Nebraska encompasses the prairies of the Great Plains, the towering dunes of the Sandhills, lush river bottoms that flow into the Missouri, and the panhandle’s dramatic rock formations. This diverse collection of terrain has allowed the whitetail population to boom in recent decades, however, it wasn’t always that way. Due to unlimited hunting in Nebraska, deer were nearly extinct by 1900. The Nebraska Legislature passed a law prohibiting the hunting of deer in 1907, but recovery took decades. It wasn’t until 1945 that the first modern deer season began with a harvest of 275 mule deer and two white-tailed deer. Over half a century later, whitetail deer have taken over and are now found in abundance statewide!
Spring Creek Hunting - Wauneta, NE.
With access to non-resident, over the counter whitetail deer tags, Nebraska offers exciting opportunities. Although this aspect isn’t particularly unique to NE (about ¾ of states also provide this), the cornhusker state does have one feature that makes it stand out: it’s astronomical harvest rate. Overall, Nebraska had a 51% harvest success rate for deer in 2020. While mule deer are mostly found in the western Sandhills of Nebraska, it’s the Missouri and Wahoo GMU’s that host a majority of whitetail. Located in the Northeast corner of the state, the Missouri GMU had a whitetail harvest success rate of 53% last year.
A curious person might inquire about this enticing harvest rate. How does a state reach this level of success? It definitely helps that there is a booming population along with an unlimited number of antlerless whitetail tags available. Once you find a Nebraskan parcel of land to access, you’re set to have your most successful season yet!
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