Kansas Deer Hunting - Some Hunters Welcomed

A Long Kansas Deer Hunting Story To A Simple Point

The self guided deer hunter we seek is the one that takes a lifetime of endeavor to learn the whitetail. He knows that success is achieved over time and effort.

No one deer hunter is lucky enough all the time to succeed at deer hunting over multiple seasons. Those that have recurring success have a method we have been able to observe over the years working with hunters from a multitude of states and experiences. That deer hunting success method is described in the paragraphs to follow.

First Past Demonstrated Association Deer Hunting Success Fundamental

The first element of recurring deer hunting success in Kansas and anywhere for that matter is to scout. An obvious point many readers will dismiss as an overly written about deer hunting topic. Our experience has shown the same plus more.

Deer scouting is either pre season or part of the deer hunting trip itself. This is opposed to those that study aerial photos, pick a spot and first morning in the area are deer hunting from a tree stand. The missing part of boots on the ground deer and habitat scouting is frequently overlooked and common to many bad deer hunting stories.

We seek to overcome some of this with our recommendations based on year round observations of where to hunt.

Second Part Deer Hunters have Shown Works Best

Effective scouting grows into the next set of elements that seems to distinguish the deer hunters with more recurring trophy success than those with less. Another seemingly obvious point with adaptation to this Association.

Kansas hunting success elements continue with believing it takes hunting from more than one deer stand and hunting lease rather than place all hopes and effort into just one farm. Kansas deer habitat while seemingly sparse has plenty of spots and they are spread out. This open nature requires flexibility where to hunt. This is the difference between arrogant stubbornness that the deer hunter thinks he knows better than the whitetail where to be and objective observation.

Proof Of The Above Two Points

Proof of this is that regardless of how good our first year recommendations may be of where to hunt. Or, that first year Association hunter's scouting, by his third season he will most likely be on entirely different Kansas leases than those he selected the first season. This is due to finding more spots more to his liking.

Those two points alone. The first of planning to scout. Second, to hunt more than one spot. Have each been singled out by many hunters over a good number of years as the keys to more eyes-on trophy Whitetail Deer.

What the Association contributes is the flexibility of time and location to apply these two requirements for success. All may hunt any timer during the season on as many spots as they have time to hunt.

Difference Between Agricultural Land and Big Woods Deer Hunting

In big woods states deer must only move several steps to be fully concealed from observation. In Kansas a Great Plains State with 55% of the land use in farming makes for big open spaces. In Kansas deer must move a far greater distance to get land contour or low to the deer eye level concealment. In both Kansas and big woods states deer seek not to be seen by humans. That includes where humans occupy, roads, pastures, farm yards. In Kansas that means a long run to get over open ground low rising ridge or stick to the brush and wooded drainage.

Aerial photos and topographical maps together show where deer prefer to occupy. Mark as no go ground any that can be observed from any road, farm yard or pasture (assuming cattleman check their cows daily). Of the remaining ground find deer eye level cover. Aerials will not show high native grass or low brush.

On all the aerials add to the areas concealed from regular human observation row crop ground (food) and year round water.

Quantity of each isolation acreage, food, water, cover is not the issue. The presence of each in the same area is key. That will be the preferred deer loafing spots. Or, the areas to be scouted and hunted.

The alternative is to take the big woods deer hunter approach. That would be to look at all aerials and pick the "best" spot by the one that has the most trees. A single criteria approach that increases risk of being in the wrong spot. Using multiple deer preferred criteria of isolation, water, food, increases the chances of seeing deer.

A big woods state has much trees, little during the winter preferred food sources and typically a lot of year round water. In Kansas most of the land is in during the winter (hunting season) food sources, waste grain on large crop fields. Trees are limited to where the tractor cannot plow. Water in Kansas that is geographically described as a "drainage state" is limited. If we agree to this we should also make the agreement that potential hunting land quality assessments and hunting techniques should be different when the terrain is dramatically different form that of big woods to big farming country.

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