first stab at mule deer hunting, no dice.

We arrived in Crawford on the 29th of August and scouted that evening, the 30th, and the 31st. We hunted the 1st through the 5th.

We saw way more deer than I expected. Lots of does and fawns (10+ per day) and essentially no bucks (4 total in 7 days, with the biggest being a forky). After talking to a local biologist, it seems that the heat was keeping the bucks bedded all day and only moving at night.

I expected more sage brush like Wyoming but the places we hunted were mostly grass and pines with some deciduous trees in the bottoms. Felt like we threw the entire book of tactics at the hunt. We glassed and glassed and glassed from high points, we tucked into valleys and running water watching over meadows, we tried to wind bump areas, and nothing anywhere close to a shooter. There was some hunting pressure there but i'd consider it to be very manageable. It was surprising how many folks we talked to basically turned it into a hiking trip putting 12+ miles in every day. Doesn't seem like you get much hunting time in if you did that much moving.

The highlight of the trip ended up being the Elk bulls we saw which included a 7x7, 3 6x6s, and 3 smaller ones but none were spikes. Given the tag and those sightings, I would have loved to kill one of the bigger bulls.

I am pleased with the trip as a first mule deer hunting experience but it's a bit disappointing to not see a shooter much less get an opportunity to blow a stalk. I'd go back to the area but not so early in the season. I think I'll wait until after the weather breaks the next time I go.

Did you see any whitetails? I'm headed out in a couple weeks with an antlerless whitetail tag.

 

[Lytro]

Did you see any whitetails? I'm headed out in a couple weeks with an antlerless whitetail tag.

You should have no problem filling your antlerless tags. I filled one of mine on day one of my hunt a week ago, and passed countless opportunities the rest of my hunt from sub 100 yards.