Frenchman Deer Management Unit, Nebraska: deer harvest, public land and walk-in access
Nebraska's Frenchman Deer Management Unit covers 6,013 square miles across Dundy, Frontier, Chase, Hitchcock, Red Willow and Hayes counties. 0.6% of it is public land by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and Game and Parks area maps, mostly Game and Parks land, and Game and Parks' 2026-27 OFW map adds 136,087 acres of private walk-in land on 218 tracts. Game and Parks counted 1,985 deer taken across all seasons in 2025: 584 white-tailed bucks and 181 antlerless whitetails, plus 1,055 mule deer bucks and 165 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 landBureau of ReclamationBLMState park or recreation areaOther publicOpen Fields and WatersFrenchmanWMANeighboring unitsLakeHighway
| Size | 3,848,384 acres (6,013 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Counties | Dundy, Frontier, Chase, Hitchcock, Red Willow, Hayes, Furnas and Perkins and 2 more |
| Public land | 0.6% (21,495 acres) |
| Walk-in land (OFW, 2026-27) | 136,087 acres on 218 tracts (3.5% of the unit) |
| Deer harvested, 2025 | 1,985 (1,639 bucks) |
| Unit Buck permits, 2026 | Frenchman: 1,000; Frenchman WT: 500 |
| WMAs with a page | Medicine Creek WMA, Swanson Reservoir WMA, Red Willow Reservoir WMA, Enders Reservoir WMA and Burton's Bend WMA |
| Towns in it | McCook, Imperial, Cambridge, Indianola, Benkelman and Arapahoe |
How many deer are harvested in the Frenchman unit?
Game and Parks counted 1,985 deer across all seasons in 2025, down 54% from 4,320 in 2021. Mule deer were 61.5% of it. Of the white-tailed bucks checked in 2025, 42% were 3 or older.
| Year | Total deer | White-tailed bucks | Antlerless whitetails | Mule deer bucks | Antlerless mule deer | Whitetail bucks 3 and older |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,985 | 584 | 181 | 1,055 | 165 | 42% |
| 2024 | 2,211 | 661 | 271 | 1,103 | 176 | 42% |
| 2023 | 2,296 | 661 | 334 | 1,085 | 216 | 42% |
| 2022 | 3,405 | 831 | 651 | 1,466 | 457 | 39% |
| 2021 | 4,320 | 1,158 | 791 | 1,749 | 622 | 39% |
Source: Game and Parks' 2026 Big Game Recommendations, page 59, 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 a harvest objective of 1750 mule deer bucks and 1200 white-tailed bucks (Game and Parks' 2026 Big Game Recommendations, page 58).
How much public land is in the Frenchman unit?
0.6% of the unit is public land: 21,495 of its 3,848,384 acres, led by Game and Parks land at 19,205 acres. WMAs with a page of their own: Medicine Creek WMA, Swanson Reservoir WMA, Red Willow Reservoir WMA, Enders Reservoir WMA and Burton's Bend WMA. Game and Parks' map shows 11 WMAs in the unit in all.
| Manager | Acres | Share of the unit |
|---|---|---|
| Game and Parks land | 19,205 | 0.5% |
| Other public (not counted as hunting land) | 2,273 | 0.1% |
| Bureau of Reclamation | 2,049 | 0.1% |
| State park or recreation area (not counted as hunting land) | 1,833 | under 0.1% |
| BLM | 241 | 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 Frenchman unit?
Game and Parks' 2026-27 Open Fields and Waters layer maps 136,087 acres on 218 tracts inside the unit, 3.5% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dundy County | 100% | 1,400 | 10 |
| Frontier County | 92.6% | 376 | 3 |
| Chase County | 100% | 46,557 | 48 |
| Hitchcock County | 100% | 7,085 | 31 |
| Red Willow County | 100% | 0 | 0 |
| Hayes County | 100% | 12,676 | 37 |
| Furnas County | 53.2% | 27,461 | 56 |
| Perkins County | 42.6% | 8,844 | 35 |
| Lincoln County | 9.5% | 23,134 | 21 |
| Gosper County | 28.6% | 915 | 7 |
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 Frenchman 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 Frenchman permit that allows a mule deer buck. Nonresidents get Frenchman permits through the June draw.
| Unit Buck permit, 2026 | Quota | Bag limit | Sold out in 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frenchman | 1,000 | 1 Buck | R - DRAW, NR - DRAW |
| Frenchman WT | 500 | 1 WT Buck | July 23 |
| Antlerless Only permit, 2026 | Quota | Bag limit | Sold out in 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| AO WT Frenchman | 100 | 1 AOWT | July 23 |
| AO Frenchman West | 75 | 1 AO | July 9 |
| AO Southwest Reservoirs | 50 | 1 AOWT | July 23 |
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 Frenchman unit
- Muzzleloader, Nonresident Archery and Restricted Statewide Buck permits are not valid for mule deer.
- Frenchman and Frenchman West Antlerless Only permits are not valid on Enders, Medicine Creek, Red Willow or Swanson SRA/WMA.
- Nonresident restricted youth permits are not valid.
- All state and federally owned public lands are closed to the use of all Frenchman AO and Frenchman West AO 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 Frenchman 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frenchman WT | 600, 600, 7/23/25 | 1, 0, 1, 184, 1, 185 | 31% |
| Frenchman WT AO | 200, 200, 7/23/25 | 0, 0, 0, 1, 52, 53 | 27% |
| Frenchman West AO | 100, 100, 7/9/25 | 0, 51, 51, 1, 18, 19 | 57% |
| SW Reservoirs AO | 50, 50, 7/23/25 | 1, 0, 1, 0, 14, 14 | 28% |
Source: Game and Parks' 2026 Big Game Recommendations, page 58, 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 Frenchman unit?
Game and Parks' elk unit map overlaps it: elk unit 5, elk unit 131 and elk unit 132. Pronghorn units that overlap it: 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 Frenchman unit?
Frenchman touches 3 other units. Their public land, walk-in acres and 2025 harvest, for comparison:
| Unit | Public land | OFW acres | Deer harvested, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo | 0.5% | 9,594 | 2,363 |
| Platte | 0.6% | 52,128 | 1,423 |
| Republican | 1.4% | 21,381 | 2,565 |
Questions hunters ask
How much public land is in Nebraska's Frenchman deer unit?
21,495 acres, 0.6% of the unit, by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and Game and Parks area maps; the largest share is Game and Parks land (19,205 acres). Game and Parks' walk-in program adds 136,087 acres of private land open to walk-in hunting in 2026-27.
How many deer were harvested in the Frenchman unit in the latest year on record?
1,985 across all seasons in 2025, by Game and Parks' count: 765 white-tailed deer and 1,220 mule deer.
How many Unit Buck permits does the Frenchman unit have in 2026?
Frenchman: 1,000 (1 Buck); Frenchman WT: 500 (1 WT Buck). Each is a Season Choice permit, good in archery, November firearm and muzzleloader seasons.
Which counties are in the Frenchman unit?
Dundy, Frontier, Chase, Hitchcock, Red Willow, Hayes, Furnas, Perkins, Lincoln and Gosper. 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.
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