Taking my first trip to Nebraska at the end of March. Never been there. Looking for any type of tips. I'm looking to stay in the eastern portion of the state to make the drive from PA more reasonable. Not sure what to expect with regards to terrain, locating birds, private land access, weather, gobbling activity at that time. Feel free to PM.
Personally I wouldn't go before the first of May due to the weather out there...
+1 That spring blizzard time.
Gman
I love Nebraska. I've hunted the east central part of the state 5-6 times, and try to go back every year. I always go the weekend of shotgun opener because the guys I hunt with are all shotgun hunters, but if it was up to me, the week before that would be my choice. Weather is typically pretty nice (although we have gotten a few snows while we were there) over the years, but I also hate hunting in the heat, so typically mid April works for me.
Where we hunt, the terrain is a good mix of ag fields, creek bottoms with timber and lots of little draws and ravines, and cattle pasture. I attached a few pics of some of the terrain we hunt..
We have a few friends in the area who's land we hunt, but we are typically offered land to hunt by more and more locals every year, so access for turkeys is relatively easy. I think because not a lot of non-residents travel there for deer season, the residents don't seem to mind as much as people in states like Iowa and Kansas. I ran into a lot of "why does everyone come here and hunt..cant you just stay home?" in other states, but NONE of that in Nebraska.
As far as gobbling, the birds never shut up. Its pretty awesome!
(http://i807.photobucket.com/albums/yy356/jakeduehn/IMG_1580.jpg) (http://s807.photobucket.com/user/jakeduehn/media/IMG_1580.jpg.html)
(http://i807.photobucket.com/albums/yy356/jakeduehn/IMG_1585.jpg) (http://s807.photobucket.com/user/jakeduehn/media/IMG_1585.jpg.html)
(http://i807.photobucket.com/albums/yy356/jakeduehn/IMG_1579_zpsci9ydwol.jpg) (http://s807.photobucket.com/user/jakeduehn/media/IMG_1579_zpsci9ydwol.jpg.html)
I've hunted north central NE in past. Lots of birds. 3 bird limit. Good luck!!
Thanks for the tips guys.
Good Luck :anim_25:
Best part about the NE corner if you do it right you can kill up to 6 birds. I shot 5 in Nebraska in '09. Great area lots of birds!!
We used to go in mid May and some years turkeys were still hened up. But still did good. I'd say take some warm clothes and get after them. I've hunted in quite a few places and would say that the people in Nebraska are the most hospitable & friendly of anywhere I've been.
You'll have fun and find turkeys.
Any more info from anyone out there? A friend of mine and myself will be headed to NE from MI at the end of March also. Looking for all the info I can get. I to would like to stick to the East end of the state if I can to cut down on drive time. But I am willing to go farther if I have too. Any info would be awesome! I'm totally willing to knock on doors, but at this point I don't even have a destination point.
I hunt in the NW corner, but we see birds along hwy 20 driving back sometimes. Last spring a farmer form the Norfolk area told us if we were gonna be around he'd let us hunt his place, but never grabbed his number unfortunately. Along the road there it looks like fantastic turkey country, rolling hills with timber and ag fields. The farmer said there are tons of birds there. Maybe a spot to begin searching and calling the DNR. Allow yourself a day to drive around and get permission, and have a few public spots in mind just in case you need something to fall back on.
we usually hunt mid to late may. I've read that some Merriam hens don't breed at all, and based off what I've seen I believe it. Last year the end of may they were just starting to break up out of the wintering flocks, and mainly henned up. Yet we've seen some on nests too. On the eastern side of the state you'll be in hybrid/eastern country and have less likelihood of snow. A couple years ago it was 90 the first day we got there and 30 something and snowed the next day. There's chance for crappy weather anywhere/anytime you go, just bring stuff for all conditions and get after them.
Good luck
I've not hunted that early and I hunt the NW corner (planning for south central early May) I knew guys from CO that bowhunted early season in SW NE. You can expect a lot of birds will still be in winter flocks. I know they still call birds in but seems it may take a different approach than after they break up. I've got another buddy that bowhunts private land in central NE in late April that does good. Hope for warm spring weather, but be prepared for lousy wintry weather. I like later and a shotgun but if that was when I could hunt, I'd be there with a bow.