# 2016 Kansas Bowhunt



## Kurto_15 (Jul 20, 2008)

Well its time to start planning a trip for the year and a buddy and I decided to give Kansas Public land a try since we both always wanted to hunt there. Ive been doing some internet research and we plan to do a scouting trip within the next couple weeks to check things out. Right now we were thinking North central/North Eastern area. Not looking for anyones honey hole but also would love any info your willing to help with as far as areas to avoid or hit hard by ehd. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks


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## Downsea (Apr 12, 2005)

You might be better off making a deal with a farmer for some labor or cash or both to hunt his land. I know some of the northern units get damn busy. Put in for the license in early April so you get drawn, I know unit 10 gets a lot of traffic. You're looking at basically the same as public land hunting in MIchigans LP. EHD is everywhere so far as I've been told. Get a unit map and have fun! Good choice going early to check things out. Best of luck to ya!


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## Locked and Nocked (Oct 30, 2010)

I have hunted Central Kansas the last two years during bow season on public land. The hunter pressure definitely increased this past year and others who have been going longer than I have tell me it has increased each year for some time. Basically I am letting you know that you will most likely be running into other hunters but the pressure is light compared to Michigan. 

There's no secret I can really tell you. Cyber scout as much as you can, pick up a hunting atlas to get a map of the WIHA, and when you get there, keep moving until you find deer or sign. The best advice I can give someone going out of state to is to not waste time on a piece just because it "looks good." Last year we hunted a river bottom that look dynamite. It had some prairie, a couple farm fields surrounded by trees with a creek bottom and hills.By all accounts exactly what you would look for in a whitetail property except the fact there was only a few sets of tracks and no buck sign. I spent one night there to investigate and moved on.


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## Kurto_15 (Jul 20, 2008)

Ok thanks for the info. My buddy was actually looking into unit 10 mostly. We'll probably spend a couple days down there soon and do some door knocking and cover as much ground as we can. Anyone have good luck with getting access to private ground down there?


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## outdoor_m_i_k_e (Feb 3, 2005)

I would steer clear of NE if you plan to either knock on doors, or hunt public. Not to discourage you, but NE KS is almost impossible to get on private ground without opening your wallet, and public is largely pressured, especially during November. I spent a few years in NE on several tracts of private and public, and public I generally had more photos of people than deer. Its not Northern MI pressured, but there are a lot of people. Its somewhat close proximity to bigger cities, so its easy for people to travel there.

The private ground in that part of the state is highly sought after as well. You can get lucky and get a cheap lease if you know someone, and theres always an off chance of getting lucky and getting permission, but dont count on it. Huntable land is a HUGE money game there. Between outfitters on almost every road, and farmers knowing that they will have people trying to outbid each other for their land, and as well, there are some big time Pro Sports guys buying/leasing up a ton of land there too. 

As I said, Not to discourage you, but just want you to know what you are getting into. If you plan to make trips out there yearly, then I would say go for it, and try to make some contacts out there. If its just something you will do a couple times, then I would say you are better off picking a different part of the state.


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## Kurto_15 (Jul 20, 2008)

outdoor_m_i_k_e said:


> I would steer clear of NE if you plan to either knock on doors, or hunt public. Not to discourage you, but NE KS is almost impossible to get on private ground without opening your wallet, and public is largely pressured, especially during November. I spent a few years in NE on several tracts of private and public, and public I generally had more photos of people than deer. Its not Northern MI pressured, but there are a lot of people. Its somewhat close proximity to bigger cities, so its easy for people to travel there.
> 
> The private ground in that part of the state is highly sought after as well. You can get lucky and get a cheap lease if you know someone, and theres always an off chance of getting lucky and getting permission, but dont count on it. Huntable land is a HUGE money game there. Between outfitters on almost every road, and farmers knowing that they will have people trying to outbid each other for their land, and as well, there are some big time Pro Sports guys buying/leasing up a ton of land there too.
> 
> As I said, Not to discourage you, but just want you to know what you are getting into. If you plan to make trips out there yearly, then I would say go for it, and try to make some contacts out there. If its just something you will do a couple times, then I would say you are better off picking a different part of the state.


Thanks for the heads up. The more i read online the more i see how pressured the NE area is. Any info on North central or South East? Those were more of what I was thinking personally. I figure no matter where we go we will see people. I dont mind sharing an area but i dont need someone sitting 200yds away.


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## outdoor_m_i_k_e (Feb 3, 2005)

Kurto_15 said:


> Thanks for the heads up. The more i read online the more i see how pressured the NE area is. Any info on North central or South East? Those were more of what I was thinking personally. I figure no matter where we go we will see people. I dont mind sharing an area but i dont need someone sitting 200yds away.


NE is pressured as I said, but if you are able to come up with private ground, either through craigslist, or a leasing company, it is an amazing area to hunt. I dont have any relevant info on the other areas that you are looking at, as all of my experience has been in NE. How many guys are going with you? Just curious. 
No matter what, you will not see as many people out there as you would in MI on public, but its a whole different hunting experience when it comes to terrain. No big woods there like in MI. Its a learning curve.


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## Kurto_15 (Jul 20, 2008)

There would just be two of us. We hunted se ohio the past couple years with good buck sightings, but the last year we seen more people than ever so we figured we would try something different


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## fishmark (Jan 1, 2010)

Very important to locate water the last five years.


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## Kirk Schlecker (Jul 16, 2007)

Kurto_15 said:


> Well its time to start planning a trip for the year and a buddy and I decided to give Kansas Public land a try since we both always wanted to hunt there. Ive been doing some internet research and we plan to do a scouting trip within the next couple weeks to check things out. Right now we were thinking North central/North Eastern area. Not looking for anyones honey hole but also would love any info your willing to help with as far as areas to avoid or hit hard by ehd. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
> Thanks


I've hunted SE Ks for the past 20 yrs and have noticed a dramatic increase in nonresident hunters from Mi due to our inept DNR. I would suggest that you look into units 11 and12 public areas I have friends that come down to hunt and say the areas are not that bad compared to the NE part of the state. I have 1500 acres that I've been hunting since 1996 and you will be spoiled and never want to hunt in Mi. Best time to come down is Nov 5th - 18th rut is kicking in by then and its a BLAST!! I'm heading out next week to turkey hunt, set up stand and mineral stations. Good luck


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