[MrFysch]

Well after not drawing a tag last year I am headed back to western Kansas for the firearm season. Anybody else going this year? Curious to see how the herd is doing, will update post when I get out after Thanksgiving and start scouting

 

[spikehornkid]

It's on the list for next yr with my brother in law. Giving wy a break for a yr, are you hunting public land? How is the hunting pressure during gun?

 

[MrFysch]

I am hunting private land. Most of the pressure on public land in Kansas that I have seen is just from road hunters

 

[MrFysch]

Made it out to western Kansas and spent the afternoon glassing the property we hunt. Saw plenty of deer and several shooter bucks. 1 8 pt that will push 160. Season opens Wednesday!

 

[Huntahalic]

Made it out to western Kansas and spent the afternoon glassing the property we hunt. Saw plenty of deer and several shooter bucks. 1 8 pt that will push 160. Season opens Wednesday!

Good luck Ron send me pictures.

 

[snortwheeze]

Good luck Ron, looking forward to reading about your hunt!

 

[timbrhuntr]

Good luck some nice deer went down during archery at my buddies said it was their best year ever !!

 

[MrFysch]

Well 2 days until opening morning. We have all our blinds and sets ready for the predominant nw wind expected the first week. All the crops are harvested this year already. Mule deer numbers seem to be way up here in western Kansas but whitetails are down. We are fortunate to have a great piece of land that always holds a good population of whitetails. Had a 160 class buck tending a doe while we were setting a blind yesterday. Hopefully find a few pheasants and prairie dogs today!

 

[BigWoods Bob]

Good luck! Leaving for western Iowa tomorrow morning.

Sent from my SM-A505U using Michigan Sportsman mobile app

 

[DoubleJay]

Hey Bob! Give me a shout when you get back; if the launches aren’t frozen we’ll give Erie a go.

 

[BigWoods Bob]

Hey Bob! Give me a shout when you get back; if the launches aren’t frozen we’ll give Erie a go.

Sounds good Jim!

Sent from my SM-A505U using Michigan Sportsman mobile app

 

[kingfisher 11]

Good luck, there was three of us from Birch Run that made that trek quite often when we drew tags. We moved our hunts to western Kansas also. Its been a few years since I went back. Now hunting NW Missouri.

 

[bluealaskan]

Happy Birthday Ron, mine is tomorrow. Should start a tradition like that, sounds great. Best of luck tomorrow.

 

[TheMAIT]

Good luck, there was three of us from Birch Run that made that trek quite often when we drew tags. We moved our hunts to western Kansas also. Its been a few years since I went back. Now hunting NW Missouri.

Due to deer numbers, hunting pressure, something else?

 

[kingfisher 11]

Really it came down to something else. I also started going back to SK again.
The Missouri hunting is just about what i saw in KS. My last big buck in the states did come from muzzle loading in Kansas.

 

[MrFysch]

So here's my Kansas story so far. We have been hunting western Kansas for several years. We are very lucky to have access to a big piece of river bottom with coulies and crops in close proximity. The deer population in this area has been declining for several years. Not sure all of the reasons? Drought I hear from locals? Anyways after several days of chasing Pheasants and glassing for deer it was obvious that the pheasants are doing great but the whitetails not so much. All the crops have been harvested so literally there is nowhere for them to hide. Our land still is holding a good number of deer and several good bucks were observed when glassing the fields from afar.
Opening day brings big wind...sleet...nasty conditions...one of my buddies hunts the western edge of property where several bucks have been bedding midday after feeding. Other buddy hunts the bottom of the property in a heated shadow hunter we leave out here in Kansas. He sits on the crop field next to the river bottom. This has traditionally produced lots of our bucks.
I like to get away from everybody and hunt a spot on the back side of the property (3000 acres). The deer migrate into this area throughout the day to bed down. Lots of big bucks like this area traditionally.
My buddy on the east threw up the white flag early in the wind as he struggled to keep his ground blind from blowing around. The shadow hunter guy texted me that he had 48 deer in the field. Several good bucks. I knew one had to be the huge 8 we had seen earlier in the week. I started seeing deer at daybreak. 7 does and a good buck 500 yds south of me.
Shadow hunter guy texted me the deer were leaving the field early. And yes the big 8 was one of the 48 but he wasn't sure on his age until he left the field. He continued to see deer on and off through the morning.
Other buddy moved to an abandoned house on the property to get out of the wind.
I sat out in the prairie with a turkey chair next to a big yucca. My last 3 Ks bucks have come from here. After the warmth of the long walk with my pack..extra clothes chair and gun wore off it was obvious it was gonna be a challenge to get a shot. Even with my shooting sticks the wind was moving my gun.
Unfortunately a few years ago an outfitter gained access to the adjoining property a few years back. Now he drives around the tops of the cover...gets out looks for deer...scares the deer....shoots at the fleeing deer...you get the picture. Honestly I have hunted all over and the western ks hunters are the worse.
With the deer being bumped all over the property I was seeing lots of deer. 5-10 at a time. No good bucks until midday when the big 8 came over the horizon with a big half rack. He was just inside 300 but on the move after being rousted by the outfitter and a client. Every time I tried to get a steady shot on him he moved. He slipped away to the South the same as the others I had seen. Over 90 deer had been pushed off the property at this point and passed me.
I knew that with the straight north wind and deer to my South that I needed to get out of there if there was any hopes of getting those deer to start working back to our area. So at 230 I decided to pack up and sneak back to another part of the property.
I had 2 does that had been bedded for hours out in front of me. And before they laid down they had been watching something to my north in my blind spot where I can't see anything. So I was glassing as I snuck thru the tall sagebrush. It was about chest high. As I created the top of the coulie to my north I glassed and immediately saw horns. I dropped down and she'd my pack and chair. Rose up slowly and confirmed he was indeed what I thought. There was no shot without standing to clear the sagebrush. The buck stood up trying to figure out what I was and I got steady enough to get a shot at him. The thwap! Love the sound of a bullet finding it's Mark from a long distance! The buck dropped in it's tracks...309 yd shot from my 270.
My buddy who went in the house shot a buck at dark. We will go out to try and find him this morning. Shadow hunter guy is back in the luxury of his blind.
Kansas is a beautiful place. But I would not look at this area for a hunt. Whitetail population is dismal. Public land is for the most part poor deer cover. Eastern and central Kansas are much better for whitetails. Muleys and antelope far out number the whitetails in western Ks.
I will post up a few pics after the sun comes up on the prairie!

 

[jatc]

Good job on the hunt. Sounds like kind of a frustrating hunt though. I’ve never gun hunted Kansas, but I’ve been out there with an Uncle who is a KS resident while he was hunting.

Those that complain about the mentality of MI gun hunters need to see what goes on out there during rifle season. It is a freaking circus! Yeah, you can kill a good buck, but it isn’t what I’d call “enjoyable” when every buck you see is running across the prairie because there are five locals in trucks road hunting and chasing the deer around because you can see them three miles away.

 

[lreigler]

Congrats! I saw your deer in the lfts. I’m curious to why you have concerns over the deer numbers though? I’m sure many of us have never seen close to that many deer in a day. This year was my first trip to KS and we were surprised by the lower deer numbers. We were in north central, and hunted public land. Most days resulted in 4-6 sightings per day. A few sits with zeros. Not sure if that’s common for the area or if it’s just the result of public land. We didn’t see a ton in private fields while driving around though either.

congrats again to you and your buddy. Post some more pics up when you get a chance.

 

[redwings13]

Been a long afternoon waiting for an update on Mr. Fysch hunt. Almost embarrassed how many times I have checked.

 

[MrFysch]

Captain Dave put down a beauty Tonite...12" 2s and 11" 3s.