give me the scoop on Kansas hunting, obviously Deer are superb, pheasants are good, some good waterfowling. What am I missing? Is there good public access land? Do I need to get on a lease, what should I expect to pay for a lease with year around hunting?

Phoenixdawg, most of the hunting here is excellent. You forgot that there are Turkeys around every corner and small game abounds. All tags, except Elk, Antelope and Mule Deer Bucks (good luck on those three) are purchased over the counter, including turkey, any whitetail deer and small game. There is no closed season for rabbits or coyotes, either. The resident prices are very reasonable. I would not get, or look in to, a lease until you have been here a while. There is literally a million acres of public and walk-in land. I would start there. Look on the KDWP web site for maps and info. I just went around and found places where I could help out by fixing fences and such. Then I asked if I could help control pests like coyotes. It has led to exclusive rights to 1800 acres for myself and my daughter. It is also reasonable for the landowner to change the definition of "pest" depending on where he is and the crops he may have. One year it is deer (read: get as many tags as you can and fill them all) and some years it is turkeys, and all the time it means coyotes.

Good luck.

If you are a bird hunter, the quail hunting to the North and East can be superb depending on winter and water.

The best part of KC.....Cabela's.

Phoenixdawg,

I live in Kansas and have hunted all corners of the state. It's true their are turkey's around every corner and becoming a fairly simple prey even on public land. You can shoot 2 in the Spring and I think 4 in the Fall.

Elk, pronghorn, and mule deer are draw only, but I have drawn mule deer twice in the last few years and a buddy of mine has drawn elk, pronghorn, and mule deer. So, except for elk, the odds are not difficult. The problem with mule deer and pronghorn is finding a place to hunt. I have hunted for mule deer on public land and was very discouraged with the quality of what was available. And as far as I know you won't find a pronghorn on public land.

Now, the problem I find with Kansas big game hunting is the lack of "quality" public hunting (WHIA or state owneded) for big game. To be honest, for the 20 odd years I have been hunting in Kansas, the best luck I have had is on private ground.

Now, the good news, I have taken loads of geese and ducks off of public resevoirs and it is easier to get access to private land for goose hunting. I love the late season goose hunting here. An in your case, you would be a couple hours North of a major refuge.

You can also find some public areas to shoot P.dogs in far SW Kansas. I have also heard you can pay trespass fees out by Goodland to shoot P.dogs.

The truth is (in my opinion) is that, like everywhere else it is becoming increasingly difficult to gain access to private ground unless you live in a rural community. Many people are now discovery the value in their land by leasing it to hunters. I even have family land that I can't hunt deer on because it is now being leased to outfitters.

I think larrys is right, check it out first, but to be honest, I have thought about a lease for deer hunting.

Pegleg

If you think the bird hunting is superb in NE Ks, you must have not been here lately, as it is very tough. They have killed a lot of pheasants in western Ks(Dodge City,etc) but the NE Ks areas that used to be very good are poor lately. It is similar in Mo. and Ia as well, maybe a little better for quail, but far far behind the glory years of the mid 70's. That said there is as good deer hunting in Mo. and Ks as anywhere around if you are a trophy hunter. Access will be virtually non-existent unless you have an in or own the land yourself. Public area hunting will virtually define the word pressure. Turkeys are like mice in a granary, they are everywhere.

jstevens- I was refering to North and East of Kansas City.
I was back for 6 days last year and shot about 25 quail in a 5 day period. Seemed like I had to walk a little further to find them but they were there. I have an uncle with about 600 acres in the Cameron area and good friends and family up towards Trenton. From what I was told the Quail population is way down but we had good luck nun-the-less. Haven't hunted NE Kansas. You are right about the glory years in the 70's as I use to get up early and hunt quail before I went to school and then after on my way home. I had a great life back then. Is the town square still the same in Gallatin? I won a few bucks back in the 70's in downtown Gallatin arm wrestling right on the square. Use to be pretty low keyed back then.

The good ol' days of walking up to the farmers door, and gaining permisssion to hunt are quickley dissapearing.

I have lost access to ground that I have hunted for many years to someone with a signed lease agreement. I guess helping out with farm work on the weekend was never really worth that much after all.

I think the Cabelas store in Kc is good, its alot better than the new Bass Pro over in Olathe.

Yes, there's turkeys everywhere. Its a good thing that cars dont have as many wrecks as deer with turkeys. If they did then you can bet fish and game would sell enough permits to kill them off like the buffalo.

A fiew years a go we had as many deer as turkeys, then the Insurance companys got to complaining about wrecks. So Fish and Game went to allowing multiple deer tags. Guys went out and shot the piss out of them. Now I hardly see a deer .

We got plenty of waterfowl though, hell yes. Just as soon as the waterfowl numbers start to rise the Fish and Game raises the daily bag limit.


Good Luck, I hope you find a good place to hunt.

maxbear - you are right on about the deer situation. KDWP has botched this completely.

well if any of you guys have some lease suggestions, I would love to hear them. What should I budget to pay for a lease in Kansas, Texas leases can be very high, I know several folks paying 4000 and up a year to have a lease.

If you bow hunt you will have it made. Many places will let you hunt as long as no firearms are involved. Good luck on the move.

Land is usually leased by the acre. So If you want a place thats 640 acres, then you'll pay 1,280 dollars. Thats at 2 bucks an acre. Make damn sure if your gonna lease to put it in the contract that you will have soul rights to the area. You dont want to go hunting only to find the farmer/rancher has invited everybody and there dogs over for a Thanksgiving day quail hunt.

There is some walk in hunting area's in Kansas. This is a program that the Kansas Dept of Wildlife and Parks has brought forward. Its better than nothing. If you get in a pinch. You can find out about this land from the KDWP's offices.

Get a contract.

Pegleg

I spent my youth following a bird dog in the 70's so 4-5 birds a day is hard to get excited about. That's just two good covey rises in the old days. I really have no idea why the quail hunting has depreciated so bad, and pretty much all over several states. When I was in college, I was feeding cattle some hay and our dog rode with us all the time, saw a covey near some big bales, so turned the dog out. Jumped a couple coveys of quail in thirty minutes and killed a limit of 8 with six shots. That sounds like a story, I was shooting an old Charles Daly 20 ga. bored skeet 1 and 2 and killed a pair with a single shot twice. That is quail hunting. It makes a heck of a story, but it absolutely fact. I had hunted a lot and shot on the trap and skeet team in college, so was in pretty good practice as well.