Nebraska Muzzleloader Season Question

Stillwater165

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Looking at trying western Nebraska for mule deer in the late season with a muzzleloader. Sounds like rifle season is a complete joke , careless road hunters is all I hear about. This would be my sons first mule deer hunt so I don't want to be around any bs. He's too young yet to hunt Wyoming with me so Nebraska looks like an option. I have no intentions of pulling the trigger on my gun but I have to have a valid tag to take him. Is it worth trying out there on a do it yourself hunt for a decent Muley in mid December ? Any info would be great !
 
Most of Nebraska is private land, especially western. There is definitely some public access to look into but your best bet would be to try and secure some land to hunt ahead of time so you don't end up in the rat race with everyone else. The pressure is definitely way less during the muzzleloader season then the rifle season. Out west, they love their mule deer way more then white tail and it can be pretty hard to get access and even harder if you don't want to pay access fees. The muzzleloader seasons are a lot of fun in Nebraska. Good luck and hopefully you can find a great area to hunt with your son. There are some great bucks out west.
 
Thank you for the reply ! I hauled cattle out of that part of the country many years ago , I wish I would have been thinking permission then ! I saw plenty of deer and the place kinda stuck in the back of my mind. Here I am 15 years later thinking again. I wouldn't be opposed to paying a bit if somebody wanted to share a possibility. I have a lot of respect for cattlemen as I've been one my entire life.
 
There are some decent chunks of ground around Ft. Robinson, the Ogalalla National Grassland north of Harrison and also the Valentine Wildlife Refuge south of Valentine. As far as the hunting goes, Nebraska is a joke. My family owns quite a bit of land in the Central part of the state and still can't kill a decent buck because everyone kills the first thing they see.
 
Thanks for the reply , I was afraid of that. That's why I stated in my original post that I had no intention of pulling the trigger on my gun. This hunt would be all about my son , I don't even want a tag but legally to take him I have too. My dad let me shoot one forkhorn in my life and that was my first as a child , after that he wouldn't let me look at anything less than a decent 4 point. I see the same thing in Wyoming every year, forks , 3 points , tiny 4 points , they kill em all. Pretty stupid.
 
>Thanks for the reply , I
>was afraid of that. That's
>why I stated in my
>original post that I had
>no intention of pulling the
>trigger on my gun. This
>hunt would be all about
>my son , I don't
>even want a tag but
>legally to take him I
>have too. My dad let
>me shoot one forkhorn in
>my life and that was
>my first as a child
>, after that he wouldn't
>let me look at anything
>less than a decent 4
>point. I see the same
>thing in Wyoming every year,
>forks , 3 points ,
>tiny 4 points , they
>kill em all. Pretty stupid.
>

If you decide you need a little more info on hunting public land in Nebraska, send me a PM. I call tell you a little about the lay of the land and maybe where to stay.
 
Never hunted Nebraska for mule deer, but I see them frequently on my spring turkey hunts - in NW Nebraska. That's in early May so hard to tell anything about antler growth at that time. I'm turkey hunting a mix of public and private land again this May so PM me if you are still considering it and I'll make some notes while I'm out there.
 
Forgot to mention, the "Nebraska National Forest Oglala National Grassland - Pine Ranger District" map is invaluable, if you decide to go. I'm an old school kinda guy so I lean towards the paper maps vs. the GPS maps.

I think the paper map is free. The waterproof map is $10 or $15. Either one is well worth it. Phone number to order is 308-432-0300.
 
LAST EDITED ON Mar-05-17 AT 06:11PM (MST)[p]Thank you much , first thing I did was ordered the maps about a month ago so I have those here , the Delorme sportsman gazetteer for the whole state and the weather proof Nebraska national forest and grasslands map. I also will run a Garmin 64 with the Nebraska chip so all that should keep me legal , now to pin point an area that might have something for the little guy to try for ! Id really like to see him take his first mule deer. I don't like the taking of small bucks whatsoever but when your 11 I think it's okay , once. So we're not looking for muy grande by any means , but respectable would be nice or I'll have him shoot a whitetail as a last resort.
 

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