Need help in considering Nebraska mule deer hunt

[Len Backus]

Nebraska now allows crossbows during the archery season. And their gun season is during the rut. Tags are cheap and generally available to non-residents.

So I don't have much time left to decide on my overall draw strategy this year. I'd appreciate some help in figuring out the NE part of the puzzle.

Where is the best public land mule deer hunting?

[benchracer]

Nebraska doesn't have a lot of public land. If you check the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission website, you can get the lowdown on the available public hunting lands and the individual hunting units. I hear that what little public land there is for hunting mule deer tends to get very crowded.

Your best bet is to do the legwork necessary to get access to private land. I would check out the Sandhills or the Pine Ridge area.

[Len Backus]

Thanks, yes, I looked at the PDF maps showing public lands, not much.

What kind of legwork did you mean for gaining access to private land?

[TrophyHunter_colorado]

I hunted the muzzle loader season, 5 days before Christmas. I just got a wild hair and had no set plans, I just loaded up the truck and took off from western Colorado. I did about 3 hours of research before leaving and found there is more public land than you think. I had a contact up there were I did most of my hunting, When I hunted the public land I did not see a person. We shot a muley buck and a 8 point whitetail and two does in three days.
If you find a walk in only access area you will kill a nice whitetail. People up there are starting to charge everybody for tress pass, so don't expect to hunt for free on private land.

I had a great hunt and shot a bunch of deer and I did not have to draw a tag pretty sweet deal.

[Len Backus]

Thanks

I had a one hour phone call with a Fish and Game guy who was very helpful. I am now zeroing in on the Sandhill and Calumus West deer management units which have the largest contiguous pieces of public land.

I'll probably go out to scout the minute the roads are passable. From Google Earth, it looks like spot and stalk long range shots would work well.

[TrophyHunter_colorado]

I hunted up by Valentine and saw a lot of mule deer out there. I forget the refuge name but I saw a lot of bucks out there during the muzzy hunt. I also saw no other hunters.

[benchracer]

What kind of legwork did you mean for gaining access to private land?

I intended to steer you toward officers of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission in the areas under consideration for your hunting trip. Specifically, I was thinking that they may be able to recommend some favorably disposed private land owners you might contact to ask for permission to hunt on their property. It looks like you have already done something like that.

I grew up hunting upland game and waterfowl on ranch land in the Sandhills. Our family was fortunate to have access to some very good hunting during that time. However, the kind of access we had was solely because my grandfather grew up in the area and knew the land owners very well.

Without knowing someone in the area, I believe that your best chance at hunting private property would involve getting out and about in your area of choice and getting to know some of the local land owners. It seems to me that there is just no substitute for "pressing the flesh."

Anyway, that was the thinking behind my post. It looks like you may already be well on your way to finding what you are after. Good luck on your hunt! Please let us know how it turns out for you.