Headed to Neb at the end of the month to do some wing shooting and a little bow hunting. We are camping in the McKelvie Nat Forest. Any of y'all had any experience in the area as far as the deer hunting is concerned? Studying the maps looking at the creek bottoms and wood lots. It's wide open spaces best i can tell ha!!
Nebraska Muley/Grouse/Chukar
- Thread starter MidTnBuck
- Start date
AT Hiker
Well-Known Member
I cannot remember if I have been in that specific area or not but it's sandhill country. Muleys will typically be in that wide open rolling ground and whitetail in the creek bottoms.
You might want to study up on a NR muley tag as well. NE,KS and SD all have unique regs.
You might want to study up on a NR muley tag as well. NE,KS and SD all have unique regs.
NE significantly cut tags on NR deer this year, especially mule deer. 4 of us are going in November and when they went on sale a couple weeks ago two of us were able to get an any buck & two got whitetail buck. We were sitting at computers when they went on sale at 1:00 that day & took nearly two hours due to their system overloaded. Lost track of how many times I had mine in cart & when went to checkout got kicked back to login, #34@#! frustrating for sure.
We'll be hunting private ground in Thedford which is just a little SE of McKelvie. Spent a day in the Sandhills last year looking around on my way to SD. Unique area for sure, basically big sand dunes with grass on them. They have been in a 3-4 year drought and it was pretty dismal when I was there. However, like much of the West they had abundant snowfall, with significant rain in spring & summer. Talked to rancher where we are hunting a couple weeks ago and he's had the best hay year so far in a long time. Fingers crossed that it's greatly improved. Good luck on your trip!
We'll be hunting private ground in Thedford which is just a little SE of McKelvie. Spent a day in the Sandhills last year looking around on my way to SD. Unique area for sure, basically big sand dunes with grass on them. They have been in a 3-4 year drought and it was pretty dismal when I was there. However, like much of the West they had abundant snowfall, with significant rain in spring & summer. Talked to rancher where we are hunting a couple weeks ago and he's had the best hay year so far in a long time. Fingers crossed that it's greatly improved. Good luck on your trip!
Hunted grouse and prairie chickens around there when I was a kid; but never went deer hunting in that area. Got some of the biggest jack rabbits I've ever seen there.
I have hunted that area for mule deer. I did a lot of research and reached out to the park service and asked a lot of questions.. Deer density is not high in that part of the state, during my hunts is was averaging one per 10 square miles. That being said, I saw deer everyday and had deer within bow range everyday. Those samdhills will hide deer very well. What worked for me was glassing. Got out 2 hrs before sunrise to get to my glassing spots and just kept looking. There is a lot of yucca plans that hide a bedded deer very well. Infact majority of the deer were bedded in between plants making them invisible. I was looking for ear twitches and antler tips. Once I located a deer the fun began on stalking and getting into position. The way they bed in and against the yucca can make it extremely difficult as they seem to bed on the down hill side of the plant which blocks your line of sight from aboveI. I had a blast and loved the challlenge of getting close to those deer. I would strongly recommend making phone calls to figure out grazing rotations and road conditions. I would hunt all day and not just go hunt the mornings or evenings, so I brought lots of water to stay hydrated and spend as much time glassing. Some of those roads are pure sand and I wouldnt want to get stuck on one and spend time messing around with the truck when you ahould.be hunting. There are some "wooded" areas but I did not spend anytime in them. Take a good compass and map, cell service was pretty bad with verizon. You will have a great time and its a haven for grouse. I saw so many while glassing. I would expect you should finish out grouse limits pretty quick. Good luck!
Headed out tomorrow mid-morning, doing some last minute packing this evening and trying to dot all my I's and cross my T's. We are pulling a trailer and bringing the SxS along as well. Most of my experience (spike camps) has been in the mountains of CO and AZ. Never been to the sandhills so gear list is a touch different since temps are going to be 100 in the day and 60 at night. Any last minute suggestions or additions to make life at camp and in the field a little easier?
Hope you took a tarp for shade at camp as trees are scarce. Good luck!
