November firearm deer harvest down in Nebraska

NEBRASKA — Nebraska hunters are not harvesting as many deer as last year.

According to the Nebraska Game and Parks, preliminary deer check-in numbers are down 12 percent compared to 2020 for the nine-day November firearm season. That’s an overall decrease from 42,078 to 37,053.

Deer harvest in southeastern Nebraska was even with 2020, while southwestern Nebraska was down 19%. The northwestern district was down 8%, and the northeastern district was down 15% from 2020.

“Considering the increases in antlerless harvest in the southwest due to depredation management, it’s not surprising harvest numbers would trend downward as those deer populations decline,” said Luke Meduna, big game program manager for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. “Epizootic hemorrhagic disease reports also were up this fall, particularly in northern Nebraska, and that likely had an impact on whitetail populations.”

Archery and muzzleloader seasons still run through the end of the month. The late antlerless season will run Jan. 1-15, while the River Antlerless late season will run Jan. 1-31.