Missouri Deer Management Unit, Nebraska: deer harvest, public land and walk-in access
Nebraska's Missouri Deer Management Unit covers 3,159 square miles across Knox, Cedar, Holt and Dixon counties. 2% of it is public land by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and Game and Parks area maps, mostly Army Corps of Engineers, and Game and Parks' 2026-27 OFW map adds 5,936 acres of private walk-in land on 69 tracts. Game and Parks counted 2,242 deer taken across all seasons in 2025: 1,587 white-tailed bucks and 637 antlerless whitetails, plus 17 mule deer bucks and 1 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 WPAArmy Corps of EngineersBLMState park or recreation areaOther publicOpen Fields and WatersMissouriWMANeighboring unitsLakeHighway
| Size | 2,022,008 acres (3,159 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Counties | Knox, Cedar, Holt, Dixon, Boyd, Antelope, Pierce and Dakota |
| Public land | 2% (39,873 acres) |
| Walk-in land (OFW, 2026-27) | 5,936 acres on 69 tracts (0.3% of the unit) |
| Deer harvested, 2025 | 2,242 (1,604 bucks) |
| Unit Buck permits, 2026 | Missouri: 2,600 |
| WMAs with a page | Bazile Creek WMA, Grove Lake WMA, Niobrara Confluence WMA, Bohemia Prairie WMA and Elk Point Bend WMA |
| Towns in it | South Sioux City, O'Neill, Laurel, Creighton, Plainview and Hartington |
How many deer are harvested in the Missouri unit?
Game and Parks counted 2,242 deer across all seasons in 2025, down 40% from 3,745 in 2021. Mule deer were 0.8% of it. Of the white-tailed bucks checked in 2025, 29% were 3 or older.
| Year | Total deer | White-tailed bucks | Antlerless whitetails | Mule deer bucks | Antlerless mule deer | Whitetail bucks 3 and older |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,242 | 1,587 | 637 | 17 | 1 | 29% |
| 2024 | 2,301 | 1,488 | 795 | 15 | 3 | 34% |
| 2023 | 2,588 | 1,757 | 820 | 11 | 0 | 31% |
| 2022 | 3,204 | 1,888 | 1,303 | 12 | 1 | 31% |
| 2021 | 3,745 | 2,283 | 1,452 | 8 | 2 | 35% |
Source: Game and Parks' 2026 Big Game Recommendations, page 67, 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 2200 white-tailed bucks (Game and Parks' 2026 Big Game Recommendations, page 66).
How much public land is in the Missouri unit?
2% of the unit is public land: 39,873 of its 2,022,008 acres, led by Army Corps of Engineers at 25,313 acres. WMAs with a page of their own: Bazile Creek WMA, Grove Lake WMA, Niobrara Confluence WMA, Bohemia Prairie WMA, Elk Point Bend WMA, Powder Creek WMA, Redbird WMA, Wiseman WMA, Buckskin Hills WMA and Dry Creek WMA. Game and Parks' map shows 15 WMAs in the unit in all.
| Manager | Acres | Share of the unit |
|---|---|---|
| Army Corps of Engineers | 25,313 | 1.3% |
| Game and Parks land | 14,466 | 0.7% |
| Other public (not counted as hunting land) | 1,214 | 0.1% |
| BLM | 58 | under 0.1% |
| National wildlife refuge or WPA | 36 | under 0.1% |
| State park or recreation area (not counted as hunting land) | 30 | 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 Missouri unit?
Game and Parks' 2026-27 Open Fields and Waters layer maps 5,936 acres on 69 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knox County | 100% | 2,434 | 24 |
| Cedar County | 88.6% | 1,902 | 18 |
| Holt County | 20.8% | 13,656 | 11 |
| Dixon County | 56.2% | 949 | 13 |
| Boyd County | 44.2% | 20 | 1 |
| Antelope County | 18.3% | 779 | 17 |
| Pierce County | 22.9% | 268 | 3 |
| Dakota County | 21.1% | 801 | 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 Missouri 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri | 2,600 | 1 AD | Nov. 7 |
| Antlerless Only permit, 2026 | Quota | Bag limit | Sold out in 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| AO Missouri | 100 | 1 AOWT | July 23 |
| AO Missouri West | 100 | 1 AOWT | Sept. 1 |
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 Missouri 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri | 2600, 2600, 11/7/25 | 11, 1, 12, 746, 159, 905 | 35% |
| Missouri AO | 100, 100, 7/23/25 | 0, 0, 0, 2, 25, 27 | 27% |
| Missouri West AO | 100, 100, 9/1/25 | 0, 0, 0, 3, 23, 26 | 26% |
Source: Game and Parks' 2026 Big Game Recommendations, page 66, 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 Missouri unit?
Game and Parks' elk unit map overlaps it: elk unit 7 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 Missouri unit?
Missouri touches 3 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 |
| Elkhorn | 0.2% | 4,026 | 1,837 |
| Keya Paha | 1.5% | 8,300 | 1,859 |
Questions hunters ask
How much public land is in Nebraska's Missouri deer unit?
39,873 acres, 2% of the unit, by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and Game and Parks area maps; the largest share is Army Corps of Engineers (25,313 acres). Game and Parks' walk-in program adds 5,936 acres of private land open to walk-in hunting in 2026-27.
How many deer were harvested in the Missouri unit in the latest year on record?
2,242 across all seasons in 2025, by Game and Parks' count: 2,224 white-tailed deer and 18 mule deer.
How many Unit Buck permits does the Missouri unit have in 2026?
Missouri: 2,600 (1 AD). Each is a Season Choice permit, good in archery, November firearm and muzzleloader seasons.
Which counties are in the Missouri unit?
Knox, Cedar, Holt, Dixon, Boyd, Antelope, Pierce and Dakota. 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 Elkhorn Keya Paha