Hunting

LINCOLN, Neb. – Most Nebraska Game and Parks Commission offices will be open for additional hours to accommodate deer permit purchasers on the opening weekend of the firearm season. The nine-day firearm season opens Saturday, Nov. 10. Veterans Day will be observed on Monday, Nov. 12. Two Game and Parks locations – the Alliance office and Ak-Sar-Ben Aquarium – will be open for permit sales on Nov. 12. All other offices will be closed on Nov. 12. Offices in Alliance, …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Samples to be tested for chronic wasting disease (CWD) will be collected at check stations in north-central, central and northwest Nebraska during the November firearm deer hunting season. Nebraska Game and Parks Commission staff will collect lymph nodes from select harvested deer during the Nov. 10-18 season from the Pine Ridge, Plains, Sandhills, Keya Paha, Calamus West and Loup West management units. The goal of this sampling effort is to assess the spread and prevalence of CWD …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Those who plan to hunt the November firearm deer season are reminded to locate a check station ahead of their hunt. There have been several changes to the list of available check stations since last season. Firearm deer hunters and archers harvesting deer during the Nov. 10-18 firearm season must deliver their deer to a check station no later than 1 p.m. on the day following the close of the season. The following are new locations of …

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission adopted changes to fisheries regulations and orders at its meeting Oct. 26 in Kearney. Many of the changes will result in increased fishing opportunities for Nebraskans. The changes to archery and snagging paddlefish regulations are: — Applicants supplying email addresses will be notified when the draw is complete, while others should monitor their status online. Draw results will be available by March 20 for archery and July 20 for snagging permits. …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Many Nebraska outdoorsmen and women will go afield this fall to pursue a time-honored tradition of hunting ring-necked pheasants and northern bobwhite. Hunter Education Coordinator Jackson Ellis of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission says safety should be a top priority for hunters. “This is an exciting time of the year for Nebraska hunters,” he said. “While hunting is one of the safest family sports outdoors, with hunting incidents at an all-time low in Nebraska in recent …

Nebraska’s most popular hunting season – the firearm deer season – is right around the bend. Opening day for it is November 10th. Are you participating in it? Awesome! Many of us are. I am, as well! Hey, let me ask you some questions. Have you purchased your firearm deer hunting permit and habitat stamp? Have you brushed up on your deer hunting regulations and nearest check station locations? Have you firmed up permission with your farmer or rancher friends to hunt their private land? Have you sighted in your centerfire deer hunting …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Nebraska youth got to experience an upland hunt as adult mentors took them afield for the state’s special youth pheasant hunt Oct. 20-21. The special hunt took place on 13 wildlife management areas (WMA), where the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission released 6,997 roosters Oct. 19. In total, 298 adult mentors accompanied 375 youth hunters on the hunt this year. Youth and their mentors harvested 52 wild roosters and 592 released roosters. “We are excited to see …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Great hunting opportunities and access await hunters when they go afield for the opener of the Nebraska pheasant, quail and partridge seasons on Oct. 27. Hunters seeking new places to hunt are encouraged to refer to the 2018-19 Public Access Atlas, which displays nearly a million acres of publicly accessible lands throughout the state. In addition to state and federal lands, hunters will have access to more than 317,000 acres of private land enrolled in the Nebraska …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Wetland conditions across most of the state are good and, in places, have improved since early September, according to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. On Oct. 17, Game and Parks released a weekly update on the status of Rainwater Basin wetlands, as well as updated pumping plans. “Due to cooler temperatures and increased rainfall, conditions throughout most of the state and in many Rainwater Basin wetlands are generally good and have improved over the past two …

They are really a lot like us humans. They live their lives on a relatively predictable, routine basis. In other words, they keep a schedule. They are wild ring-necked pheasants. And, when pheasant hunters learn to understand that schedule and interrupt it in the wild ring-neck’s landscape, they will be on the path to having increased opportunities for success and bagging a rooster for Nebraska’s Upland Slam challenge. So, let’s look at the average day for Phasianus colchicus in the fall/winter. What’s it like? The Wake …