Elk Hunting

Elk Home| Big Game Guide | Elk Seasons | Regulations | Maps and Applications
Permit Info | Elk Landowner Info | Distribution Map | Elk Harvest Data

When can I apply for Big Game permits?

Opening Dates and Application Periods

1st application period: May 21- June 1:

• Antelope (buck or either sex)
• Deer (Republican Mule Deer, Frenchman MDCA, Platte MDCA, Desoto Dec. MZ)
• Elk
  
  2nd application period: July 9 - close of season. All remaining Antelope, Deer and Elk permits. Residents and nonresidents may purchase remaining permits.
  (1st come, 1st serve)
  

For detailed information on Elk read Eric Fowler's Elk Article "Return to the Plains".

Elk are Nebraska's largest big game species. Elk populations continue to expand, with record permit sales and harvest. The statewide elk population is estimated at 2,600 animals after the 2012 calving season. Landowner tolerance for elk remains high, and the limited cow harvest is allowing populations to expand at roughly 15 percent per year.

Although the Game and Parks Commission's wildlife management areas and U.S. Forest Service pastures in the Bordeaux and Hat Creek units provide some opportunities for elk hunters, most elk taken in Nebraska are killed on private land. Obtaining private land access to hunt elk is difficult, but not impossible, and a growing number of Nebraska landowners charge fees for hunting privileges. It is a good idea to make at least two preseason trips to elk units before the hunting season -- the first to become acquainted with the landowners and the second to scout the hunting areas. Veteran elk hunters suggest looking for the best sources of feed near heavily forested, rugged terrain.