As of Dec. 5, 2014, 44,379 deer were taken in all Nebraska seasons, compared to 42,562 by the same date last year.
The biggest change was the mule deer buck harvest, is up by 575 animals or 9 percent. Whitetail antlerless harvest increased by 944 or 8 percent, and whitetail buck harvest is up 327, just 1 percent while the mule deer antlerless harvest was down 1 percent.
Hunter success rate held at 37 percent, compared to 35 percent last year. Success on the Keya Paha Unit firearm permits dropped from 62 percent in 2013 to 53 percent this year when the area was hit hard by snow during the firearm season.
Permits with significant reduction in whitetail harvest are the Buffalo, Platte, Republican and Sandhills units, where antlerless whitetail bonus tags were removed in 2014. Harvest success in five permit types remained about the same (plus or minus 1 percent) and success in 10 permit types increased.
Archery season opened Sept. 1 and continued through Dec. 31. Muzzleloader season ended Dec. 31 and Late Antlerless season ran from Jan. 1 to 15 in 2015.