Calamus West Deer Management Unit, Nebraska: deer harvest, public land and walk-in access
Nebraska's Calamus West Deer Management Unit covers 4,202 square miles across Brown, Cherry, Rock, Loup, Holt and Blaine counties. 5% of it is public land by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and Game and Parks area maps, mostly national forest or grassland, and Game and Parks' 2026-27 OFW map adds 16,790 acres of private walk-in land on 8 tracts. Game and Parks counted 1,108 deer taken across all seasons in 2025: 501 white-tailed bucks and 139 antlerless whitetails, plus 438 mule deer bucks and 30 antlerless mule deer.
Data updated October 2026. Harvest: Game and Parks' 2026 Big Game Recommendations, 2021 to 2025. Seasons: the 2026 Big Game Guide. Land: USGS PAD-US 4.1 and agency area maps. Walk-in: Game and Parks, 2026-27.
Game and Parks landNational wildlife refuge or WPANational forest or grasslandBureau of ReclamationBLMState park or recreation areaOther publicOpen Fields and WatersCalamus WestWMANeighboring unitsLakeHighway
| Size | 2,689,462 acres (4,202 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Counties | Brown, Cherry, Rock, Loup, Holt, Blaine, Thomas and Garfield |
| Public land | 5% (133,989 acres) |
| Walk-in land (OFW, 2026-27) | 16,790 acres on 8 tracts (0.6% of the unit) |
| Deer harvested, 2025 | 1,108 (939 bucks) |
| Unit Buck permits, 2026 | Calamus West: 1,400 |
| WMAs with a page | Calamus Reservoir WMA, Plum Creek Valley WMA, Nick Lyman WMA, Willow Lake B.C. WMA and South Pine WMA |
| Towns in it | Atkinson, Burwell, Ainsworth, Long Pine, Dunning and Halsey |
How many deer are harvested in the Calamus West unit?
Game and Parks counted 1,108 deer across all seasons in 2025, down 26% from 1,504 in 2021. Mule deer were 42.2% of it. Of the white-tailed bucks checked in 2025, 39% were 3 or older.
| Year | Total deer | White-tailed bucks | Antlerless whitetails | Mule deer bucks | Antlerless mule deer | Whitetail bucks 3 and older |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,108 | 501 | 139 | 438 | 30 | 39% |
| 2024 | 1,146 | 529 | 186 | 399 | 32 | 45% |
| 2023 | 1,051 | 553 | 230 | 246 | 22 | 47% |
| 2022 | 1,379 | 648 | 363 | 330 | 38 | 47% |
| 2021 | 1,504 | 777 | 377 | 290 | 60 | 53% |
Source: Game and Parks' 2026 Big Game Recommendations, page 55, the unit's harvest comparisons by year (all seasons and permit types). Buck ages are Game and Parks' estimates from check-station data.
Game and Parks also reports 0 deer depredation complaints in the unit in 2025, and a harvest objective of 400 mule deer bucks and 600 white-tailed bucks (Game and Parks' 2026 Big Game Recommendations, page 54).
How much public land is in the Calamus West unit?
5% of the unit is public land: 133,989 of its 2,689,462 acres, led by national forest or grassland at 90,248 acres. WMAs with a page of their own: Calamus Reservoir WMA, Plum Creek Valley WMA, Nick Lyman WMA, Willow Lake B.C. WMA, South Pine WMA, Ballards Marsh WMA and Peterson Lake WMA. Game and Parks' map shows 10 WMAs in the unit in all.
| Manager | Acres | Share of the unit |
|---|---|---|
| National forest or grassland | 90,248 | 3.4% |
| National wildlife refuge or WPA | 34,052 | 1.3% |
| Game and Parks land | 8,576 | 0.3% |
| State park or recreation area (not counted as hunting land) | 1,081 | under 0.1% |
| BLM | 796 | under 0.1% |
| Bureau of Reclamation | 317 | under 0.1% |
| Other public (not counted as hunting land) | 135 | under 0.1% |
Measured by FilledTag inside Game and Parks' unit boundary from USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee and designation lands with open or restricted public access) and Game and Parks properties (WMAs, recreation areas, parks) and Game and Parks other public recreation lands; the water of the larger reservoirs is left out.
How much walk-in hunting land is in the Calamus West unit?
Game and Parks' 2026-27 Open Fields and Waters layer maps 16,790 acres on 8 tracts inside the unit, 0.6% of its ground. OFW land is private land Game and Parks leases for walk-in hunting, trapping or fishing; driving on it is prohibited. County totals for the counties the unit touches:
| County | Share of the county in this unit | OFW acres in the county | OFW tracts in the county |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brown County | 69.4% | 4,041 | 3 |
| Cherry County | 13.4% | 171 | 1 |
| Rock County | 74% | 6,733 | 3 |
| Loup County | 81.3% | 867 | 1 |
| Holt County | 18.2% | 13,656 | 11 |
| Blaine County | 60.6% | 0 | 0 |
| Thomas County | 43.6% | 0 | 0 |
| Garfield County | 26.7% | 2,827 | 2 |
Walk-in acres inside the unit measured by FilledTag from Game and Parks Open Fields and Waters, 2026-2027; county acres and tract counts are Game and Parks' own figures for each tract.
When is deer season in the Calamus West unit in 2026?
Archery runs Sept. 1 to Dec. 31, 2026, the November firearm season Nov. 14 to 22 and muzzleloader Dec. 1 to 31, with a late antlerless-only firearm season Jan. 1 to 15, 2027. New for 2026, Unit Buck permits use the Season Choice format: one permit is good in archery, November firearm and muzzleloader seasons with the legal weapon for each. A hunter may hold only one Calamus West permit that allows a mule deer buck. Nonresidents get Calamus West permits through the June draw.
| Unit Buck permit, 2026 | Quota | Bag limit | Sold out in 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calamus West | 1,400 | 1 AD2 | R - Nov. 12, NR - DRAW |
| Antlerless Only permit, 2026 | Quota | Bag limit | Sold out in 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| AO Calamus West | 200 | 1 AOWT | Nov. 13 |
Source: Game and Parks' 2026 Big Game Guide, page 13 (Unit Buck permits) and page 17 (Antlerless Only). AD is any deer, AD2 any deer except an antlerless mule deer, WT whitetail, AOWT antlerless whitetail.
Special rules for the Calamus West unit
- Bessey Ranger District of Nebraska National Forest and Valentine National Wildlife Refuge are closed to use of bonus antlerless tags and Antlerless Only permits.
Source: Game and Parks' 2026 Big Game Guide, page 19.
Statewide, antlerless mule deer may not be taken on land open to public hunting, except Open Fields and Waters land (Game and Parks' 2026 Big Game Guide, page 19).
How did the Calamus West permits do in 2025?
| Permit, 2025 | Quota, sold, sell-out | Deer taken (MD bucks, MD antlerless, MD total, WT bucks, WT antlerless, WT total) | Success on first deer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calamus West | 1400, 1400, 11/12/25 | 227, 1, 228, 273, 35, 308 | 38% |
| Calamus West AO | 200, 200, 11/13/25 | 1, 0, 1, 2, 52, 54 | 22% |
Source: Game and Parks' 2026 Big Game Recommendations, page 54, 2025 harvest data for the unit. Success is the share of permit holders who took a deer, as Game and Parks reports it.
Is there elk or pronghorn hunting in the Calamus West unit?
Game and Parks' elk unit map overlaps it: elk unit 6 and elk unit 14. Pronghorn units that overlap it: Eastern Sandhills and Prairie Muzzleloader. Elk permits are all drawn; nonresidents can hunt pronghorn only with archery, landowner or late doe/fawn permits.
Units: Game and Parks elk hunting units; Game and Parks antelope hunting units. Rules: Game and Parks' 2026 Big Game Guide, page 20 to 26.
Which deer units border the Calamus West unit?
Calamus West touches 4 other units. Their public land, walk-in acres and 2025 harvest, for comparison:
| Unit | Public land | OFW acres | Deer harvested, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calamus East | 0.1% | 19,388 | 628 |
| Keya Paha | 1.5% | 8,300 | 1,859 |
| Loup West | 0.2% | 5,401 | 1,023 |
| Sandhills | 3.4% | 8,433 | 1,812 |
Questions hunters ask
How much public land is in Nebraska's Calamus West deer unit?
133,989 acres, 5% of the unit, by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and Game and Parks area maps; the largest share is national forest or grassland (90,248 acres). Game and Parks' walk-in program adds 16,790 acres of private land open to walk-in hunting in 2026-27.
How many deer were harvested in the Calamus West unit in the latest year on record?
1,108 across all seasons in 2025, by Game and Parks' count: 640 white-tailed deer and 468 mule deer.
How many Unit Buck permits does the Calamus West unit have in 2026?
Calamus West: 1,400 (1 AD2). Each is a Season Choice permit, good in archery, November firearm and muzzleloader seasons.
Which counties are in the Calamus West unit?
Brown, Cherry, Rock, Loup, Holt, Blaine, Thomas and Garfield. Walk-in land by county is on each county's OFW page where one exists.
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Where these numbers come from
- Harvest: Game and Parks' 2026 Big Game Recommendations.
- Seasons, permits and rules: Game and Parks' 2026 Big Game Guide.
- Public land: USGS PAD-US 4.1. Walk-in land: Game and Parks Open Fields and Waters, 2026-2027. Unit boundary: Game and Parks deer management units.
- Highways and towns: U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2024 primary and secondary roads; U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer, places.
FilledTag is not part of Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Numbers are copied from Game and Parks, the USGS and the Census Bureau, or measured from their maps; nothing on this page is estimated by FilledTag.
Nebraska hunting Open Fields and Waters by county Calamus East Keya Paha Loup West Sandhills