Nebraska hunting observations

[Haulinbass02]

So my son and I just wrapped up a week archery hunting mulies in the Pine Ridge management unit. Spent time in the Pine Ridge Recreation area, Oglala Grasslands and Fort Robinson area.
Beautiful scenery for sure, very unique. Fire has really messed up lots of area in the Pine Ridge Recreation area. Saw quite a lot of does but only a few small bucks.
I realize the first week of Oct isn’t the best time to see bigger bucks. Weather was also unseasonably warm. No moon overhead either had deer out in the middle of the night.
We did a lot do glassing but went a couple of days without seeing anything. I saw a TON of deer in the ag fields though…pretty sure a lot of them are hanging on private land at this point.
Case in point, found an area in the grasslands and hiked up and looked around. On the way down we saw 4 deer feeding across an open bottom headed towards a private fresh cut hay field. They came off of a ridge on private land and were on public for just a little bit.
I ended up taking a white tail antlerless on Fort Robinson so I could bring something home. I would hunt Nebraska again but possibly change the time I hunt there. Also, we went and backpacked in and stayed back there. I could have gone further back and probably will next time. I never saw another hunter until we came back to the truck. And Friday, the amount of hunters in the area picked up significantly, so middle of the week is the best to be by yourself!


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[Forkieslayer]

I think I have decided mule deer are for September or November. But nothing in between haha

 

[stutlerbw]

Did you see a lot of whitetail in those areas? I'm headed out that way with an antlerless whitetail tag in a couple weeks.

 

[Forkieslayer]

Did you see a lot of whitetail in those areas? I'm headed out that way with an antlerless whitetail tag in a couple weeks.

You shouldn’t have any problems filling that tag.

 

[Haulinbass02]

Did you see a lot of whitetail in those areas? I'm headed out that way with an antlerless whitetail tag in a couple weeks.

A lot more WT than Mulies unfortunately. Should have zero problems filling the tag.


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[Lytro]

I just hunted that area after picking up a last minute muzzleloader tag. Same exact story in December. LOTS of does and a few dink 1.5 year olds mixed in. Muley to whitetail seemed to be about 50/50 for me. The strangest thing was that I had to have seen well over 100 whitetail, but only saw one small 1.5 year old buck out of all of them. I’m not sure if it just gets hit so hard during rifle that there’s no age class, or what the deal is. There were still a lot of deer, so it’s not like everything retreated to private.

I did tag out on a muley that I would call a respectable buck for that area on public, as well as a WT doe, but I’m not sure I’ll be buying a buck tag to hunt there again. Definitely a great area to fill some doe tags though, and the meat is fantastic. Beautiful area as well!

 

[Dwnw/theAltitudesickness]

Grew up in the area, would say knocking on doors for permission to hunt whitetail does could get you on private ground. But anything with antlers has turned to outfitters, leasing ground from ranchers. Grasslands don't have a lot of deer in them, but plenty of antelope. Late 2000's (2009 ish) they had CWD or bluetongue outbreak and gave out lots of tags to reduce the deer numbers in the Ogallala grasslands. Public ground is tough, smaller sections or partial sections get overlooked.

 

[jesse1004]

Grew up in the area, would say knocking on doors for permission to hunt whitetail does could get you on private ground. But anything with antlers has turned to outfitters, leasing ground from ranchers. Grasslands don't have a lot of deer in them, but plenty of antelope. Late 2000's (2009 ish) they had CWD or bluetongue outbreak and gave out lots of tags to reduce the deer numbers in the Ogallala grasslands. Public ground is tough, smaller sections or partial sections get overlooked.

I'll second this. Grew up in SW Nebraska which is alot of the same terrain. We avoided the public because the bucks with any size learned quick they were alot safer on the other side of the fence. But like jwkrotz said if the landowners didn't hunt, there's a good chance an outfitter has it leased. But still worth a knock on a door. We're nice in SW NE but NW NE may be the nicest guys on the planet.

 

[peaks2prairies]

If you are going to commit to coming in from out of state, try during the last 7 days of October and first 7 days of November. Between whitetails and mule deer, you should have very few days without seeing at least one buck of either species worth hiking after. I would avoid Labor day week/weekend and avoid the rifle season if you want to have some of the smaller properties or more remote parts of the NF ground to yourself. With tags getting harder to come by in other states, Nebraska is getting squeezed a bit.

I have not used it and do not get paid for sharing it, but for those who don't mind paying a reasonable access fee, there are some large tracts of land in NW and NC Nebraska listed on Landtrust either on a daily or a set number of days that you can get a small group of guys together and hunt. Not everyone can afford that every year, but it may help improve the numbers and quality of bucks you are seeing.

If you're coming out this way and hunting the niobrara river, buy a turkey tag while you're at it. 2 birds per permit in the fall makes for a great opportunity to get your Merriam's while you're hunting river bottoms.

 

[David M. Herring]

Where can i get replacement parts for my deer decoy.

 

[The_Jim]

With tags getting harder to come by in other states, Nebraska is getting squeezed a bit.

The Pine Ridge unit was actually changed to a draw this year because NR's purchased 68% of the November rifle tags last year. NE also put caps on NR archery, muzzleloader, and Statewide Whitetail buck tags.

 

[peaks2prairies]

The Pine Ridge unit was actually changed to a draw this year because NR's purchased 68% of the November rifle tags last year. NE also put caps on NR archery, muzzleloader, and Statewide Whitetail buck tags.

This is true, Antelope tags took the biggest hit for NR and they also staggered the dates that residents can buy vs NR. I think the days of NE being a reliable 2nd chance tag state for NR hunters may be coming to an end as other states keep clamping down.

Having more hunters in the field isn't something I want to complain about, but I don't think NGPC is ever going to be able to provide the supply of quality population and public access to meet the current demand.

 

[Kholt456]

Had a similar experience in 2020. A lot of mule deer does and a lot of deer in private ag fields.

 

[xOttox]

Hunt that part of the state every year. Knocking on doors can get you access pretty easily as long as you are polite, humble and respectful. I will say that if you are looking for antelope or whitetails most ranchers will ask you to take as many as you like, but mule deer seem to be off limits from my experience.

Best of luck.

 

[Plainsman79]

If you’re thinking about hunting Nebraska this season, you should probably stay up to date on proposed changes.

Tags cuts in the MCDA’s, Pine Ridge and other units. Capping NR archery at 5,000 and black powder @ 2,000 tags. Other issues are also being addressed.

Drought, disease, over harvest and over grazing are all catching up to the herd.

http://outdoornebraska.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/C03-35-day-1.pdf

 

[Sellers77]

Looking at changing tactics to fill the freezer with white tail for tags. Curious if the public units out here hold white tail. Looking to hike in away from road hunters and run the ridge glassing into the canyons/ flats. Curious if anyone has any intel on the whitetail herd? Never hunted whitetail always hunted muleys in the high country for the most part.

 

[The_Jim]

Looking at changing tactics to fill the freezer with white tail for tags. Curious if the public units out here hold white tail. Looking to hike in away from road hunters and run the ridge glassing into the canyons/ flats. Curious if anyone has any intel on the whitetail herd? Never hunted whitetail always hunted muleys in the high country for the most part.

12 years ago it would have been a great plan, but unfortunately the numbers don’t lie.

 

[Sellers77]

View attachment 717180
12 years ago it would have been a great plan, but unfortunately the numbers don’t lie.

Bummer! Well I’m going to give it a shot and worst comes to worse drop down to some private I have access too in a different unit. Just wanting to give my buddies spot a break. Been getting too much pressure lately.

 

[The_Jim]

@Sellers77 it can still be done on public and my post is probably more a reflection of my disappointment in our deer numbers. Whitetail are really be encroaching on the mule deer so even in the “mule deer units” you’re more likely to see whitetail on public.

 

[nm_nomad]

I hunted Nebraska whitetails on public land in the fall of 2021 during my last yr of college in Omaha. Set up a few cameras in September and then set up a ground blind in early October. Passed up some does early on hoping I'd get a chance on one of the bucks I had on camera. From October 1st-October 24th did not have one buck come by in daylight. October 25th I got my opportunity at last light on the first buck below. A 45 yd shot through a window I thought was 40 and skimmed his brisket, and he lived to see another day.
Most of the bucks were nocturnal or were on private. Still had fun trying to knock one down.