Loup West Deer Management Unit, Nebraska: deer harvest, public land and walk-in access
Nebraska's Loup West Deer Management Unit covers 2,607 square miles across Custer, Valley, Logan and Blaine counties. 0.2% 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 5,401 acres of private walk-in land on 9 tracts. Game and Parks counted 1,023 deer taken across all seasons in 2025: 566 white-tailed bucks and 170 antlerless whitetails, plus 250 mule deer bucks and 37 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 forest or grasslandBLMState park or recreation areaOpen Fields and WatersLoup WestWMANeighboring unitsLakeHighway
| Size | 1,668,760 acres (2,607 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Counties | Custer, Valley, Logan, Blaine, Sherman, Loup, Garfield and Thomas |
| Public land | 0.2% (3,912 acres) |
| Walk-in land (OFW, 2026-27) | 5,401 acres on 9 tracts (0.3% of the unit) |
| Deer harvested, 2025 | 1,023 (816 bucks) |
| Unit Buck permits, 2026 | Loup West: 700; Loup West WT: 600 |
| WMAs with a page | Myrtle E. Hall WMA, Arcadia Diversion Dam WMA and Milburn Dam WMA |
| Towns in it | Broken Bow, Sargent, Arnold, Ansley, Arcadia and Merna |
How many deer are harvested in the Loup West unit?
Game and Parks counted 1,023 deer across all seasons in 2025, down 34% from 1,545 in 2021. Mule deer were 28.1% of it. Of the white-tailed bucks checked in 2025, 60% were 3 or older.
| Year | Total deer | White-tailed bucks | Antlerless whitetails | Mule deer bucks | Antlerless mule deer | Whitetail bucks 3 and older |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,023 | 566 | 170 | 250 | 37 | 60% |
| 2024 | 1,019 | 543 | 243 | 206 | 27 | 59% |
| 2023 | 1,035 | 579 | 244 | 193 | 19 | 52% |
| 2022 | 1,257 | 633 | 384 | 205 | 35 | 56% |
| 2021 | 1,545 | 820 | 488 | 211 | 26 | 50% |
Source: Game and Parks' 2026 Big Game Recommendations, page 65, 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 800 white-tailed bucks (Game and Parks' 2026 Big Game Recommendations, page 64).
How much public land is in the Loup West unit?
0.2% of the unit is public land: 3,912 of its 1,668,760 acres, led by Game and Parks land at 3,788 acres. WMAs with a page of their own: Myrtle E. Hall WMA, Arcadia Diversion Dam WMA and Milburn Dam WMA. Game and Parks' map shows 4 WMAs in the unit in all.
| Manager | Acres | Share of the unit |
|---|---|---|
| Game and Parks land | 3,788 | 0.2% |
| National forest or grassland | 113 | under 0.1% |
| State park or recreation area (not counted as hunting land) | 42 | under 0.1% |
| BLM | 11 | 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 West unit?
Game and Parks' 2026-27 Open Fields and Waters layer maps 5,401 acres on 9 tracts inside the unit, 0.3% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custer County | 50.2% | 11,464 | 15 |
| Valley County | 60.8% | 0 | 0 |
| Logan County | 49.6% | 0 | 0 |
| Blaine County | 39.4% | 0 | 0 |
| Sherman County | 36.2% | 328 | 3 |
| Loup County | 18.7% | 867 | 1 |
| Garfield County | 9.9% | 2,827 | 2 |
| Thomas County | 4.5% | 0 | 0 |
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 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 Loup West permit that allows a mule deer buck. Nonresidents get Loup West permits through the June draw.
| Unit Buck permit, 2026 | Quota | Bag limit | Sold out in 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loup West | 700 | 1 AD2 | R - Oct. 11, NR - DRAW |
| Loup West WT | 600 | 1 WT | Nov. 14 |
| Antlerless Only permit, 2026 | Quota | Bag limit | Sold out in 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| AO Loup West | 100 | 1 AO | Oct. 26 |
| AO WT Loup West | 150 | 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 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loup West | 700, 700, 10/11/25 | 106, 0, 106, 149, 22, 171 | 40% |
| Loup West WT | 600, 600, 11/14/25 | 2, 0, 2, 160, 19, 179 | 30% |
| Loup West AO | 100, 104, 10/26/25 | 0, 12, 12, 0, 29, 29 | 39% |
| Loup West WT AO | 150, 150, 11/16/25 | 0, 0, 0, 1, 39, 40 | 27% |
Source: Game and Parks' 2026 Big Game Recommendations, page 64, 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 West unit?
Game and Parks' elk unit map overlaps it: 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 Loup West unit?
Loup West touches 6 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 |
| Calamus West | 5% | 16,790 | 1,108 |
| Loup East | 0.6% | 4,483 | 2,351 |
| Platte | 0.6% | 52,128 | 1,423 |
| Sandhills | 3.4% | 8,433 | 1,812 |
Questions hunters ask
How much public land is in Nebraska's Loup West deer unit?
3,912 acres, 0.2% of the unit, by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and Game and Parks area maps; the largest share is Game and Parks land (3,788 acres). Game and Parks' walk-in program adds 5,401 acres of private land open to walk-in hunting in 2026-27.
How many deer were harvested in the Loup West unit in the latest year on record?
1,023 across all seasons in 2025, by Game and Parks' count: 736 white-tailed deer and 287 mule deer.
How many Unit Buck permits does the Loup West unit have in 2026?
Loup West: 700 (1 AD2); Loup West WT: 600 (1 WT). Each is a Season Choice permit, good in archery, November firearm and muzzleloader seasons.
Which counties are in the Loup West unit?
Custer, Valley, Logan, Blaine, Sherman, Loup, Garfield and Thomas. 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 Buffalo Calamus East Calamus West Loup East Platte Sandhills