Nebraska Trophy Whitetails - Trophy Whitetail Deer Outfitters

Deer Hunting Seasons

Whitetail and Mule Deer Hunting



Trophy Deer Hunts 402-304-1192

Archery Sept. 1 - Dec. 31
Mule Deer Conservation Area Sept. 15 - Dec 31
November Firearm Nov. 10 - 18
Nonresident Statewide Buck Nov. 10 - 18
Resident Restricted Statewide Buck Nov. 10 - 18
Muzzleloader Dec. 1 - 31

Season Choice and River Antlerless Sept. 15 - Jan. 18, 2013
Youth and Landowner Sept. 15 - Jan. 18, 2013
Statewide Whitetail Buck Sept. 15 - Dec. 31
DeSoto Muzzleloader Oct. 20 - 21, Dec. 8 - 9


Legal Methods of Take:

Trophy Deer Hunts - 402-304-1192

Firearm- 22 caliber or larger with minimum of 900 ft lbs. energy at 100 yds. and 357 magnum rifles and 45 colt rifles, and shotguns 20 gauge or larger with single projectile and handguns with minimum of 400 ft lbs at 50 yds.




Muzzleloader Permits -45 caliber or larger with single projectile.
Archery Permits - Arrows must have sharpened points with a minimum of 9/16 cutting radius.

Spear - Handthrown/Atlatl

Shooting Hours:
30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset
 

Requirements:

Resident: Deer Permit Hunter Education	Nonresident: Deer Permit Hunter Education
Habitat Stamp - for all nonresidents and for residents 16 years or older

Whitetail Hunting Tips: How to Use Deer Calls, Scents, and Decoys

Nebraska Trophy Whitetails - Trophy Whitetail Deer Hunts

EARLY SEASON
▶ Scents: Basic doe urine is all you want to use now. It will reassure deer as they move through an area that all is well in that part of the woods, especially as they travel about on the feeding patterns that are common now. If you go with an estrous scent early, you’ll only spook deer, as they will know that isn’t natural for this time of year.
▶ Calls: A grunt tube is essential. It’s good all season long and is really the only call that should be used in the early season. If your tube is adjustable, make the grunt less deep and guttural so that it sounds more like a young buck. This will be less intimidating to other bucks at a time when they are not yet challenging each other too hard.
▶ Decoys: Try using a subordinate (or smaller) buck decoy now, as young groups of bucks are still moving together and might become curious about the new kid on the block. With deer still locked on feeding patterns, it seems a doe, with doe scent placed around her, might act as a confidence tool, but it’s best to save that trick for later in the season.

PRE-RUT
▶ Scents: Bucks are getting ramped up for the coming rut, and now is the time to challenge a big boy’s dominance. Buck urine, used either in high-traffic travel corridors or in conjunction with a scrape, can bring a bruiser charging in.
▶ Calls: Now is the time to break out a medium to heavy set of rattling antlers or a rattling bag. Bucks are beginning to seriously challenge one another, and even the more passive ones will be curious about who is doing battle. Start slowly and work the antlers into a loud clash for two to three minutes, staying alert to any bucks that may rush in. Take a break of 15 to 30 minutes between each set. When rattling, mix in some grunts or rake a tree or the ground for added realism. As the rut approaches, rattling will only be more effective.
▶ Decoys: Now is the time to go with a standing subordinate buck and place it 20 to 25 yards out from your stand, where deer approaching from different directions might spot it.
Angle the fake buck so that it’s looking perpendicular to you or looking past your stand at an angle (never at you) so that an approaching buck offers a broadside shot or quartering-away shot when it faces off with the decoy.

RUT
▶ Scents: Within two weeks of the peak of the rut is when you want to bust out a top-dollar doe estrous scent. When you start seeing those first bucks—either in person or on a trail camera—running loopy through the forest on the trail of a doe, spread the scent liberally around your best stand on three or four wicks. Mix in a little tarsal gland to fuel a dominant buck’s jealousy at the same time. Use both on drags going in to your stand.
▶ Calls: When you spot a buck cruising in search of does during the peak of the rut, three or four short, quick doe bleats will make it think a willing doe is nearby. If it’s already on a doe’s trail or slipping through and doesn’t hear the bleats, throw a single, loud snort-wheeze its way. That can stop a buck in its tracks and bring it stomping back toward you. Keep rattling and grunting during the peak, too.
▶ Decoys: A good buck decoy, with tarsal scent hung right next to it, can serve to irritate territorial bucks on the prowl and bring them in when you combine it with a snort-wheeze or grunt. Up the ante with a doe decoy used in conjunction with the buck. That combination can be deadly.

POST-RUT
▶ Scents: With rut activity winding down, a whitetail’s thoughts return to food, especially in regions where winters can be tough. Generally, it’s time to return to basic doe urine to put deer at ease. About 28 days after the peak of the rut, the second rut should kick in and you should get back to using estrous scent. Because second-rut intensity is lower, don’t expect it to work the wonders it did a month ago.
▶ Calls: The battles and challenges of the rut are winding down, deer have been run hard, and hunting pressure is at its peak. Every sound you make now should be about reassuring a buck that the environment is safe. Occasional doe bleats to mimic those final estrous does can be helpful, but for the most part just stick to light, occasional contact grunts when you actually have your eyes or ears locked on a deer moving nearby and just need to draw it in a little closer.
▶ Decoys: Food has moved back up the hierarchy of needs over breeding, so use a feeding doe decoy out in the open to instill hunt-weary deer with confidence. Don’t use a buck decoy now, as bucks may still be skittish. Place estrous scent around a doe decoy and offer occasional bleats to add to the fake’s appeal.

Nebraska Trophy Whitetail Deer Hunts

Call 402-304-1192

Last Chance Buck: Hunting Nebraska's Trophy Whitetail Deer

Last Chance Buck: Hunting Nebraska's Whitetail Deer
© 2010 Scott Croner and
Nebraska Hunting Company™


"Sometimes, the best shot,

is the one you give someone else."



It was late in the day, and light was fading fast. The dried leaves and stalks of the worked over soybeean field rustled in the Northeasterly breeze.

I asked her to please take the shot, but being the good and ethical hunter she is, Tori would not. "I just can't get a good sight on him!"

We had been at that particular field for a short time, nestled against a tree in a low hollow that gave us Tori and I a good view of the soybean field in front of us, and some protection from the breeze.

It was late in the afternoon when the first buck appeared. A good sized spike came into view on our left, working a scrape line in a ditch bordering the soybean. As he got closer, we could see that he had all of the hallmarks of making himself a big deer. If he kept his wits about him, managed to survive the next three or four yaers, he would be a bruiser.

Suddenly, the spike was alert. His ears swiveled forward concentrating all sounds. We caefully looked in the same direction, which was somewhere between us and the spike.

"There!" I whispered.

Another big bodied whitetail buck was stepping between the laurels and brush, his nose to the ground.

The young spike stood his ground as the forkhorn, still one hundred yards away, paused at the edge of the wind blown field, the cold breeze ruffling his fur.

I debated whether we should take the fork or not. It started out into the soybean.

I carefully raised the call to my lips. The plastic was cold. A quick snort followed by a wheeze brought him to a standstill.

That's when Tori with her young sharp eyes spotted him.

Whispering excitededly she said, "Look over there! Across from us!" Yes, right there I caught some motion between two cottonwoods. Almost two hundred yards away I could make out yet another deer, this one with heavy antlers. I carefully put him in my scope, wary of all the other eyes in the field. He was bigger than I expected.

I told Tori to pick him up in her scope and get ready.

The forkhorn was now making his way towards our hidden spot, while the spike stood his ground unsure of what he should do.

It was time. I asked Tori to shoot, the light was fading, the forkhorn was intent on joining us for coffee or stepping on us, and the spike was stomping his foot.

"I can't!" She whispered, "I just can't get him in my sights. You take him!"

Again I hesitated. "Are you sure?"

Her urgent response was, "No Mr Scott, you shoot!"

The crosshairs found their mark. I gently squeezed the trigger, the recoil pulling the buck out of view. The spike and forkhorn bolted in opposite directions as the roar of the rifle echoed off the trees.

As I pulled the rifle back into place and worked the bolt, I heard Tori exclaim, "He's down! He's down!" I scanned the ground with my scope, but I didn't see anything.

I was nervous, it was a quartering away shot, one of the most difficult ones to make, especially at a distance.

"Let's wait awhile..."

So we sat there and watched the sun as it slowly hid behind the trees.

There wasn't much time left before the sun set true and well, so we left our concealed spot, and hurried to the tree I had marked him by.

As we carefully approached the spot, I kept Tori slightly behind me. I pushed a round into the chamber, my thumb on the safety.


The grayish brown coat stood in contrast to the reddish brown of the leaves on the ground. He was down.

Tori was ecstatic at recovering the deer. It was several hours later when I finally got him hung up and gutted. His estimated weight by tape, was aproximately 300 lbs! He will score right at 150, once the rack has had time to dry.

I was shooting my Browning A-bolt in 300 Winchester Magnum, with 150 grain Remington Cor Lokt.

As I mentioned earlier, I was worried about the shot, and I was right to be concerned. The bullet entered behind the ribs, slicing through the liver, and punching into the stomach. That in and of itself was not a bad thing, considering the angle. But the Core Lokt didn't hold together. Vegetable matter stopped the bullet forcing it apart.

The bullet disintergrated without exiting the stomach. If it had continued in the line it was traveling, it would have clipped the heart and damaged the lungs. A premium grade ammunition would have been preferable, something like the Swift A-Frame used in Remington's premium line.

On the positive side, we followed my instincts and waited before following up on the deer. Had we pushed him, he might have gone a couple of miles before expiring.


Best to you,
Scott Croner
Nebraska Hunting Company

Ellis Scores On A Big 8 "Nebraska Trophy Whitetail" With Scott Croner And The Nebraska Hunting Company

After going Merriam's turkey hunting with Scott Croner in May and tagging out I knew I had to go on a deer hunt with him when the opportunity came up. I booked my deer hunt for muzzleloader season the second week in December. After talking to Scott several times on the phone before I arrived I was very excited about what he was telling me he had been seeing. I arrived in Nebraska City mid afternoon and was greeted by Scott. He took me to a spot on the edge of a soybean field and said he had been seeing a 140-150 class buck in the area along with some 130 class bucks. Two hours later I caught a glimpse of a big buck walking a ridge across from me. I grunted and he turned and walked right towards me. I guess buck fever set in because I made a bad shot and hit him in the gut. Scott and I blood trailed him for a little while that evening but decided to back out when we ran out of blood and lost light. The next morning I was happy to see Scott had two other people with him to help us find the deer. It took us about an hour and we found him the biggest buck I've ever taken a 144" 8-pointer. I've hunted with 6 different outfitters in my life and Scott Croner is the best I have hunted with. I already have a deer hunt booked for next deer season and plan on booking many more.

Ellis, Villa Rica, Georgia