Nebraska Deer BUFFALO-MDCA — Buffalo

Buffalo MDCA · Buffalo

What you may take
Buffalo MDCA (any deer)
Weapon
Rifle
Where
Buffalo
0% public of 3,197,665 acres
Season (2026)
Sep 1 – Dec 31, 2026
Nonresident tags (2026)
120
for 110 first-choice applicants

Showing nonresident results. Switch to resident

Odds by point level — 2026 draw

Undersubscribed: 110 first-choice applicants for 120 tags in 2026, so every first-choice applicant drew and 10 tags went to the leftover draw — the 100% reflects low demand, not a great tag. A code like this can flip the year demand catches up.

Prior-draw probability for a first-choice nonresident applicant. 120 tags, 110 first-choice applicants, drew out at 0 points. Source: 2026 Nebraska Draw Results · p. 8.

Points Your chance Applicants Drawn
0 95% 92 87
1 100% 17 18
2 100% 1 1
3–10 100% same chance at every one of these levels — —

Preference points, computed from published point-level pools. A dash means Nebraska Game and Parks Commission did not publish a count for that level. How we compute these.

What it costs (2026 nonresident fees)

Cash to apply
$7
Out of pocket if unsuccessful
$7
Total if drawn
$404
Refunded if unsuccessful
$0

$7 a year buys a 95% chance at 0 points at the 2026 odds, so you'd expect to draw within about 1 year — about $404 in all, with the $404 you pay the year you draw.

Deer draw application fee · paid at application $7 source
Habitat Stamp (required for big-game hunters, with exemptions) · paid if drawn $25 source
Nonresident deer preference point · only for a point bought without applying — an unsuccessful applicant gets the point free $57 source
Nonresident deer draw-unit permit (firearm/muzzleloader/archery) · paid if drawn $372 source

Not applying this year? A point-only purchase costs $57 and keeps you moving toward the 0-point cut.

Next application window: opens Jun 1, closes Jun 12, 2027 (expected) · results ~June 19. Last cycle's schedule rolled forward — confirm when the agency publishes.

Point creep & years to draw

Drew out at 0 → 0 → 0 points (2024–2026): no creep — drew at 0 points each year. Projecting that pace forward:

Your points nowYears until a sure thing
0now

A projection of the last five draws' median creep (capped at 2 points/yr), not a forecast. Random-pass odds still apply every year you're below the cut.

Seasons (2026)

How this tag has hunted

Across every license type in Buffalo, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission counted 3,727 white-tailed deer taken in 2018. Full Buffalo profile: maps, public land, five years of harvest →

Hunters holding this license type (2025) — the rest of the area's hunters held something else:

What they hunted Hunters Harvest Success Days per animal
Mule deer — 0 25% —
Mule deer — 166 39% —
Mule deer — 20 52% —
Mule deer — 1 35% —
Mule deer — 105 — —
Mule deer — 12 — —
Mule deer — 1 — —
Mule deer — 0 — —
Mule deer — 16 — —
Mule deer — 0 — —
Mule deer — 2 — —
Mule deer — 0 — —
Mule deer — 56 — —
Mule deer — 22 — —
Mule deer — 0 — —
White-tailed deer — 126 25% —
White-tailed deer — 149 39% —
White-tailed deer — 6 52% —
White-tailed deer — 419 35% —
White-tailed deer — 269 — —
White-tailed deer — 2 — —
White-tailed deer — 16 — —
White-tailed deer — 242 — —
White-tailed deer — 185 — —
White-tailed deer — 1 — —
White-tailed deer — 53 — —
White-tailed deer — 101 — —
White-tailed deer — 146 — —
White-tailed deer — 52 — —
White-tailed deer — 195 — —

Post-season survey, not draw statistics. Source: 2026 Big Game Recommendation Book (2025 season harvest; comparisons 2021-2025) 2025 Big Game Recommendation Book (2024 season harvest; comparisons 2020-2024)

Year by year

The standard draw for nonresidents, one row per year.

Year Tags Applicants Applicants per tag Points needed Source
2026 120 110 0.9 0 2026 Nebraska Draw Results · p. 8
2025 120 110 0.9 0 2025 Nebraska Draw Results · p. 8
2024 120 88 0.7 0 2024 Nebraska Draw Results · p. 8

Legal cartridges for deer in Nebraska

From the Nebraska hunting laws rules on file for a rifle. "Depends" means the rule turns on your specific load — check the state page.

.22-250 Remington from $0.98/rd
.223 Remington depends from $0.43/rd
.243 Winchester from $1.11/rd
.25-06 Remington from $1.82/rd
6.5 Creedmoor from $1.01/rd
6.5 Grendel from $0.72/rd
.270 Winchester from $0.15/rd
7mm-08 Remington from $1.84/rd
7mm Remington Magnum from $2.05/rd
.30-06 Springfield from $1.11/rd
.300 AAC Blackout from $0.60/rd
.300 Winchester Magnum from $1.25/rd
.30-30 Winchester from $1.08/rd
.308 Winchester from $0.82/rd
.338 Winchester Magnum from $2.61/rd
.350 Legend from $1.12/rd
.35 Whelen
.360 Buckhammer
.400 Legend
.444 Marlin
.450 Bushmaster from $2.02/rd
.45-70 Government from $1.97/rd
.50 Beowulf
Spot a data error on this page? Tell us.

Every report is checked against the agency source before we change anything.

How to read these numbers

Every percentage on this page is a prior-draw probability: the chance an applicant with that many points would have drawn in the draw year shown, computed from the agency's published results. It is not a forecast — quotas, applicant numbers, and point creep change every year. Where a state does not publish a number, we show a dash, never a zero. Under five tags the percentage is flagged: one applicant either way swings it. Fees show the fee year used. Read the methodology for the engine details.

Not an application service

Draw rules, quotas, fees and deadlines are set by each agency and change by commission action. Check the agency's site and apply there; we don't take applications.