Tips on where to hunt for 2017 season
Kansas
I'm wanting to plan a trip to Kansas to hunt whitetail next year. I am from Texas and don't have a clue where to start. Any help at all would be greatly appreciated! If anyone is interested in hog hunting maybe we could work something out! Thanks.
This should be good...subscribed?
Pretty general question. If you are used to hunting timber focus on the eastern third of the state. If linear creek bottoms and open fields are more your thing focus farther west. Public hunting areas aren't plentiful in Kansas, but there are plenty of public acres to put together a good hunt as well as WIHA acres that can be productive as well. Good luck in your research and hunt!!
Matt
Don't bother, stay in Texas, better hunting. We have all the out of state folks we need. We also have hogs.
Good luck creed. They hate us! Shoot all there Deer, Pile up the corn, and steal there women :)
Hey now there ranger, I've never heard anyone bad mouth an out of stater for stealing women.....;-)
Thanks Matt! The past 5 years I've been making a yearly trip to Indiana to hunt. I just want to mix things up a little this year. Catfisher, I bet you could squeeze one more out of state guy in there! ;-) I didn't realize ya'll had that much of a hog population up there. Learn something new everyday!
Creedxs--I can understand you wanting to hunt some different scenery. I pretty much hunt the same area year round and sometimes it gets a little boring. When I was younger I traveled around Kansas mostly to hunt birds and waterfowl. In those days if we saw one deer a year it was a big deal. When it got to where Kansas could support a deer season, it was still a test to be successful. Slowly it got better, but with the short gun season, there was not a lot of pressure on the deer herd. As the years passed, the herd grew but the pressure continued to be rather light. Back then it seemed like archery pressure was very light, which is not the case today. Then it seemed like there was an explosion in the size of the herd and there were too many deer in some areas. Our Fish & game dept. cowed to complaints by farmers about crop damage and insurance companies due to deer/auto accidents, both legitimate issues to some degree. The legislature was pressured to do something; there response was to order Fish & Game to open up the regulations, which they did. They had no respect for the game biologist studies or recommendations. The result has been a over hunted and over pressured deer herd, for the last few years. When you add disease and weather related issues to the terrible management practices in Kansas, I don't know why anyone would spend the time and money to come here. My trail cam pics this year were some of the most disappointing I have ever gotten. I know the TV shows make it look like there is a trophy buck in every wood lot, but it just isn't so. I have hunted about every legal species of game in Kansas for many years and I know what I am talking about. If you pay attention to the post on this site, you will see the many hunters saying pretty much the same thing. You have the legal right to hunt anywhere you wish and I hope you are successful, but I hope you don' choose Kansas at this time.
I hope you don't plan to try and hunt any hogs while you are here either. KDWP&T made that illegal unless you are on your ground or have all the proper permits. To the best of my knowledge they have destroyed any groups of pigs that were remaining in Kansas. I think you will be disappointed if you come to Kansas based on what you have seen on the Hunting programs on TV. The public ground is over run from the 1st of Nov. to the end of rifle season. Just from my experiences with hunting it over the last 25 years. If you do make this your destination and plan to hunt in the Eastern half of the state let me know and I will help if I can.
What Griff said about hogs. The main populations are coming out of Oklahoma, and the feds keep them pretty well trapped and shot out at the border. There is a population in Bourbon County that's protected by a landowner who wants the things for his own hunting. Kansas isn't nearly as easy as the TV shows make it look. Not quite as hard as some Kansas residents make it sound.... Some come and get on some good private ground, easier than residents.
I'm not concerned about the hogs, trust me I kill plenty of them down here in Texas! They are fun to hunt but dang I can't get away from them! I'm not wanting to hunt Kansas based off of the TV shows. If I was basing my hunting trips off of that I'd have to hunt a lot of different states! Those guys kill big deer in any state they hunt. I just want to mix things up this year and hunt Kansas. If it's as tough as everyone says it is I'm up for the challenge! I'm also not looking to kill 160" + deer (not saying I wouldn't shoot one!). I just want to see/kill a mature deer! That's why I'm asking you locals for some tips!
What entertains me the most about hog hunting in Texas. You can talk to folks that say "they are eating me out of house and home". So we say, ok we will bring a BH group down and shoot some! The reply is, ok bring your check book.
Unfortunately, you're right. I'm not opposed to people killing pigs off of my land, I don't even want money for that. If I were someone that didn't hunt and didn't control them I'd be game for people killing them for free! I'm just offering hog hunting for possibly somewhere to hunt. I know that's not an even trade off so I'd even pay a little on top of the hog hunt.
I'm going down in a couple weeks to hunt them for free Dave ;?)
Start searching areas away from metropolitan areas. I would say 60-70 miles. For your first hunt I would look for heavily timbered or broken country as those areas tend to hold more mature deer. Good luck and if you draw an area and need more help I can try if it is an area I know.
I heard that there was a small group of hogs north of Eldorado, but think they got wiped out last month.
Creed....I will guess that by the time you are done with your first KS hunt you be in it for a min of $1,500-$2,000 (license, tag, fuel, accommodations, your from Texas so bags/truck loads of corn).
If you come up here to hunt I wish you well but would bet you will leave dissatisfied with the results of your $2K investment.
Are you allowed to hunt over corn on public land?
If you would ask this question on Txbowhunter, you should get 1000s of tips.. ;)
No, first of all it's impossible to "hunt" over a corn pile, secondly it's illegal on public land or WIHA.
Always got to have that one guy that's a smart alec. It was a simple question. That's why I was asking, I didn't think it was.
I answered didn't I? Sorry bud, don't take it personally...I know there are still people in TX that actually hunt.
Alright serious question here. Do guys just not like out of state hunters in general or just the Texas guys that come to hunt?!?! None taken sitO. Honestly the last 4 bucks I've killed have been hunting trails like you guys do.
Creed - everyone seems to be secretive about their beloved deer. The only thing I can pose to you is as a more avid bird hunter than deer hunter I just do not see many deer at all when I'm out bird hunting, (or relatively speaking when compared to 2011 and before)
The only thing I'd say to keep in mind is that fawn production/success rate was likely very low in 2011, and 2012 which were the worst of the drought years, some parts of the state also lost lots of CRP which was torn out to go back into ag production, and subsequently hurt the birds as well.
That being said, if you picked a part of the state and narrowed down the focus a bit I'm sure there are others here who could give more specific information. As a resident I've no idea if it would be hard for you to get an archery tag in the unit you want (are you even relegated to a unit?) From my point of view it seems as if there are unlimited tags avail essentially - other out of staters could maybe chime in on what it's like to get a tag.
Kansas is anything but the same terrain.
Like Kshusker said, its really not so easy to give tips when you arent very specific about the part of the state you wish to hunt.
Much of western Ks has very few trees, the flint hils, smokey hills or the south east area are all different. I dont hunt swks, scks, seks, neks, or really nwks..i am a ncks hunter. If you need a tip about unit 7/8, id be happy to help..there is no point in me clouding your mind with tips for areas i dont hunt.
Tip #1 that does pertain to all of Ks. Please remove the hoglight from your bow while here, they are not legal.
Tip #2. Spend hours reading the kdwpt rules and regulations,..you will also find a pdf which shows last yrs tag draw quota. As a 1st time nonresident hunter, you will draw a tag and potentially cause another nonresident hunter to not draw a tag. You could be the reason TxRanger doesnt draw his tag...
I've actually never killled a buck in KS that wasn't in timber so there's that way too.Very diverse country......like TX
This will give you an idea of last years draw. You should not have to worry about drawing a tag since this is your 1st yr here.. other people who have been coming for yrs wont be so lucky..of course we may see another increase in tag quotas.
Click the Draw and Quota tab in the link above
This is the last place you want to come to for info on hunting KS bucks the guys here on bowsite own all of Kansas and don't want anyone hunting their state but the few guys logged on to KS bowsite. Kansas has some fine, big bucks for sure !! You can pickup a walkin hunting atlas at any KS Wall Mart or call KS Game n Fish and have them send you one or you can probably look at it online. The eastern and north central have the most walk in deer hunting and all units hold some great bucks. You can look at any outfitters website and see what they have been killing in a particular unit. Knock on some doors and ask around about gaining access to some private not all people from Kansas are like these jokers on here believe it or not there are some great people in KS . In the end it all comes down to HUNTING you have to get a KS tag and go for it ! Don't be discouraged Kansas is a great place to hunt for big bucks you just happened to come to the wrong place for info. Maybe someday my home state of New Mexico will stop letting people from Kansas come here and hunting big , rut crazed bulls . I saw a guy from KS parked at a trail head last Sept and thought about asking him what he was doing hunting big bulls in my state , they are for us locals lol.
I will say this, do not look in the traditional hot spots for big bucks. I believe things have and are changing in Kansas and if you look in areas where there are less people it also means less hunting pressure. Kansas has a lot of good folks and even the guys here are pretty good(for the most part) it is just like anything, when you have something you have cherished your whole life and someone wants to come and take a piece of it, anyone with any passion will not be happy about it. (now someone will come on and tell you where I hunt, just to be, well you know!!) Shawn
Jdee 10% of tags got to NR. Kansas is close to 35% New Mexico has 35 million acres of public hunting. Kansas has around half a million acres. Don't be so sour until you have walked in the same shoes as some of the residents. I do enjoy New Mexico hunting on a land owner tag out by Pie Town. some great bulls out there.
Fake news..vs. Real news
Kansas has approximately 300,000 public acres and leases over 1,000,000 acres of private land which is enrolled in the wiha program, ie. Public hunting properties..
Side note,..New Mexico has approx. 39,000,000 more acres than Kansas .
Jdee is the dishonest media.
Jdee- "I saw a guy from KS" LOL! I think we have talked about this before or maybe You have millions of acres of public access that we all are given rights to. In comparison, KS has very little public land and you NR lease up the remaining good private. 2nd week of November, the public lands around here are full of NR trucks from as far away as Alaska. Rarely do I see a local truck.I may just come out there and shoot one one of "my" elk if I can draw a tag.
Agreed Nebraska can be very good! Shawn
Have enjoyed shooting some of your bull's, jdee...on the national forest lands my taxes have paid for. Wish it was easier to get permits for OUR lands in your state. Kind of lop-sided as per number of resident hunters vs. about of federal land. Shoot, I'm jealous your state looks out for the residents more than the non-residents. Most states, to.
Writer, what about the outfitter pool for drawing tags as a NR in NM? They force you to have contracts with an outfitter to apply for the maximum odds of drawing. Maybe Kansas should do that? I mean it's all about the $$$ anyway. More guys like Mac Cole can make money off of the NRs. I loved it a few years back when I applied for my sheep tag in NM and they changed the draw rules after the deadline and they had everyone's money (about $3,500 of mine). My odds went to about .1%--instantly.
jdee, I hunt NM every year for mule deer and elk. We own the ground and get conservation incentive permits. This annual hunting doesn't come cheap in NM. The thing that makes most upset about Kansas is the fact that non-landowning NRs have been coming to this state for 10+ years straight and hunting the same land in the same unit via leasing. The "draw" is a joke. I send thousands of dollars out every year to various Western States attempting to draw one of those once-in-a-lifetime permits. Iowa has a better mindset when it comes to NR hunting. You can hunt there as a NR but it will likely be only every 3-4 years.
I read an article a few months back and the reason we lose so many hunters (nationally) is due to lack of access. Kansas is like 99% private ground. This influx of NR permits has displaced many resident hunters. That's the frustration here. It's not that Kansans hate the NRs, it's that the legislature has catered to them to make an extra buck at the expense of its residents. I am fortunate to have family ground to hunt in Kansas. If I didn't have it, I'd be pretty much screwed in my native state.
