Upper Platte Deer Management Unit, Nebraska: deer harvest, public land and walk-in access
Nebraska's Upper Platte Deer Management Unit covers 4,406 square miles across Cheyenne, Kimball, Banner, Morrill and Scotts Bluff counties. 0.4% 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 48,068 acres of private walk-in land on 103 tracts. Game and Parks counted 930 deer taken across all seasons in 2025: 221 white-tailed bucks and 80 antlerless whitetails, plus 536 mule deer bucks and 93 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 WPANational forest or grasslandBLMState park or recreation areaOther publicOpen Fields and WatersUpper PlatteWMANeighboring unitsLakeHighway
| Size | 2,819,696 acres (4,406 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Counties | Cheyenne, Kimball, Banner, Morrill, Scotts Bluff, Garden and Deuel |
| Public land | 0.4% (12,060 acres) |
| Walk-in land (OFW, 2026-27) | 48,068 acres on 103 tracts (1.7% of the unit) |
| Deer harvested, 2025 | 930 (757 bucks) |
| Unit Buck permits, 2026 | Upper Platte: 800 |
| WMAs with a page | Buffalo Creek WMA, Williams Gap WMA, Cedar Canyon WMA, Montz Point WMA and Kiowa WMA |
| Towns in it | Sidney, Scottsbluff, Gering, Kimball, Potter and Bridgeport |
How many deer are harvested in the Upper Platte unit?
Game and Parks counted 930 deer across all seasons in 2025, down 34% from 1,404 in 2021. Mule deer were 67.6% of it. Of the white-tailed bucks checked in 2025, 55% were 3 or older.
| Year | Total deer | White-tailed bucks | Antlerless whitetails | Mule deer bucks | Antlerless mule deer | Whitetail bucks 3 and older |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 930 | 221 | 80 | 536 | 93 | 55% |
| 2024 | 942 | 211 | 84 | 557 | 90 | 57% |
| 2023 | 895 | 159 | 104 | 514 | 118 | 73% |
| 2022 | 1,212 | 206 | 127 | 664 | 215 | 52% |
| 2021 | 1,404 | 251 | 132 | 741 | 280 | 52% |
Source: Game and Parks' 2026 Big Game Recommendations, page 79, 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 3 deer depredation complaints in the unit in 2025, and a harvest objective of 700 mule deer bucks and 250 white-tailed bucks (Game and Parks' 2026 Big Game Recommendations, page 78).
How much public land is in the Upper Platte unit?
0.4% of the unit is public land: 12,060 of its 2,819,696 acres, led by Game and Parks land at 11,888 acres. WMAs with a page of their own: Buffalo Creek WMA, Williams Gap WMA, Cedar Canyon WMA, Montz Point WMA, Kiowa WMA and Chet and Jane Fliesbach WMA. Game and Parks' map shows 7 WMAs in the unit in all.
| Manager | Acres | Share of the unit |
|---|---|---|
| Other public (not counted as hunting land) | 21,777 | 0.8% |
| Game and Parks land | 11,888 | 0.4% |
| State park or recreation area (not counted as hunting land) | 659 | under 0.1% |
| National wildlife refuge or WPA | 135 | under 0.1% |
| BLM | 33 | under 0.1% |
| National forest or grassland | 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 Upper Platte unit?
Game and Parks' 2026-27 Open Fields and Waters layer maps 48,068 acres on 103 tracts inside the unit, 1.7% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheyenne County | 100% | 9,781 | 33 |
| Kimball County | 100% | 12,951 | 32 |
| Banner County | 100% | 5,282 | 11 |
| Morrill County | 42.8% | 3,874 | 13 |
| Scotts Bluff County | 64.2% | 0 | 0 |
| Garden County | 13.3% | 1,111 | 5 |
| Deuel County | 43.2% | 8,679 | 19 |
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 Upper Platte 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 Upper Platte permit that allows a mule deer buck. Nonresidents get Upper Platte permits through the June draw.
| Unit Buck permit, 2026 | Quota | Bag limit | Sold out in 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Platte | 800 | 1 AD2 | R - Sept. 21, NR - DRAW |
| Antlerless Only permit, 2026 | Quota | Bag limit | Sold out in 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| AO Upper Platte | 50 | 1 AO, 1 AOWT | July 9 |
| AO WT Upper Platte | 200 | 2 AOWT | Nov. 4 |
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 Upper Platte 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Platte | 800, 800, 9/21/25 | 268, 4, 272, 90, 13, 103 | 47% |
| Upper Platte AO | 50, 50, 7/9/25 | 0, 17, 17, 0, 5, 5 | 36% |
| Upper Platte WT AO | 200, 200, 11/4/25 | 0, 0, 0, 2, 42, 44 | 19% |
Source: Game and Parks' 2026 Big Game Recommendations, page 78, 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 Upper Platte unit?
Game and Parks' elk unit map overlaps it: elk unit 4 and elk unit 11. Pronghorn units that overlap it: Banner North, Banner South, Box Butte West, Cheyenne 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 Upper Platte unit?
Upper Platte touches 2 other units. Their public land, walk-in acres and 2025 harvest, for comparison:
Questions hunters ask
How much public land is in Nebraska's Upper Platte deer unit?
12,060 acres, 0.4% of the unit, by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and Game and Parks area maps; the largest share is Game and Parks land (11,888 acres). Game and Parks' walk-in program adds 48,068 acres of private land open to walk-in hunting in 2026-27.
How many deer were harvested in the Upper Platte unit in the latest year on record?
930 across all seasons in 2025, by Game and Parks' count: 301 white-tailed deer and 629 mule deer.
How many Unit Buck permits does the Upper Platte unit have in 2026?
Upper Platte: 800 (1 AD2). Each is a Season Choice permit, good in archery, November firearm and muzzleloader seasons.
Which counties are in the Upper Platte unit?
Cheyenne, Kimball, Banner, Morrill, Scotts Bluff, Garden and Deuel. 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 Plains Platte