Hunting West
Contributors to this thread:Kansas
From: Matte
17-Nov-20
Hunt report from Sw Kansas.
My two best Mule deer spots where we generally see 70+ deer=Zero. Crp was grazed off so I drove around looking to see where they might have moved to. Farmer buddy I ran into said they have been gone since last Winter.
Spot 2: Found one one a stalk. Dry and not windy but managed to get within 76 yards. He sprung from his bed and bolted. I was down wind and could only see the tips of his massive frame.
Moved on to bird hunt. 10.8 miles of corners and tailwater pits one Rooster.
Evening hunt. Bedded whitetail buck along a fence line. No shot 42 yards. Man is it dry.
Headed out this am. I'll post any action.
I have seen some pronghorn but not many.
From: writer
17-Nov-20
Good luck That region just can’t get a break as per normal rainfall.
From: Trebarker
17-Nov-20
Good luck Matte, hope your situation improves today
From: Matte
17-Nov-20
No luck on deer this morning. However I still had a blast.
From: Matte
17-Nov-20
No luck on deer this morning. However I still had a blast.
From: Dale06
17-Nov-20
Matte, I managed to arrow a small 10 pt wt last Tuesday pm in west central Ks. I drove a five mile radius where I hunt at dawn and dusk for three days, just looking for deer and pheasants. Saw a few whitetail and muleys. The vast majority were does, but a few very small bucks. And saw only a couple pheasants. Was very disappointing.
From: Matte
18-Nov-20
Dale, if you or any of the Uncles want to help Dakota he has a rifle Mule deer tag. I am really having a hard time finding any on huntable ground.
From: Thornton
18-Nov-20
I decided not to hunt mule deer in Kansas this year based on what I saw last year on my brief mule deer hunt and what Writer told me they found on the most recent study of mule deer decline. It was a hard decision because I saw one that would go 200" easy late last season in an area of public that I suspected rarely got deer hunted. I certainly hope the state cuts tags to give them a rest. Lots of areas that used to have nice herds like the SW corner, Dodge City, and the Pratt Sandhills, no longer have any, or very few.
From: sitO
18-Nov-20
Do you have the Archery only tag JT? I know there aren't as many as a few years back, but there are areas with healthy populations. I saw over 30 in 1.5 days of hunting a pretty small area, considering the vast expanse of land out there.
From: Thornton
18-Nov-20
I do not. I bought the any season tag instead.
From: Dale06
18-Nov-20
Matte, sent u a pm
From: Dale06
18-Nov-20
Again this year, I hunted north of Dodge City about 40 miles. I was raised there and know the area well. I hunt it every year. In the late 80s to mid 90s, it was common to see dozens of different bucks in a weeks hunt. And 175-200” deer were seen most every year. In the last 20 or so seasons, I’ve seen exactly one “shooter” muley buck. That was about five years ago. There may be a few decent bucks around, but the population has been way lower for years. Interestingly enough, my brother found this decent buck dead well after the season was over. He was a skeleton because of coyotes. He would score 160-170, NT. I think the white tails have pushed the muleys 50 plus miles further west.
From: writer
18-Nov-20
Mule deer were in the Flint Hiils, at least up north in the 60s and 70s. There was even a herd north east of Manhattan in the late 80s. There were decent numbers where we found big pastures in Clay and Ottawa counties at the time.
Started hunting Wallace County in 85 and it was the first year of white-tail only. Locals laughed because there were so few. Not now.
Kyle...in the early to mid-90s we regularly tallied 80-100 in a good day, of which 8-10 would probably book.
The fawn survival rates found in this study doesn’t bode well.
From: Trebarker
18-Nov-20
Mule deer were around Emporia in 89-90, a 4x5 buck was hit just West of the Merchant St exit by the campus along the North side of the Country Club golf course. The next year a muley doe was hit by a car just West of town on Hwy50. A cow elk was hit the same year on the Turnpike just South of the tailgate a mile or so.
From: TwoDogs@work
19-Nov-20
I saw Mule Deer in Chase County on a semi-regular basis until the late 80's. I had a good friend that hunted a good one near Clements in the Early 80's. A local knew he was hunting it and brought him a drop from it. I passed a shot at a small forky in the mid 80's. I saw as many as 12 in a group one time. I have not seen one in at least 30 years.
From: Thornton
19-Nov-20
So do the whitetails run them out? Now that you mention it, I knew a guy that hunted some big ones up by Salina back in the 90's I think.
From: Matte
19-Nov-20
Yes it seems they are the more aggressive species. Im also wondering the genetic make up of the herds as they get smaller and smaller. I wonder if the herd reaches a point of genetic decline thus making them more less resistant to diseases.
From: writer
19-Nov-20
Good question, and it’s a nationwide thing. But, populations are dropping in places with no whitetails. Kansas Farmer had or will have an article on mule deer. In Kansas, as CRP has gone away so have some mule deer densities. That knee to waist-high grass is perfect fawning cover.
From: Mark S
20-Nov-20
Matte - beautiful Britt. I have 3 myself. Looks like a really nice dog. Congrats to you both on a successful hunt
From: Matte
20-Nov-20
Writer,
Very true on the loss of CRP. My best spot a slam dunk with generally 75 deer was all grazed off. We went out youth and saw zero. I went by there this last week and saw one doe.
From: Dale06
21-Nov-20
There is a new CRP sign up starting Jan 1. That will put some more land in CRP, but I believe the amount of CRP will be far less than it was 10-15 years ago. Habitat is a big deal, for all wildlife.
From: Lucas
25-Nov-20
Valerius Geist wrote an interesting paper on the exchange between whitetail and mule deer. It suggests that matting strategies are the biggest factor (hearding vs chasing) and that Mule deer are generally not out competed physically.
From: writer
25-Nov-20
Matt- just found out the CRP where I’ve had some great bird hunts, and seen mulies flirting with 200” is going under the plow.
From: Matte
25-Nov-20
Ah no good. We hunted Pheasant today in snow. They held so tight. I also saw a Jack Rabbit by Bentley. That is the first for me here in Sg Co.
From: Matte
25-Nov-20
Ah no good. We hunted Pheasant today in snow. They held so tight. I also saw a Jack Rabbit by Bentley. That is the first for me here in Sg Co.
From: KsRancher
25-Nov-20
Thats a bummer Mike. I have seen several thousand acres of CRP get worked under within a 7 mile radius of my house. I know why the farmers do it, but it still sucks. Matt, I am jealous. I had to work today. Nothing beats bird hunting in the snow!!
From: writer
25-Nov-20
Matt, we used to see jack’s about every time we’d go in to set up goose decoys south of Valley Center. Never saw one in daylight, though.
From: Matte
05-Dec-20
Well moved about 100 pheasant and shot a few while looking for Mule Deer. My son had to be connected from 8:30-2:30 so we hunted deer for a short time in the morning. Then we got to a place with great service and Rooster and I hunted birds. We encountered very few deer, fewer hunters and a few new memories. Maybe next week.
