I've got a great dilemma to deal with this fall.

I'm NOT complaining it's just been a long time since I hunted out of state and I'd like to make the most of good circumstances I stumbled into:

A client has invited me to hunt deer this fall in MT and those dates are locked in early Nov. We have our choice to hunt mulies or whitetails with good chance of success on either. I've got a decent mulie on the wall so I was going to take this as an opportunity to take a decent whitetail for the wall.

Now it gets more complicated. My brother-in-law from northeastern KS (Unit 8) has been here on several pig hunts with me and has promised many times to pay me back by taking me on a whitetail hunt if he ever had the opportunity to invite another hunter. He has invited me for this fall and he thinks this is the only year he can bring me on to a decent hunting ground. He has first rights on a wooded 320 acres of private ground this year only.

This is where the scheduling choices get confusing to me. Ideally I'd like to hunt KS to see if I get a good whitetail before I hunt MT because then I'd switch to mule deer in MT. But I'd like to hunt muzzleloader or rifle in KS and my brother-in-law doesn't suggest hunting before it gets cold.

The archery season in KS is 9/22 through 12/31. The muzzle loader season is 9/22 - 10/5 and the rifle season is 12/3-14. I've archery hunted in the past but my equipment and skills are way out of touch so it would be my last choice. It would be neat to get to hunt muzzleloader season and then I'd know what to chase in MT, but my brother-in-law is nervous about the deer not moving because of the heat and the chances of success being low. I can deal with heat but I'd rather not waste his time, my time or this opportunity.

My brother-in-law seems to be suggesting either late October for archery or rifle season in Dec. But the land owner will only promise us the first few days of rifle season to ourselves before he turns the family and friends loose on the place.

Sorry for the long post but I'd really appreciate some advice from some of the KS locals. Obviously the advice I'd LIKE is for someone to tell me I stand a great chance of taking a good buck during muzzleloader season.

Thanks,
Kyler

Seriously you should forget Kansas and send me in your place and just go to MT.

Well, obstacle number one is the draw. While the deadline is June 2, the honest chances of drawing are not good. Kansas started the preferrence point system and they did away with the landowner transferrable permits this year.
Assuming you get drawn, you will certainly have more opportunity to hunt with a muzzleloader since it is legal for both the ML season and the rifle season if you draw a ML only permit. You will also have the opportunity to hunt an adjacent unit as well. and there is lots of walk-in in that area should you run out of time on the land you plan to hunt. While hunting in the warmer weather is more difficult, it simplt takes more scouting. They will still move in patterns.

I hope that was helpful.

Hi Larry,
Thanks for the input. Maybe I'm misinterpreting the draw but it looked like for Unit 8 in '07 they authorized 898 tags for nonresidents and only 551 people applied with that unit as their first choice. 505 of those applications had 0 bonus points. Please correct me if I'm not reading that right.

I appreciate the positive advice on the muzzleloader season. It's pretty hard for me to scout correctly from a 1,600 miles away but maybe I can burn another favor with my brother-in-law (he's got a son who will be old enough to want to shoot a pig pretty soon).

Thanks,
Kyler

Kyler,

I know this will sound skeptical, but whitetails are like leopards. The odds of success depends on how many bucks are around and how undisturbed they are.

At least with the ML season, you, in theory, get in there before all the ruckus starts with the rifle season. On the other hand you have to be close enough to shoot as scopes are not allowed on MLs, at least the last I heard.

Pay your money and take your chances, as per usual.

Kyler, you certainly could be right. They did increase the number of 2008 permits to 1550 in unit 8. I usually hunt unit 9 and have always had good success during ML season.

My advice is to apply for the ML permit, if your B-I-L thinks he can get you close, and have fun either way. After all, that is what it is all about.

If the site holds deer, and 320 wooded private land probably does, they will be there and huntable during ML season. I hunt unit 8 every year during regular rifle because that is what I enjoy but during ML season, the buck are easy to pattern within reasonable limits, if someone takes the time to do so.
Good hunting.

Kyler.. Scopes are now allowed during the early muzzleloader season in Ks. I hunt in Unit 14 and Unit 15. This will be first year to use a muzzleloader. You can go to Kansas Dept of Wildlife and Parks web site to find the latest changes to 2008 season. Hope this helps..