Any Kansas hunting experts on here?

[ForEverlast]

Rut in north central peak is from 10-14th in my opinion hunting either side dependent on weather and moon will get your best chances... this is my 20th year to put in and success rate for me over that time to bag a buck is about 65% which i have most likely beat the odds as I don't shoot em unless over 135" and mature have passed many that I could have tagged every year but many were too young and its not about that to me so I have eaten my share of tag sandwhiches in fact the last buck i took was election day 2016 but he was a 170" 10 point so worth the wait and my biggest is a 184" stud that was 2011 with 13 inch brows and heavy a true book deer.

All big deer that I have taken were rattled in...so knowing the area and at least a chance at a good one but more importantly put the time in and use the wind and calls etc. has been most effective for me

Good luck

[Justin Spies]

Rut in north central peak is from 10-14th in my opinion hunting either side dependent on weather and moon will get your best chances... this is my 20th year to put in and success rate for me over that time to bag a buck is about 65% which i have most likely beat the odds as I don't shoot em unless over 135" and mature have passed many that I could have tagged every year but many were too young and its not about that to me so I have eaten my share of tag sandwhiches in fact the last buck i took was election day 2016 but he was a 170" 10 point so worth the wait and my biggest is a 184" stud that was 2011 with 13 inch brows and heavy a true book deer.

All big deer that I have taken were rattled in...so knowing the area and at least a chance at a good one but more importantly put the time in and use the wind and calls etc. has been most effective for me

Good luck

I couldnt agree more with the timing. Ill be up Nov 7-15 this year.

[HenduAg]

I hunt some wiha up in that neck of the woods. Make a list of the best 5 to 10 properties that you want to scout the hit them as soon as you get there. Look for fresh sign not stale sign, fresh sign being trails that are beat down. Milo is my favorite crop to find up in that area, deer will travel a ways to get it. Find milo on wiha with bedding some where near by even if the bedding is on other ground, they will come. I prefer to hunt corridors and pinched to and from milo, with most of my deer being killed in the morning with the bucks traveling the corridors back from feed. Be prepared cause you may not see a lot of deer but if you stick with it you will get one, if you’re lucky you will get one or maybe two opportunities on mature bucks for every week you are there. Wiha doesn’t get hit that hard in those units. If you run into a property that’s being hunted move on to the next, that’s the code unless it’s a big property with lots of huntable ground. Be prepared to shift plans cause you most likely will get thrown curveballs. Sometimes the difference between being successful is the ability to get away from a plan and improvise. When I have to improvise hunting wiha I like to cover miles and miles of ground scouting until I find the hot sign, when you find that sign set up shop. if the sign is so so, try it. If the sign is not there move on. If cows are there my best advice is to move on. In a nutshell those are my best tips.

[DapperDan]

I hunt some wiha up in that neck of the woods. Make a list of the best 5 to 10 properties that you want to scout the hit them as soon as you get there. Look for fresh sign not stale sign, fresh sign being trails that are beat down. Milo is my favorite crop to find up in that area, deer will travel a ways to get it. Find milo on wiha with bedding some where near by even if the bedding is on other ground, they will come. I prefer to hunt corridors and pinched to and from milo, with most of my deer being killed in the morning with the bucks traveling the corridors back from feed. Be prepared cause you may not see a lot of deer but if you stick with it you will get one, if you’re lucky you will get one or maybe two opportunities on mature bucks for every week you are there. Wiha doesn’t get hit that hard in those units. If you run into a property that’s being hunted move on to the next, that’s the code unless it’s a big property with lots of huntable ground. Be prepared to shift plans cause you most likely will get thrown curveballs. Sometimes the difference between being successful is the ability to get away from a plan and improvise. When I have to improvise hunting wiha I like to cover miles and miles of ground scouting until I find the hot sign, when you find that sign set up shop. if the sign is so so, try it. If the sign is not there move on. If cows are there my best advice is to move on. In a nutshell those are my best tips.

Do you bother running trail cams or just run and gun and hunt the sign and focus on just killing a mature deer? What’s a typical mature deer score up there?


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[Sleepy]

Do you bother running trail cams or just run and gun and hunt the sign and focus on just killing a mature deer? What’s a typical mature deer score up there?


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In my experience the last 5 years, 150 seems to be a typical score on a mature buck up there. Then you have your giants. And every once in a while a mature buck that just isn’t sporting much.

And remember, you will be looking at horses with horns. If you are used to looking at a 130 down here, odds are the same look up there will be a 150

[Bassdeer]

I’ve got an app showing me all of the wiha areas. Just curious about what people have seen done in the past that works. Like target areas next to certain crops, or hunt creeks/wood lines. Etc.


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Funnel areas.

[DapperDan]

In my experience the last 5 years, 150 seems to be a typical score on a mature buck up there. Then you have your giants. And every once in a while a mature buck that just isn’t sporting much.

And remember, you will be looking at horses with horns. If you are used to looking at a 130 down here, odds are the same look up there will be a 150

Trail cams worth the hassle?


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[HenduAg]

Do you bother running trail cams or just run and gun and hunt the sign and focus on just killing a mature deer? What’s a typical mature deer score up there?


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I do run trail cams, I’ll put 7 or 8 out. Mainly run them on scrapes. Cheapest ones on the wiha obviously though I’ve never had any stolen. I do it mainly for the excitement of seeing what’s there but I have killed several bucks that i was able to get on cam and target, see the post from the 200 I killed in 2013 and the 60’s buck I killed in 2018 in Nebraska, 2 miles north of the Kansas state line. Mature bucks will most often score anywhere from 130 and up. I killed a wiha buck in 2010 that was a big 8 with a sticker that was very mature, scored 137 and weighed 225 field dressed a week after it shot him at the locker in Texas. He was a tank. I told my buddy that I called from the stand after the shot that I killed what I thought was a 125. So they definitely grow when you walk up to them. I’ve killed a 3 year old that was 15 pts just shy of 160 last year and then a 7.5 year old buck that was 162 in 2017 who was prolly 280 live weight. 3.5 year old in 2011 that was 155, and then several 4.5 year olds ranging from 142 to 148. So just depends. But most all mature bucks will be 130 and up.

[175gr7.62]

I’m going to be the Debbie Downer. Kansas is no different than any where else. I won’t hunt public land land in Texas and I won’t hunt a unit in Kansas with a 90% draw rate.

Save up your money and and go hunt private land. You are looking at a 5-8% success rate on a buck as an out of state hunter on public land in Kansas.

I’m fortunate that I get to hunt 67,000ac by myself in Kansas. No way I would pay to go fight the crowds up there.


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[Bassdeer]

I’m going to be the Debbie Downer. Kansas is no different than any where else. I won’t hunt public land land in Texas and I won’t hunt a unit in Kansas with a 90% draw rate.

Save up your money and and go hunt private land. You are looking at a 5-8% success rate on a buck as an out of state hunter on public land in Kansas.

I’m fortunate that I get to hunt 67,000ac by myself in Kansas. No way I would pay to go fight the crowds up there.


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Sounds like you have room on your place for DapperDan, take him under your wing this year.

[kerrbow]

I am going to go against the "hunt the rut" normal advice and say try the pre-rut from the last week of October into the first week of November. I have been hunting Kansas for the last 15 years or so and have noticed that most of the big ones tend to be locked down with does starting about the 2nd week. You will see a lot of younger bucks cruising however. This year I believe the full moon is Oct 31st so I am going up around the 26-27th. I would check out areas that are open around large reservoirs in your units and don't be afraid of WIHA's with lots of CRP and a few parcels of timber. Youth pheasant and quail starts Nov 7 and regular pheasant and quail on the 14th. Are you doing all of this solo or with someone else also hunting?

[DapperDan]

Sounds like you have room on your place for DapperDan, take him under your wing this year.

Yeah, how about it? Show me the ropes!


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[DapperDan]

I am going to go against the "hunt the rut" normal advice and say try the pre-rut from the last week of October into the first week of November. I have been hunting Kansas for the last 15 years or so and have noticed that most of the big ones tend to be locked down with does starting about the 2nd week. You will see a lot of younger bucks cruising however. This year I believe the full moon is Oct 31st so I am going up around the 26-27th. I would check out areas that are open around large reservoirs in your units and don't be afraid of WIHA's with lots of CRP and a few parcels of timber. Youth pheasant and quail starts Nov 7 and regular pheasant and quail on the 14th. Are you doing all of this solo or with someone else also hunting?

So I thought it was just me and a buddy but he added two other guys to our group and I didn’t find out until about 3 weeks ago. So, there will be 4 of us but I’m doing my own thing. Scouting my own spots, chasing my own deer. Last thing I want is 4 guys on 160 acres chasing a mature buck. Yes I know it’s public and there could easily be other hunters as well. But why add 3 extra to the mix? Lol


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[kerrbow]

So I thought it was just me and a buddy but he added two other guys to our group and I didn’t find out until about 3 weeks ago. So, there will be 4 of us but I’m doing my own thing. Scouting my own spots, chasing my own deer. Last thing I want is 4 guys on 160 acres chasing a mature buck. Yes I know it’s public and there could easily be other hunters as well. But why add 3 extra to the mix? Lol


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Do all your scouting by yourself, keep quiet about what you see, scout from a distance if possible. If physically able use a bicycle to scout also. A lot of the WIHAs do not open until Nov 1st for access. Always look for out of the way places others may overlook because they don't look "deery". Do not be afraid to hunt on the ground behind a camo screen. Buddy of mine that lives there has killed 2 nice bucks sitting in an aluminum folding chair last couple years, you don't have to climb a tree to shoot one, just make sure the wind is right. Good luck

[HenduAg]

I am going to go against the "hunt the rut" normal advice and say try the pre-rut from the last week of October into the first week of November. I have been hunting Kansas for the last 15 years or so and have noticed that most of the big ones tend to be locked down with does starting about the 2nd week. You will see a lot of younger bucks cruising however. This year I believe the full moon is Oct 31st so I am going up around the 26-27th. I would check out areas that are open around large reservoirs in your units and don't be afraid of WIHA's with lots of CRP and a few parcels of timber. Youth pheasant and quail starts Nov 7 and regular pheasant and quail on the 14th. Are you doing all of this solo or with someone else also hunting?

Agree, my cameras and personal experience is that big deer will get on their feet a few days leading up to halloween and then starting the 6th-10, after 10th is typically lockdown for 10 days or so. There are weird years as well of course, 2016 being one of them where the locked down on the 6th. Based on the moon, I prefer to not have to straddle that full moon with my two weeks off. Last year I went up on the 25th to get my time in before the full moon and was able to kill on the 29th, a truly perfect morning, cold and snow on the ground. Best hunt I’ve ever had.