Loup East Deer Management Unit, Nebraska: deer harvest, public land and walk-in access
Nebraska's Loup East Deer Management Unit covers 3,352 square miles across Howard, Greeley, Nance, Merrick, Platte, Boone and 1 more county. 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 4,483 acres of private walk-in land on 22 tracts. Game and Parks counted 2,351 deer taken across all seasons in 2025: 1,448 white-tailed bucks and 848 antlerless whitetails, plus 50 mule deer bucks and 5 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 WatersLoup EastWMANeighboring unitsLakeHighway
| Size | 2,145,382 acres (3,352 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Counties | Howard, Greeley, Nance, Merrick, Platte, Boone, Sherman and Valley and 4 more |
| Public land | 0.6% (12,319 acres) |
| Walk-in land (OFW, 2026-27) | 4,483 acres on 22 tracts (0.2% of the unit) |
| Deer harvested, 2025 | 2,351 (1,498 bucks) |
| Unit Buck permits, 2026 | Loup East: 2,700 |
| WMAs with a page | Sherman Reservoir WMA, Davis Creek WMA, Wilkinson WMA, Don Dworak WMA and George D. Syas WMA |
| Towns in it | Grand Island, Ord, Ravenna, Fullerton, St. Paul and Albion |
How many deer are harvested in the Loup East unit?
Game and Parks counted 2,351 deer across all seasons in 2025, down 38% from 3,783 in 2021. Mule deer were 2.3% of it. Of the white-tailed bucks checked in 2025, 33% were 3 or older.
| Year | Total deer | White-tailed bucks | Antlerless whitetails | Mule deer bucks | Antlerless mule deer | Whitetail bucks 3 and older |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,351 | 1,448 | 848 | 50 | 5 | 33% |
| 2024 | 2,615 | 1,501 | 1,074 | 33 | 7 | 46% |
| 2023 | 2,872 | 1,622 | 1,197 | 47 | 6 | 44% |
| 2022 | 3,335 | 1,651 | 1,634 | 47 | 3 | 37% |
| 2021 | 3,783 | 2,027 | 1,708 | 37 | 11 | 35% |
Source: Game and Parks' 2026 Big Game Recommendations, page 63, 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 1 deer depredation complaint in the unit in 2025, and a harvest objective of 1650 white-tailed bucks (Game and Parks' 2026 Big Game Recommendations, page 62).
How much public land is in the Loup East unit?
0.6% of the unit is public land: 12,319 of its 2,145,382 acres, led by Game and Parks land at 11,965 acres. WMAs with a page of their own: Sherman Reservoir WMA, Davis Creek WMA, Wilkinson WMA, Don Dworak WMA, George D. Syas WMA, Leonard A. Koziol WMA, Harold W. Andersen WMA, Marsh Wren WMA, Loup Bottoms WMA and Lee Rupp WMA. Game and Parks' map shows 15 WMAs in the unit in all.
| Manager | Acres | Share of the unit |
|---|---|---|
| Game and Parks land | 11,965 | 0.6% |
| State park or recreation area (not counted as hunting land) | 632 | under 0.1% |
| Bureau of Reclamation | 350 | under 0.1% |
| Other public (not counted as hunting land) | 52 | under 0.1% |
| BLM | 4 | 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 Loup East unit?
Game and Parks' 2026-27 Open Fields and Waters layer maps 4,483 acres on 22 tracts inside the unit, 0.2% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Howard County | 100% | 68 | 1 |
| Greeley County | 92.5% | 1,961 | 6 |
| Nance County | 100% | 642 | 5 |
| Merrick County | 77.6% | 805 | 3 |
| Platte County | 53.7% | 323 | 3 |
| Boone County | 45.8% | 1,882 | 4 |
| Sherman County | 55% | 328 | 3 |
| Valley County | 39.2% | 0 | 0 |
| Hall County | 21.4% | 0 | 0 |
| Buffalo County | 3.7% | 700 | 3 |
| Wheeler County | 5.7% | 6,318 | 7 |
| Garfield County | 1.3% | 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 Loup East 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.
| Unit Buck permit, 2026 | Quota | Bag limit | Sold out in 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loup East | 2,700 | 1 AD2 | Nov. 12 |
| Antlerless Only permit, 2026 | Quota | Bag limit | Sold out in 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| AO Loup East | 600 | 1 AOWT | Nov. 16 |
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.
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 Loup East 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loup East | 2700, 2700, 11/12/25 | 35, 2, 37, 724, 140, 864 | 33% |
| Loup East AO | 1000, 1000, 11/16/25 | 0, 0, 0, 7, 305, 312 | 25% |
Source: Game and Parks' 2026 Big Game Recommendations, page 62, 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 Loup East unit?
Game and Parks' elk unit map overlaps it: elk unit 14 and elk unit 15. 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 Loup East unit?
Loup East touches 5 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 |
| Calamus East | 0.1% | 19,388 | 628 |
| Elkhorn | 0.2% | 4,026 | 1,837 |
| Loup West | 0.2% | 5,401 | 1,023 |
| Wahoo | 1.1% | 2,809 | 4,544 |
Questions hunters ask
How much public land is in Nebraska's Loup East deer unit?
12,319 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 (11,965 acres). Game and Parks' walk-in program adds 4,483 acres of private land open to walk-in hunting in 2026-27.
How many deer were harvested in the Loup East unit in the latest year on record?
2,351 across all seasons in 2025, by Game and Parks' count: 2,296 white-tailed deer and 55 mule deer.
How many Unit Buck permits does the Loup East unit have in 2026?
Loup East: 2,700 (1 AD2). Each is a Season Choice permit, good in archery, November firearm and muzzleloader seasons.
Which counties are in the Loup East unit?
Howard, Greeley, Nance, Merrick, Platte, Boone, Sherman, Valley, Hall, Buffalo, Wheeler and Garfield. Walk-in land by county is on each county's OFW page where one exists.
Get a Nebraska hunt plan when they open
Hunt plans for Nebraska are coming. Join the list and you'll hear first. The first 50 hunters in each new state get their plan free.
Until then, the free FilledTag app for iPhone has a map that works in every state, Nebraska included.
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 Buffalo Calamus East Elkhorn Loup West Wahoo