Plains Deer Management Unit, Nebraska: deer harvest, public land and walk-in access
Nebraska's Plains Deer Management Unit covers 6,377 square miles across Garden, Box Butte, Sioux, Sheridan and Morrill counties. 1.2% of it is public land by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and Game and Parks area maps, mostly national wildlife refuge or WPA, and Game and Parks' 2026-27 OFW map adds 38,662 acres of private walk-in land on 36 tracts. Game and Parks counted 1,158 deer taken across all seasons in 2025: 271 white-tailed bucks and 132 antlerless whitetails, plus 665 mule deer bucks and 90 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 WPABureau of ReclamationBLMState park or recreation areaOther publicOpen Fields and WatersPlainsWMANeighboring unitsLakeHighway
| Size | 4,080,970 acres (6,377 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Counties | Garden, Box Butte, Sioux, Sheridan, Morrill, Arthur, Grant and Scotts Bluff and 2 more |
| Public land | 1.2% (50,896 acres) |
| Walk-in land (OFW, 2026-27) | 38,662 acres on 36 tracts (0.9% of the unit) |
| Deer harvested, 2025 | 1,158 (936 bucks) |
| Unit Buck permits, 2026 | Plains: 1,000; Plains WT: 200 |
| WMAs with a page | Box Butte Reservoir WMA, Smith Lake WMA and Crescent Lake WMA |
| Towns in it | Alliance, Hemingford, Oshkosh, Morrill, Hyannis and Arthur |
How many deer are harvested in the Plains unit?
Game and Parks counted 1,158 deer across all seasons in 2025, down 27% from 1,593 in 2021. Mule deer were 65.2% of it. Of the white-tailed bucks checked in 2025, 44% were 3 or older.
| Year | Total deer | White-tailed bucks | Antlerless whitetails | Mule deer bucks | Antlerless mule deer | Whitetail bucks 3 and older |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,158 | 271 | 132 | 665 | 90 | 44% |
| 2024 | 1,205 | 307 | 184 | 622 | 92 | 50% |
| 2023 | 967 | 251 | 140 | 492 | 84 | 52% |
| 2022 | 1,417 | 297 | 216 | 697 | 207 | 46% |
| 2021 | 1,593 | 356 | 228 | 779 | 230 | 49% |
Source: Game and Parks' 2026 Big Game Recommendations, page 71, 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 800 mule deer bucks and 300 white-tailed bucks (Game and Parks' 2026 Big Game Recommendations, page 70).
How much public land is in the Plains unit?
1.2% of the unit is public land: 50,896 of its 4,080,970 acres, led by national wildlife refuge or WPA at 48,696 acres. WMAs with a page of their own: Box Butte Reservoir WMA, Smith Lake WMA and Crescent Lake WMA. Game and Parks' map shows 5 WMAs in the unit in all.
| Manager | Acres | Share of the unit |
|---|---|---|
| National wildlife refuge or WPA | 48,696 | 1.2% |
| Game and Parks land | 1,656 | under 0.1% |
| Other public (not counted as hunting land) | 1,156 | under 0.1% |
| State park or recreation area (not counted as hunting land) | 566 | under 0.1% |
| BLM | 464 | under 0.1% |
| Bureau of Reclamation | 80 | 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 Plains unit?
Game and Parks' 2026-27 Open Fields and Waters layer maps 38,662 acres on 36 tracts inside the unit, 0.9% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garden County | 78.7% | 1,111 | 5 |
| Box Butte County | 99.3% | 0 | 0 |
| Sioux County | 50% | 13,729 | 18 |
| Sheridan County | 41% | 1,507 | 5 |
| Morrill County | 57.2% | 3,874 | 13 |
| Arthur County | 47.7% | 26,700 | 3 |
| Grant County | 39.7% | 0 | 0 |
| Scotts Bluff County | 35.8% | 0 | 0 |
| Keith County | 11.1% | 17,843 | 25 |
| Dawes County | 2.5% | 4,015 | 6 |
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 Plains 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 Plains permit that allows a mule deer buck. Nonresidents get Plains permits through the June draw.
| Unit Buck permit, 2026 | Quota | Bag limit | Sold out in 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plains | 1,000 | 1 AD2, 1 AOWT | R - Nov. 10, NR - DRAW |
| Plains WT | 200 | 1 WT, 1 AOWT | Nov. 14 |
| Antlerless Only permit, 2026 | Quota | Bag limit | Sold out in 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| AO Plains | 100 | 1 AO, 1 AOWT | July 23 |
| AO WT Plains | 200 | 2 AOWT | Jan. 5, 2026 |
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 Plains 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plains | 1000, 1000, 11/10/25 | 369, 2, 371, 105, 61, 166 | 50% |
| Plains WT | 200, 200, 11/14/25 | 0, 0, 0, 45, 9, 54 | 25% |
| Plains AO | 100, 100, 7/23/25 | 1, 34, 35, 1, 8, 9 | 40% |
| Plains WT AO | 200, 200, 1/5/26 | 1, 0, 1, 3, 32, 35 | 15% |
Source: Game and Parks' 2026 Big Game Recommendations, page 70, 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 Plains unit?
Game and Parks' elk unit map overlaps it: elk unit 4, elk unit 8, elk unit 9 and elk unit 10. Pronghorn units that overlap it: Box Butte East, Box Butte West, Cherry, Garden 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 Plains unit?
Plains touches 4 other units. Their public land, walk-in acres and 2025 harvest, for comparison:
| Unit | Public land | OFW acres | Deer harvested, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Ridge | 9% | 29,929 | 1,556 |
| Platte | 0.6% | 52,128 | 1,423 |
| Sandhills | 3.4% | 8,433 | 1,812 |
| Upper Platte | 0.4% | 48,068 | 930 |
Questions hunters ask
How much public land is in Nebraska's Plains deer unit?
50,896 acres, 1.2% of the unit, by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and Game and Parks area maps; the largest share is national wildlife refuge or WPA (48,696 acres). Game and Parks' walk-in program adds 38,662 acres of private land open to walk-in hunting in 2026-27.
How many deer were harvested in the Plains unit in the latest year on record?
1,158 across all seasons in 2025, by Game and Parks' count: 403 white-tailed deer and 755 mule deer.
How many Unit Buck permits does the Plains unit have in 2026?
Plains: 1,000 (1 AD2, 1 AOWT); Plains WT: 200 (1 WT, 1 AOWT). Each is a Season Choice permit, good in archery, November firearm and muzzleloader seasons.
Which counties are in the Plains unit?
Garden, Box Butte, Sioux, Sheridan, Morrill, Arthur, Grant, Scotts Bluff, Keith and Dawes. 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 Pine Ridge Platte Sandhills Upper Platte