By Greg Wagner
As Nebraska’s largest hunt by participation – the firearm deer-hunting season – comes into view, visions of antlers and venison tenderloins can make the mind wander a bit. So before you take to your stand or blind for the season that runs Nov. 16-24 this year, please read over these deer hunting safety tips and regulation reminders to keep yourself focused, safe, ethical and within the rules.
With 45 years at the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, and as a longtime firearm deer hunter in Nebraska, here are my top priorities for hunters:
- Touch-base with your landowner to make sure that you’re still ‘good to go’ when it comes to going afield on their ground.
- Be safety conscious at all times, especially when hunting public land, and don’t intrude on others. Also, know your property boundaries.
- Make certain your deer permit is signed, you have a habitat stamp (if applicable) and any other required items.
- Exercise caution driving to and from hunting spots. Deer activity increases this time of year at dawn, dusk and night, so slow down and be alert behind the wheel. Also watch out for large, slow-moving agricultural vehicles on rural roads hauling grain or hay.
- Wear 400 square inches of blaze orange clothing and the head, chest and back. It is required of all deer and turkey hunters for the firearm deer hunting season, regardless of the type of equipment used.
- Plan your hunt and hunt your plan in the field. Firearm deer hunters need to coordinate exactly where they will be hunting on a given tract of land, when they are departing and when they’ll be returning. Eventualities that may happen must be considered. Once you’ve made the plan, follow it, and stay in communication with others.
- Place some sort of blaze orange material on your ground blind to be readily seen from all directions and indicate to others that it is occupied.
- Deploy an artificial light like a headlamp, cap lights or a flashlight going to and from your hunting spot as an additional safety precaution and to allow you to see better in the dark.
- Encourage non-hunters or anyone out and about in the Nebraska countryside during the firearm deer hunting season to also utilize an artificial light and wear some blaze orange clothing so they can easily be seen, particularly at low light.
- Use only approved safety equipment when hunting from a tree stand. Newer fall arrest systems offer more protection than older models. A haul line for gear should be used as well.
- Maintain proper muzzle control at all times! Know where the firearm is pointed and never allow it to be pointed at anything you do not intend to shoot. Treat every firearm as if it were loaded!
- Employ binoculars, rather than a rifle scope, to identify your target.
- Keep aware of your surroundings. Be fully aware of your target and background. Before firing a shot, ask yourself, “Is the bullet flight path clear? Is that a legitimate target and what am I going to hit if I miss my shot?“
- Never go onto private property without the landowner’s permission. This includes trailing a wounded deer onto someone else’s property.
- Arrange for the cleaning, cooling, transporting and processing of deer.
- Cancel your deer tag on your permit immediately, once the deer is down and deceased.
- For the first time during this firearm deer-hunting season, hunters may choose to check in their deer at a physical check station or through Telecheck. For more information on Telecheck, to view a map of check stations, or to access the online reporting form, visit OutdoorNebraska.gov/hunt/telecheck. A QR code has been added to your deer permit to scan with a smartphone and take you directly to the Telecheck page. The phone number to Telecheck is 844-279-4564 and is on your deer permit.
- Remember to only take good, clean, humane shots at a deer. Exact shot placement into a vital organ area is necessary for all deer hunters. The best shot on a deer is broadside or quartering-away and hits the heart and lungs.
- Put the Nebraska Wildlife Crimestoppers toll-free telephone number in your cell phone to report game law violations. The number is: 1-800-742-7627. It is staffed 24 hours a day, year-round. Violations can also be reported via the online form on the Wildlife Crimestoppers web page. QR codes that direct to the web page can be found in our hunting, fishing, and boating guides.
Remind yourself that the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s website at OutdoorNebraska.gov is an invaluable resource for any information regarding deer hunting. It includes a multitude of things from the Big Game Guide to the Public Lands Access Atlas. Also on the website are links to Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), Antlerless Hunter Database, Hunters Helping the Hungry and the Deer Exchange.
I wish you a pleasurable and memorable deer hunt! GW.