Nebraska Mule Deer? Worth it with low expectations?

[Minnesconsinite]

Hi all,
This is my first ever post on a hunting forum. A few coworkers and I are looking into a Mule Deer hunt in western NE. My group has limited experience western hunting Elk in CO, Montana Mule Deer, and Idaho Mule deer.
We are looking at a cheaper trip this year being one of us has the financial joys of divorce coming his way and I’m saving for a house. Just curious if NE is worth the time with tempered expectations. We would likely do Rifle or Muzzleloader. Not looking for monsters and I’m sure that we would all be happy with a 3 pt or a tall fork. I was thinking of the Upper Platte or Pine Ridge Units. Curious of the two which is better, what the odds are, and any advice for finding a mule deer on public. We are coming from MN.

Thanks

 

[Shawn Hultquist]

Check on the MDF website and call the rep for that region. I forget his name off the top of my head but he’s in North Dakota. The herd hasn’t been as strong in the past couple years. Not sure if the migration routes have changed. I know on our place it’s a lot tougher and the selection of what you wanted was way down.

As for public land I’m sorry I can’t be of any help out that way. Our place is in southwest Nebraska and is in the mule deer conservation area. Jordan budd lives and ranches up that way. She would have some insight. Hope this helps


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Minnesconsinite]

Thanks for the information. I hunted Idaho Unit 39 this year and only saw small bucks and does but I heard they had tough winters there in 17-18 so the bucks would be young. Probably a similar situation in NE I would guess. While I’m thinking about it, would anyone allow access to LEOs on private? I’m sure a trespass fee for the group wouldn’t be a deal breaker as long as it wasn’t something ridiculous. We make government pay and are being a bit budget conscious this year. Thanks again!

 

[William Sublette]

Tens of thousands get the same idea every season.






Yet.....you never see a "check out our awesome NE hunt" thread.


Vacation time is terrible thing to waste.

 

[Dmartin88]

I live and hunt in southwest Nebraska and this season was the worst I've experienced in 10 years! Everyone said the numbers were way down and that was my experience as well! Hunted hard in rifle season and finally filled my tag last Monday evening with the muzzleloader! Supposedly the local Game & Parks deer check station said the same thing about the number of deer checked in. Haven't heard an explanations as to why though... I'm not trying to scare you off and I really hope that the deer numbers rebound next year! I've never hunted the northwestern part of the state so I don't know what that is like but I think Nebraska is largely overlooked when it comes to mule deer. But I want to say that quietly on here and keep it a secret! LOL

 

[Plainsman79]

This is a quick and helpful link in regards to harvest numbers in 2021. As a whole our deer herds are down and have never recovered for over a decade. There is a ton a past harvest data on the states website.

Deer harvesting numbers decreased in 2021

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s initial deer harvesting check-in numbers show a 12% decrease in statewide harvest compared to 2020. Last year, hunters harvested 42,078 deer during the nine-day season. While in 2021, hunters only harvested 37,053 deer. NGPC says...

www.klkntv.com

 

[Ctb124]

Sounds like a fun hunt

 

[String&stick]

My advice. . . Don't. . .

I live in Nebraska, I've hunted the NW, and North Central part of the state but I live in the south central/south western part.

Public land is a pumpkin patch, it's highly pressured from archery season on. If you're going to do it I'd go muzzle loader mainly to avoid the pressure.

If you treat it like a camping trip/vacation with an opportunity to maybe shoot a deer of small to average size you'll not be disappointed but probably won't be "happy" with the trip either.

I'd save another year and go somewhere else. Or come out and spend a week knocking on doors and see if you can get permission for the following year. Private land would make a huge difference! But as stated above, our deer numbers are down and beyond that our state doesn't care! Likely they prefer lower deer numbers.

 

[Minnesconsinite]

For context,
I grew up hunting WI private land and would hit public land occasionally during muzzleloader. WI has almost 600,000 rifle hunters every year, compared to about 150,000 in NE. Would anyone from a more populated state have any comparisons? My experience in Idaho wasn’t nearly as bad as I was warned it would be regarding pressure because people there don’t know what real pressure is. Not trying to discredit anyone’s knowledge but I know the public land game fairly well and know that “pressure” is relative. Waterfowl hunting in MN is a similar game opening week but I always manage some success. It’s a bummer to hear deer numbers aren’t what they could be. I would imagine a down year is maybe due to CWD management and doe hunts?

 

[Glendon Mullins]

we had the same idea last year, couple buddies decided last minute they wanted to go on a hunt and called me, leftover tags in colorado were pretty much done, all the draws had passed, etc. and there sat Nebraska. So we bought tags and went.

We hunted the sandhills region, and I will say if you like orgies you will love hunting Nebraska!!! No matter where u looked or how far we walked there were other dudes there or had already been there.

Now I could have tagged out on a whitetail spike or forkie and saw a couple whitetail does as well, but i could have done that in the field behind my house in virginia and saved my vacation time as well.

 

[TSAMP]

One thing I experienced that I didn't expect was the road use system in NE. Many of the roads through the grasslands are technically closed. There is a forest service map and onX layer that shows the open ones. Apparently I was one of few who knew or cared to play by those rules. Countless times I'd hike back to get away from pressure to only be passed by a truck full of people. Sometimes on a 2 track and other times just randomly in a field. That got old fast.

 

[LongWayAround]

Sounds like a fun hunt

Which part?

 

[Somthingoriginal]

For context,
I grew up hunting WI private land and would hit public land occasionally during muzzleloader. WI has almost 600,000 rifle hunters every year, compared to about 150,000 in NE. Would anyone from a more populated state have any comparisons? My experience in Idaho wasn’t nearly as bad as I was warned it would be regarding pressure because people there don’t know what real pressure is. Not trying to discredit anyone’s knowledge but I know the public land game fairly well and know that “pressure” is relative. Waterfowl hunting in MN is a similar game opening week but I always manage some success. It’s a bummer to hear deer numbers aren’t what they could be. I would imagine a down year is maybe due to CWD management and doe hunts?

I live in Eastern Nebraska and would not suggest going west for rifle. Although we don't have the sheer number of rifle hunters as WI, we do have cheap otc tags and less than 1% public lands.

I think EHD is a bigger contributing factor than CWD for our low numbers. But the real problem is G&P sells tags like they have a meth habit.

 

[William Sublette]

I live and hunt in southwest Nebraska and this season was the worst I've experienced in 10 years! Everyone said the numbers were way down and that was my experience as well! Hunted hard in rifle season and finally filled my tag last Monday evening with the muzzleloader! Supposedly the local Game & Parks deer check station said the same thing about the number of deer checked in. Haven't heard an explanations as to why though... I'm not trying to scare you off and I really hope that the deer numbers rebound next year! I've never hunted the northwestern part of the state so I don't know what that is like but I think Nebraska is largely overlooked when it comes to mule deer. But I want to say that quietly on here and keep it a secret! LOL

Largely overlooked?

One thing I experienced that I didn't expect was the road use system in NE. Many of the roads through the grasslands are technically closed. There is a forest service map and onX layer that shows the open ones. Apparently I was one of few who knew or cared to play by those rules. Countless times I'd hike back to get away from pressure to only be passed by a truck full of people. Sometimes on a 2 track and other times just randomly in a field. That got old fast.

That's just it. Get on a high spot and you can see all the way across most of the public offerings.

They can't absorb the parade of blunders by each new crew that shows up.


The deer just bounce to the quiet private ground, right over there.


Usually in sept.

 

[RMM]

Which part?

Dont worry, he was just trying to get his 10 posts for the classifieds, he didnt mean it

 

[Bryan B]

I’ve gun hunted WI private (small parcels) and public for the last 25 years so I know pressure. I’ve hunted public land only in the Pine Ridge unit twice during gun season. These guys speak the truth that there is a lot of pressure on NE public land. You would probably have no problem finding a 1.5 year old whitetail or muley. Something older than 1.5 is possible, they are there, but there are not a lot of them. The scenery is great and I had a good time on each hunt. I may go back some year if I don’t have other options. If you go, I suggest go in with low expectations for a public land hunt, enjoy the scenery and learn some of the history of the area.

 

[Musky]

We just finished a hunt not long ago in NE for muzzleloader. Neither of us filled our tag. To be fair we did have whitetail opportunity but we made the trek for a muley. We ended up covering many miles and although left empty handed it was a great experience and we both left happy.

We ended up speaking with a rancher who mentioned EHD took care of a lot of the herds in the area.

 

[Lytro]

Hi all,
This is my first ever post on a hunting forum. A few coworkers and I are looking into a Mule Deer hunt in western NE. My group has limited experience western hunting Elk in CO, Montana Mule Deer, and Idaho Mule deer.
We are looking at a cheaper trip this year being one of us has the financial joys of divorce coming his way and I’m saving for a house. Just curious if NE is worth the time with tempered expectations. We would likely do Rifle or Muzzleloader. Not looking for monsters and I’m sure that we would all be happy with a 3 pt or a tall fork. I was thinking of the Upper Platte or Pine Ridge Units. Curious of the two which is better, what the odds are, and any advice for finding a mule deer on public. We are coming from MN.

Thanks

I’ve hunted Nebraska 4 out of the last 6 years on the western side of the state as a NR (3 archery tags, 2 muzzleloader tags). IMO, the early archery hunt up until the rifle season is a much better hunt. Public land gets hit extremely hard in NE and a lot of deer relocate and/or are thinned out from the rifle season. You can definitely have success during muzzleloader, but be prepared to put in a lot of work and arrive with low expectations.

I picked up a muzzleloader tag 2 weeks ago so I could get a chance at another buck after I returned from a short deployment, and I hunted the pine ridge area due to its close proximity to where I live in SD. There was still a considerable amount of hunting pressure in the area, and it was fairly tough hunting for anything antlered. Send me a PM if you’re still interested in that area and I can give you more info.

 

[Page Master]

If you're not hunting big private parcels, good luck.

 

[browning2480]

In my experience it isn’t much cheaper than Colorado. We paid $300 for a muzzleloader tag this year. They are not much higher in Colorado, but you will have to draw for it