MANY DEER STILL AVAILABLE FOR MUZZLELOADER SEASON?
That’s what muzzleloader deer hunters in Nebraska have been asking in advance of this Saturday’s season opener. They’ve also been asking if many bucks are still around and if there is any breeding (rutting) activity still happening. I’ll let you answer these questions by looking at the game camera pics fresh off a farm a buddy of mine hunts in Washington County. May want to get your smoke-pole ready to go!
Nice little bucks. Next year they may be good bucks if they don’t get shot. Where I live you’d be lucky to get any thing on camera. I just pulled two cams out that were in for a week and only got three little does. The bowhunter next acre over from me told me he has had 8 cameras out all year and like me he is not getting any thing on them. He and his two brothers didn’t even gun hunt this year because they just weren’t seeing anything, but dead ones earlier in the fall.
Good luck
Appreciate the feedback, Don. Don’t forget about our Game and Parks big game informational meetings coming up around the state where deer issues can be discussed. Here’s a link to click to get info on the meetings: http://outdoornebraska.ne.gov/blogs/2012/11/big-game-meetings-scheduled-december/ Thanks again for the response. Take care. Greg Wagner.
Talk to 4 guys from Arkansas last night in the store and boy they were pissed. They said they spend all that money to come up here to hunt deer and the deer hunting sucks. They are not seeing many deer and the ones they are seeing are really small. They said no one had told them that they were mostly all dead from HED. They said they never come back here to hunt deer again. I have had other out of state hunter say the same thing. They are hunting the Indian reservation.
Once again, Don, thanks for the feedback. It is most appreciated! Keep in mind though that we in Game and Parks have done a ton of public informational work regarding deer hunters in Nebraska more than likely seeing lower numbers of deer due to disease (E.H.D.), drought, wildfires, etc. and being strongly encouraged to talk with landowners and our wildlife managers well in advance of their hunts to check deer numbers and conditions. With all of the avenues available on the information super highway and beyond, I can’t imagine a hunter, especially a nonresident hunter, not knowing what they were in store for unless they didn’t do any homework ahead of time. GW.
Last summer fawns will come into heat now. That’s what happens when they say the second round is going on. It always goes on about the first of Dec.. The same things goes on in deer farms. I have two buddies who rise deer to make and sell deer scent. The first year doe fawns it will never amount to any thing because being born late in the year . That’s were small scrubby antler bucks and small does come from. Deer famers do not let them breed for that reason, so they can keep a quality deer herd. Gun hunting in Dec helps keep this down and helps build a quietly herd. Living proof can be seen in IA, Ill, Min and other buck states.. Gun hunting the peck rut brake up the doe and bucks that have the quality fawns. so you end up with states like NE. Missouri and other states like them that don’t produce a lot of big bucks.
Don’t think there’s many decent bucks harvested in Nebraska? Check out KBRX Radio’s deer page for this year and see a host of good bucks: http://kbrx.com/2012deerseason.html GW.
Nice pics! Please don’t mislead people though. I live and bowhunt in SE Nebr. Have for 35yrs. Went out 22 times this year on many different farms. In my area deer populations are the lowest in memory. Could we suspend antlerless only permits and raise the fees to make up the revenue?
Hi Jay,
Thanks for taking the time to read my blog and make a comment! Just to clarify, nobody is being misled! There is no question that whitetail deer numbers are generally lower to much lower than they have been in the last several years due to disease (E.H.D.), drought, crop conditions, wildfires, etc., in a number of areas but not all! On this farm where the game cam pics were taken, the farms I hunt (including our own family farm in eastern Nebraska), whitetail deer numbers are in fair to good shape, similar to last year at least! It does depend on where you’re hunting as to what your whitetail numbers look like. As an informed hunter, you can certainly do your own deer management in accordance with those numbers and of course within your permit allowances. For suggestions about deer management that would begin in the fall of 2013, I remind you about attending one of the upcoming big game informational meetings: http://outdoornebraska.ne.gov/blogs/2012/11/big-game-meetings-scheduled-december/ Thanks again for your time, Jay! I share your passion of Nebraska deer hunting! GW.
You need to hunt Iowa the big buck capital of the world or Illinois and Minnesota. There are nice bucks taken in Nebraska, but not any thing like these states. When I moved to Nebraska and started bowhunting I let a about a 135 inch buck walk right under me because that’s not a shooter in Iowa. I was quick to learn you don’t do that in Nebraska. That maybe the biggest one you see all year. In Iowa I would let 140 inch bucks walk till about thanksgivings. I have shot 4 over 160 inch and 9 in the 140s to 150 inch bucks. I would see a allot of bucks every year locally that were in the 160s to 180 inch ever year in Iowa. My best friend this year from Iowa was letting 150 inch bucks walk and he said he was seeing 1 to 4 P&Y bucks every night. He had pictures of a lot of 180 incher in the wood he was hunting.He took a 8 pointer that scored 158. Now’s that’s a big 8. I have taken 4 that would be min. P&Y buck nothing to get worded up about in Nebraska. My buddy Rich has bow hunted 43 years and has over 30 P&Y buck from 140 to 190 inch bucks. All bow kills. I went into my local taxidermist once and will never forget it. His double garage floor was completely covered with monster buck racks from about 160 to 190 inch buck that were shoot around there in the gun season. In Iowa 1 1/2 buck is a nice 6 or even a small 8 pointer and will weigh 150 lbs. Not a 100 lb. buck wet that has a little screwed up spike or fork horn like you see here. a lot. Hunting Nebraska and Iowa is as deferent as night and day. Iowa has a has a lot better deer management program then Nebraska hands down.
I’ll stay in Nebraska for my deer hunting/big game hunting. Here are many, many reasons why: http://outdoornebraska.ne.gov/hunting/guides/biggame/bgtrophy.asp Thanks. GW.
http://www.iowadnr.gov/portals/idnr/uploads/Hunting/iowatrophydeer.pdf?amp;tabid=1219
Looking at Nebraska record bucks and it’s not ever good. Take a look at Iowa’s No wonder I can’t get my buddies to come here to hunt
Those of us at Game and Parks always appreciate suggestions and insight. But really, it’s not ever good? C’mon, Don, not so and you know it! Nebraska provides tremendous deer hunting opportunities (including mule deer in the west), fairly long, liberal seasons with a variety of weapons that can be used, very reasonable permit/stamp prices, good hunter success rates, and still the possibility of harvesting a quality animal. Oh, and e-mail me if you want to see the latest whitetail buck on that game camera in Washington County, Nebraska: Greg.Wagner@nebraska.gov
i hunt up north and rutting is for sure still going on. shot a mid 130 class sat. morning at 8 am. i seen no does that day, but i did see bucks cruising throughout the morning.
Thanks much for the report nw! I am preparing another blog entry about whitetail deer bucks just north of Omaha, NE as we interact here online. Stay tuned! GW