Nebraska Muley public land

[Marshall402]

A good mule deer is tough to find in Nebraska... it's tough for a local. Private will hold the good ones. Whitetail...a diffrent story.

 

[Kurts86]

To follow up on what’s been said around Valentine in the riparian areas it’s very much Whitetail country with maybe 10-20% of the deer being mule deer.

Once you go west to Mckelvie that ratio flips in favor of mule deer but the deer density is wayyyy wayyyy lower once you get away from water.

 

[William Sublette]

How non residents see NE deer hunting:

 

[William Sublette]

The reality of nebraska deer hunting:

 

[Snowcrest6]

TRUTH. hahahaha

 

[KHNC]

Yes, private is for sure the way to go. Anyone got some good private land they will let me archery hunt on in Early November?

 

[String&stick]

So . . . Here is my advice.

#1 lower your expectations to about 140" mule deer. You may be pleasantly surprised but I wouldn't count on it especially on public lands. Our state is moronic when it comes to management and "opportunity" reigns. This unlimited archery tags for anyone from anywhere!

#2 go west of hwy 83. . . The further west the more mulies.

#3. Get the public land atlas and don't overlook small parcels. Small parcels are typically done more for bird hunters but hold deer just as well.

#4. Pack what you need as it might be a long drive to find it!

There is my help out in the internet for the world interested in coming to Nebraska to mule deer hunt. You will have lots of friends out and about in September and deer densities will be low where you are going. Nebraska pounds deer during the rut, and public gets abused so don't hold out for a wall hanger. Don't get me wrong, I had a 180-190 class buck in my sights on public in Nebraska on opening day of rifle several years back, he crossed into private about 2 minutes before shooting time and then bedded down about 100 yards across the line. They know the game!

 

[Hillhunter]

#3. Get the public land atlas and don't overlook small parcels. Small parcels are typically done more for bird hunters but hold deer just as well.

This is our best shot.

 

[Chris Weiss]

Just a hint from someone who has lived in south west Nebraska (Imperial) most of my life if you're out driving around look at the fence posts. yeah I know most will say " no hunting " or hunting with permission only but there is quite a bit of land that says permission to hunt walk in only. You find out who owns it then look up the rest of there ground and 90% off the time the rest of there ground is posted the same Good luck hunting and be safe

 

[Shmedium5835]

Lol

 

[TR-Hunter/Angler]

Hey there fellas I am planning a trip to western nebraska to hunt mulies during the archery season, looking at the frenchmen unit, I am 35 good shape and have hunted mulies alot where in your opinion is the best public land dont need tons of monster bucks just trying to get on a solid 4x4 any and all feedback would be greatly appreciated. Happy hunting.

Did you go?

Looking into NE as well and it certainly seems everyone has the same feelings on pressure. Interested to know if you ended up making a run at it. As with most places if you are willing to put in the work i'm sure you can out walk the pack.

 

[Laramie]

Did you go?

Looking into NE as well and it certainly seems everyone has the same feelings on pressure. Interested to know if you ended up making a run at it. As with most places if you are willing to put in the work i'm sure you can out walk the pack.

If he went, he probably will never come back on the forum. Public land in Nebraska this past season was an absolute zoo. Just a rough guess but I bet success rates on public were under 5% and likely closer to 1-2%. Nebraska offers OTC tag to non-residents because they know it won't have an impact on their populations. I live an hunt in Nebraska- a decent mule deer on OTC public land is about as hard as harvesting a 350" bull on OTC national forest. It happens but a guy has to get damn lucky.

 

[xOttox]

Public land in Nebraska this past season was an absolute zoo.

This is an understatement; zoo does not cover the ridiculousness from this past season. I ran into multiple people/groups at the local range who bought bows and had shot a bit that summer with delusions of going out west to spot/stalk or flood the limited land in the eastern part of the state. Here's to hoping this year is a bit quieter.

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

 

[Lytro]

Did you go?

Looking into NE as well and it certainly seems everyone has the same feelings on pressure. Interested to know if you ended up making a run at it. As with most places if you are willing to put in the work i'm sure you can out walk the pack.

"Out walking the pack" likely isn't going to happen in NE from my experience. The terrain just isn't very demanding, and the tracts of land aren't that big. It doesn't take a lot of searching on here to quickly realize nearly every NR has the thought that going to the biggest pieces of public land (typically the sandills) and trying to go further in than everyone else is the golden ticket. Instead of looking for the most acreage, try focusing on terrain that will likely hold deer (food, cover, and water).