Hunting

Each year on September 1, around sunrise, it happens.  My ego as a hunter and wing-shooter is assaulted by a gray-streak that was a mourning dove. Generally, I stand in open-jaw, amazement with three empty shotgun hulls laying around me as the winged-speedster is off to another location. But every once in a awhile something truly magical happens as I reload and the dove – for reasons still unknown to science –  circles back around, just a little closer, and …

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LINCOLN – Nebraska’s archery deer season opens Sept. 1 and hunters are reminded that they must check their harvested deer via Telecheck. The electronic checking service known as Telecheck will be available by both phone service at 844-279-4564 or online at OutdoorNebraska.gov/Telecheck starting Sept. 1. Telecheck allows hunters to check deer or antelope 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All deer harvested outside the November firearm season and all antelope harvested outside the October firearm season must be …

LINCOLN – Waterfowl hunters on state recreation areas (SRA) are reminded they may not shoot teal until Sept. 6, three days following the opening of the early teal season. The early teal season begins Sept. 3. SRA regulations prohibit any hunting until the Tuesday following Labor Day, which is Sept. 6. Regulations state the portions of some SRAs are open to hunting from the first Tuesday following Labor Day through the end of the spring turkey hunting season, unless restricted. …

LINCOLN – Nebraska’s teal hunting season in the northern part of the state remains on an experimental basis this year. Continuation of that part of the state’s teal season in future years depends on hunters’ ability to distinguish teal from other duck species. During this experimental period, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is evaluating the rate at which nontarget species are shot at or taken in the northern part of the state. If the rate is considered unacceptable by …

LINCOLN – Dove hunting season begins soon and the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has some reminders for those hunters, as well as recommendations for areas to hunt. Doves may be hunted statewide. The season is Sept. 1 – Oct. 30, with daily bag and possession limits of 15 and 45, respectively. Bag limits are for mourning, white-winged and Eurasian collared doves in aggregate. Shooting hours are 30 minutes before sunrise until sunset. Nebraska residents 16 years and older and …

Most that know me will admit the “kid” has never left me.   My wife would likely agree with that and then some.  Part of my childhood was chasing bushy tails in oak trees on my uncle’s farm.  From the first hunt…I was hooked.  I have been ever since! Early season squirrels (our season starts August 1) can be a lot of fun and a real challenge.  We can finally get back into the field and that in itself is …

LINCOLN – This fall the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and the Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at the University of Nebraska will survey hunters who use public lands in Nebraska. Beginning Sept. 1, hunters at wildlife management areas or private lands enrolled in the Open Fields and Waters program may be approached by UNL researchers or Game and Park staff, who will ask a series of questions about their hunting experiences. Game and Parks will use insights …

LINCOLN – Hunters are asked to report observations of sick or dead deer to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission as they head afield this September. Each summer, the Commission monitors for signs of diseased deer; reports from the public help track incidents. Deer populations in Nebraska have been healthy across most areas and last year’s harvest resulted in near-record numbers. Few cases of sick deer have been reported so far this year. However, incidences of epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) …

LINCOLN – Nebraska duck hunters will find good news in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s recent 2016 waterfowl population status report. The report shows mallard numbers are near record highs and the estimated green-winged teal population is the highest since estimates began in 1955. The estimated mallard population this year is 51 percent above the long-term (1955-2015) average, while the green-wing teal numbers are 104 percent higher than the long-term average. Other dabbling duck species varied in abundances from …