Kansas Deer Hunting

ICMDEER · May 20, 2020

There's not a special place for Kansas on MM, so I'm putting this question in general hunting. I hope to draw a license in SW Kansas this year. Whitetail is 100% and I also applied for the mule deer stamp. But I don't have a place to hunt.
Any suggestions on how to go about finding a spot? I'm not interested in a guided hunt, but am willing to pay a fee for access. I'm a spot and stalk guy so no interest in sitting endless hours is a stand.

I plan to make a scouting run there if I draw. I know I could hang around the Co-op or the coffee shop and find a farmer or two, but any other suggestions are welcome.

Blank · May 20, 2020

The new Atlas with WIHA for the year 2020 will not be out until Aug/Sep. The 2019 is on-line and it will be very similar. There is so much available public and WIHA land it is nice to find places to hunt with it. I'm waiting anxiously for results myself, for NW Kansas.

DirtyTough · May 20, 2020

I applied this year for the first time. NW and SW. I assume I'll draw a whitey tag and hoping for the mule deer stamp as well. I plan to head there this summer to scout the terrain a little. Might try to find some private to hunt while down there if it looks necessary.

When are the results usually posted?

Good luck!

stackem · May 20, 2020

We applied for muzzy tags with the upgrade for muledeer. My buddy has been the last few years and had decent success. All public and walk-in hunting

twopointdn · May 20, 2020

I went to SW Kansas last year for the second time with a group of first timers. We took five four wheelers, tree stands and tons of gear to address the unknown. 80% of what we took we did not needed. What we learned; we never unloaded a four wheeler during the entire trip, you would have to take a tree with you to hang a tree stand in, whitetail are smarter than the mule deer in the area, glass is your friend because it is a lot like hunting mule deer, all the country looks the same, whitetails are in isolated pockets and there are very few whitetails over miles of flat land, private land access is not necessary, and when glass does not work start walking a lot, if you feel like your hunting pheasants you will kill a whitetail after many mile, and finally the best practices to prepare you for killing a whitetail in that country is to go jackrabbit hunting with your hunting rifle. We had access to 25,000 acres of private property and we killed all our deer on public land/WIHA’s. Very tough hunt and I only seen 28 whitetail in six days. I killed my buck on the last day off our hunt and it was basically my only opportunity that I had at a buck. We are hoping to draw again to continue the torture. Good luck.

ICMDEER · May 20, 2020

Thanks guys. It sounds about like I expected for terrain and hunt type. I've driven through there and it is my kind of place. I wish I had a sky hook to get about 200 feet off the ground so I could glass better. Either way I bet it'll be fun and a new learning experience.

Glad to know there are opportunities.

stackem · May 21, 2020

We drew tags, but not the upgrade to mulies. Believe units 1 and 2

DirtyTough · May 21, 2020

Ok my buddy and I put in partners. I was the group leader. We drew. But he also drew the muley stamp and I didn't. Is that not part of applying as partners? And yes I checked the box.

Congrats to all that drew!

Blank · May 21, 2020

Unit 1&2 muzzy for me. No mule deer upgrade tho.

ICMDEER · May 21, 2020

I just checked the website again. No drawing results on there for me. Weird that you guys can find out, but all it shows is that I have applied. And it doesn't really say when the results will be announced.

DirtyTough · May 21, 2020

ICMDEER said:
I just checked the website again. No drawing results on there for me. Weird that you guys can find out, but all it shows is that I have applied. And it doesn't really say when the results will be announced.

That is weird.

Blank · May 21, 2020

Emails started around 1:00. My account only showed entered until I got the email at 6:00, then it was updated. I wouldn’t worry until you get the email.

twopointdn · May 21, 2020

I’m heading to Kansas again as well. I got my email at 3:00 pm today.

ICMDEER · May 22, 2020

I finally got an email late last night that I drew. I"m going to hunt Kansas too!

Paul_Crawford · May 22, 2020

Jim, hire a guide. lol The devil made me do it! pc

atrietch · May 24, 2020

I love KS, looking forward to getting back there this fall!

To the OP, there's some good advise in this thread, don't overlook WIHA that requires a little bit of hiking to get to.

ICMDEER · May 25, 2020

A trip to Kansas in June or July looks to be in my future. I'll do some homework this summer. Thanks for the help and I'll have a big adventure.

gfontela · May 31, 2020

I didn't apply for Kansas this year but am thinking about applying for western Kansas next year (not sure if NW or SW would be better for public land and WIHA hunting?). The plan would be spot and stalk hunting and of course my buddy and I would also put in for the mule deer stamp. I'm also torn between applying for muzzleloader vs. archery. If we went archery it would be to go for a week in November during the rut and try to spot and stalk with a heads up decoy. I know that the deer will be more visible that time of year but I'm not an experienced spot and stalk archery hunter which concerns me. If I decided to apply for muzzleloader I should have one setup where I can reach out to at least 400 yards. Any thoughts or advice on what might be the best route for me in western Kansas? Also scouting before the season likely won't be possible due to vacation constraints.

264mag · Jun 1, 2020

Bring along a tree stand

ltnic · Jun 16, 2020

ICMDEER said:
I finally got an email late last night that I drew. I"m going to hunt Kansas too!

Congrats on the draw! KS definitely has some great public options, with plenty of deer. Depending on timing can be a bit crowded. You can also check out https://landtrust.com/ which is like Airbnb/VRBO for hunting & fishing. The site helps connect sportsmen with rural landowners all across the country!