After semi retiring this fall I have decided to finally fulfill my wish of hunting other states. I am planning chasing mule deer in NE this year and was looking for some starter hints and tips. After spending the last 30 years in MN scouting for stand locations and staying put in one spot the idea of spot and stalk is very exciting but foreign to me. I have been looking at Valentine National forest both the Bessey area and the northern region. My thought is to drive in as far as I safely can and set up a base camp to hike in from each day. I realize it will likely get cold and can be snowy. Brother and I would likely be out there from a Wednesday through Saturday to avoid crowds the best we can. I would happily accept any tips or ideas on locations to start and tips for success. I am not asking for exact spots or anything like that, just a good starting point. The goal is a mature mule deer, but with two tags between my brother and I a big whitetail would be hard to pass. Both strong and healthy and not afraid to work.
Nebraska muzzleloader deer
- Thread starter mndiver
- Start date
By the time time you get to muzzleloader season, the deer have been pounded for 3 months.
The public areas are secondary habitat. And not big enough to contain the pressure they get. Once the commotion starts they all get bounced to the surrounding private land.
By muzzleloader season 98% of them will be on private ground.
It would be freak luck to see a nice buck of either specie, i would adjust your expectations down towards just getting a deer, any deer.
The public areas are secondary habitat. And not big enough to contain the pressure they get. Once the commotion starts they all get bounced to the surrounding private land.
By muzzleloader season 98% of them will be on private ground.
It would be freak luck to see a nice buck of either specie, i would adjust your expectations down towards just getting a deer, any deer.
Unfortunately this is good info. Nebraska is managed for opportunity, not quality. I saw some really nice mule deer bucks last month antelope hunting in the far NW corner of the state, but they will be shot or vanish before muzzleloader. Once the weather gets bad they will pile onto private ground in alfalfa or under pivots.
I archery hunted the McKelvie Nat'l Forest during muzzle loaders season two season back. There were deer (does and fawns of both species) out there, but we didn't see a single buck in 4 days on public land. Driving around, we did see piles of deer on private. Some of the private land around the Niobrara is pretty good habitat so I can see why all the deer wanted to be there, hunting pressure aside.
I only saw one Muzzleloader hunter leave his vehicle, so if you're willing to hike a distance or into some nastiness, you may get lucky. Finding an unroaded area with good habitat isn't that easy.
I'm from MN as well, and I really enjoyed the new area and the scenery. It should be a fun adventure for you, even if the hunting is exactly world class.
I only saw one Muzzleloader hunter leave his vehicle, so if you're willing to hike a distance or into some nastiness, you may get lucky. Finding an unroaded area with good habitat isn't that easy.
I'm from MN as well, and I really enjoyed the new area and the scenery. It should be a fun adventure for you, even if the hunting is exactly world class.
Thanks for the info, greatly appreciated. When you say "nasty" areas what do you mean? Hiking away from the crowds is plan #1. From what I have seen on maps and heard was it is a lot of undulating sand hills for miles and miles.
Nebraska E->W
Member
If the weather is bad it will push them to where the best food is which will be on private. You never know what you will see and you can't shoot one from the truck so it is best to get boots on the ground.
Mallardsx2
Well-known member
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- Apr 4, 2015
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- 2,722
Muzzleloader hunting after the rifle seasons on public ground is tough. I did it for several years. It was a low sighting hunt and I hunt harder than most.
MJE2083
Well-known member
I don't know about the Valentine area, but I just spent 10 days in NW Nebraska(Pine Ridge Area) and we saw very few mule deer. In fact I didn't see a single buck all week. I'm sure they're out there somewhere, but they seemed really few and far between compared to the whitetails.
kylemcintyre67
Well-known member
The Hunting Public channel on youtube has a lot of Nebraska videos. They had some success on on public during muzzle loader season last year in Nebraska.
Any mature whitetails seen?
Pucky Freak
Well-known member
Find private land you can hunt, or
If you haven’t bought a tag yet, seriously consider another state. I looked long and hard at NE for MD and realized opportunities are better in pretty much every other state, and sometimes doesn’t require much more planning.
If you haven’t bought a tag yet, seriously consider another state. I looked long and hard at NE for MD and realized opportunities are better in pretty much every other state, and sometimes doesn’t require much more planning.
How about your home state of Iowa? I have thought about there as well.
Pucky Freak
Well-known member
I have fun hunting whitetails on IA public land every year, archery and shotgun. I always see mature deer. The gem of IA public land is archery IMO, but if you have a good plan and know where, when, and how to look either shotgun or Dec/Jan MZ it’s feasible to come across a lunker. I can tell you what I know if you want to PM me. I have more spots than I can hunt in a season so I don’t mind offering some pointers.
The main objection I have to NR’s is value, as the IA tag is very expensive and takes time to obtain. A greater value option is MO over both IA and NE.
MJE2083
Well-known member
Yeah we saw a few really nice bucks, mostly on private land, but they're out there.
Without being too specific, I mean areas with the thickest cover. Where I was at in McKelvie, that usually meant cedar trees or swamps.
The Sandhills are a very unique landform, and to me a very beautiful area to hunt, but like stated above, MO is probably a lot better value for a tag. If I hadn't hunted NE before, I wouldn't regret hunting it one time, but I'm not rushing to get back their either.
