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Nebraska Hunt Planner

Nebraska offers some interesting hunts, including Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep (residents only, and only offered when the population is doing well), elk (residents only), antelope (essentially residents only, except for archery tags), and mule deer.

But, for practical purposes, what Nebraska really offers is great whitetail and turkey hunting. Tags for both are very easy to come by, and limits are very liberal compared to any other western state.

Western Nebraska is by far my favorite western state to hunt whitetails. Tags are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Residents get the first chance to buy up the tags, but quotas for a given area are not usually filled by the initial resident purchase, giving a chance to non-residents once our turn comes. You can buy up to two either-sex tags, and an unlimited number of doe tags.

If you live near enough to Nebraska to go more than once a year, you can enjoy generous season ranging from archery season to gun season to muzzleloader season, followed by a doe-only rifle season for the first half of January.

Nebraska requires you to take your deer to a check station, a rarity in western hunting.

For bird hunters, duck and goose hunting is excellent, if you can find a place to hunt. There's also great pheasant hunting, again, if you can find a place to hunt.

Species Notes General Tag Quality Limited Tag Quality Odds of Drawing Limited Tags Strategy
Antelope Residents get first pass at the antelope tags. In theory, non-residents can buy leftovers ... but there are no leftovers. N/A Average Average Pass.
Elk Residents only. N/A Average   Pass.
Mule Deer There are some decent mulies taken in Nebraska, but not necessarily on public land. Average Average Good Pass.
Sheep, Rocky Mountain Bighorn Residents only, and only offered when the population is doing well. Poor Excellent   Pass.
Whitetail Great whitetail state. In western Nebraksa, some opportunities in the plains, but most whitetail hunting will occur on river bottoms. Mostly private land, but some good State Wildlife Areas. Good N/A Over-the-counter A Nebraska whitetail hunt is well-worth considering.