Nebraska is a great place for an archery pronghorn antelope hunt with the option of a bonus whitetail.

Last October I spent five days with one of our outfitters in northwest Nebraska. I had never really considered Nebraska as an antelope-rich state. Wow, was I surprised. Kurt and I had an antelope tag and two whitetail tags. Depending on deer counts, hunting Nebraska deer can include a doe tag with the purchase of a buck tag. The opportunity to potentially take three critters with a bow in five days was super appealing. I had never spent time in that part of the US and after arriving I found it to be beautiful country with many offerings.

Upon arrival we were met by the outfitter. I had had several conversations with Craig over the phone and I was pleasantly surprised after meeting him in person. He proved to be a really good guy. In fact, we’ve invited him to Idaho for a bear hunt this spring. His efforts throughout the week were great. The original plan was to hunt deer in the morning and evening and the antelope during the day. Craig has multiple tree stands for the deer and several grounds blinds for goats over water and food source. After the first morning’s hunt Kurt and I had similar stories…we both saw a whole lot of deer but nothing in range other than a few does. The first afternoon of goat hunting produced similar story as well, we saw a lot goats with nothing in bow range. The evening on deer stand again had a similar outcome.

This is a slam dunk bowhunt at a reasonable price with the added option of a whitetail. Nebraska is a sleeper!”

RUSS MEYER

The second day we decided to hunt antelope first. Craig dropped us off before light and we hunted until around 2pm…then were picked up and dropped off again to sit on the whitetail stands until dark. This continued through the rest of the hunt and proved to be very efficient, as the week was full of memorable encounters.

Through the course of the week I saw an abundance of wildlife. From day two forward there wasn’t one minute during my sits I couldn’t see antelope from the blinds. Kurt had the same story as well. By the end of the week we both had many chances at bucks. I lost count of the number of bucks in bow range. I was able to capture some great footage.

By day three Kurt and I shot antelope bucks and realistically should’ve brought home bigger ones. The whitetail hunt was slower than the antelope but we both had multiple close encounters. Kurt ended up taking a really nice whitetail buck as well. Part of my job with visiting our outfitters is to get as much video as possible so we can share it with our clients. I was lucky enough to get really good footage of my antelope as well as a very tasty whitetail doe. Unfortunately when my opportunity at whitetail buck came, the camera proved to be the nail in the coffin, as every time I drew my bow, the buck walked out of the screen. This was a great buck in the 140-inch range and before I knew it, the 10-point was walking out of my life forever.

This was a great bow hunt at a very reasonable price. During the five days I had a lot of animals come by, from raccoons and pheasants, to turkeys and coyotes. We saw white tail bucks in the 150-inch class and a few antelope pushing the 80-inch mark. We brought home some great memories, meat, and a solid verification that our choice in Craig was a good one. I’m already looking for an excuse to hunt with Craig again. I’m very sure I will take my family there at some point. If you have an interest in hunting Nebraska, let me know and I’ll give you all the nitty-gritty.

Good luck this season and God bless!
Russ Meyer