Nebraska Deer · Sandhills
Nebraska Sandhills spans 4,996,094 acres, centered 61 miles south-west of Valentine. 3% of it is public land. In 2025, hunters took 951 mule deer here (sum of published hunt rows); hunter counts not published. Its most applied-for hunt, SANDHILLS, put up 180 nonresident tags in the 2026 draw for 366 first-choice applicants.
1 license
first choice, NR
not published
2% Forest Service
4,996,094 acres
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only. The written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Best Bets at 0 Points
Ranked by your odds times how often that license type's hunters filled their tag in 2025. Nonresident, first choice, 2026 draw; licenses with at least 10 tags that anyone can buy.
Every License in Sandhills
| What | Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SANDHILLS | Sandhills | 9% | 0 |
First-choice nonresident odds at your points, 2026 draw. Cut = points the last tag went at; ▲ = points added since the earliest draw on file.
Draw results: Nebraska Game and Parks 2026 Draw Results, retrieved Sep 1, 2026.
If you draw (2026 nonresident fees): $404 ($7 to apply). Open Jun 7 – Jun 11, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.
Harvest
Mule Deer
| Year | Deer |
|---|---|
| 2025 (summed) | 951 |
| 2024 (summed) | 895 |
| 2023 (summed) | 734 |
| 2022 (summed) | 953 |
| 2021 (summed) | 1,020 |
| 2020 (summed) | 518 |
| 2019 (summed) | 808 |
| 2018 | 1,345 |
| 2017 | 1,235 |
White-tailed Deer
| Year | Deer |
|---|---|
| 2025 (summed) | 861 |
| 2024 (summed) | 1,024 |
| 2023 (summed) | 847 |
| 2022 (summed) | 1,119 |
| 2021 (summed) | 1,303 |
| 2020 (summed) | 723 |
| 2019 (summed) | 713 |
| 2018 | 884 |
| 2017 | 803 |
| 2025 by License | Hunters | Deer | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mule deer (hunt 1 of 9) | — | 83 | — |
| Mule deer (hunt 2 of 9) | — | 26 | — |
| Mule deer (hunt 3 of 9) | — | 75 | — |
| Mule deer (hunt 4 of 9) | — | 0 | — |
| Mule deer (hunt 5 of 9) | — | 1 | — |
| Mule deer · archery | — | 69 | — |
| Mule deer · muzzleloader | — | 105 | — |
| Mule deer (hunt 6 of 9) | — | 0 | — |
| Mule deer (hunt 7 of 9) | — | 78 | — |
| Mule deer · 1,200 licenses | — | 382 | 50% |
| Mule deer · 101 licenses | — | 23 | 33% |
| Mule deer · 200 licenses | — | 92 | 66% |
| Mule deer · 300 licenses | — | 2 | 46% |
| Mule deer · 254 licenses | — | 1 | 29% |
| Mule deer (hunt 8 of 9) | — | 14 | — |
| Mule deer (hunt 9 of 9) | — | 0 | — |
| White-tailed deer (hunt 1 of 9) | — | 56 | — |
| White-tailed deer (hunt 2 of 9) | — | 3 | — |
| White-tailed deer (hunt 3 of 9) | — | 13 | — |
| White-tailed deer (hunt 4 of 9) | — | 1 | — |
| White-tailed deer (hunt 5 of 9) | — | 1 | — |
| White-tailed deer · archery | — | 40 | — |
| White-tailed deer · muzzleloader | — | 51 | — |
| White-tailed deer (hunt 6 of 9) | — | 17 | — |
| White-tailed deer (hunt 7 of 9) | — | 45 | — |
| White-tailed deer · 1,200 licenses | — | 271 | 50% |
| White-tailed deer · 101 licenses | — | 19 | 33% |
| White-tailed deer · 200 licenses | — | 52 | 66% |
| White-tailed deer · 300 licenses | — | 149 | 46% |
| White-tailed deer · 254 licenses | — | 99 | 29% |
| White-tailed deer (hunt 8 of 9) | — | 15 | — |
| White-tailed deer (hunt 9 of 9) | — | 29 | — |
2025 split: archery 69 (40%), muzzleloader 105 (60%)
What Nebraska Game and Parks Commission publishes after each season, for everyone who hunted the area: harvest statistics, not draw odds. Nebraska Game and Parks Commission publishes no whole-unit line for 2025; a year's total is the sum of published hunt rows, added only where the lines do not overlap. Hunter counts not published for 2025. Source: Nebraska Game and Parks 2026 Big Game Recommendation Book; Nebraska Game and Parks 2025 Big Game Recommendation Book; Nebraska Game and Parks 2024 Big Game Recommendation Book.
The Ground
| Private | 4,821,726 ac | 97% |
| National Forest | 114,735 ac | 2% |
| National Wildlife Refuge | 41,348 ac | <1% |
| State land | 18,198 ac | <1% |
| Bureau of Reclamation | 86 ac | <1% |
Source: Nebraska Game and Parks 2024-2025 NGPC Public Access Atlas land….
What the Agency Says About the Area
NGPC deer management unit "Sandhills"; permits drawn as Sandhills
▸ Sources 13
- Nebraska Game and Parks 2026 Draw Results, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- Nebraska Game and Parks 2026 Big Game Guide fees, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- Nebraska Game and Parks 2026 Permit Pricing fees, retrieved Oct 12, 2026
- Nebraska Game and Parks 2026 Big Game Recommendation Book harvest, retrieved Sep 2, 2026
- Nebraska Game and Parks 2025 Big Game Recommendation Book harvest, retrieved Sep 2, 2026
- Nebraska Game and Parks 2024 Big Game Recommendation Book harvest, retrieved Sep 2, 2026
- Nebraska Game and Parks 2023 Big Game Recommendations book harvest, retrieved Sep 2, 2026
- Nebraska Game and Parks 2022 Big Game Recommendations book harvest, retrieved Sep 2, 2026
- Nebraska Game and Parks 2020 Deer Harvest Report harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- Nebraska Game and Parks 2019 Deer Harvest Report harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- Nebraska Game and Parks 2026 Deer Management Units boundary, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- Nebraska Game and Parks 2024-2025 NGPC Public Access Atlas land… land ownership, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- Nebraska Game and Parks 2026 Big Game Guide area description, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
About These Numbers
Odds are from the 2026 draw, the latest on file, computed from Nebraska Game and Parks Commission's published results. They are what happened in that draw, not a forecast. Under five tags a percentage carries a *, because one applicant either way swings it. A dash means the agency did not publish the number, and a date marked expected is last cycle's schedule rolled forward. How we compute these.
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We don't take applications: check Nebraska Game and Parks Commission's site and apply there.
Prior-draw odds from Nebraska Game and Parks Commission's results, not a forecast · Methodology · All Nebraska deer hunts