So, a guy who is from out of state and buys Kansas OTC non-resident tags and hunts public land is writing an article complaining about...too many out of state hunters and too much pressure? Pot, meet kettle. You can't have your cake and eat it too. Am I missing something?
Pretty dumb article. No sympathy from me. If you don't like it then don't hunt there. Maybe lower your standards on what type of deer you expect if you are going to hunt there.
I'm going this year. I sure hope it's better than what's outlined in that article. When I lived in NY and PA, I had a ton of friends that hunted Ohio in the late 90's to mid 2000's. Once word got out about the big deer they were killing, they started telling everyone how bad it was getting in Ohio. But somehow they kept coming home with big bucks so their stories of how bad it was didn't really make sense. I'm guessing Kansas is still pretty good, but it's going to require work, timing, and knowing how to hunt around others to get a decent shot a a mature deer there. That's to be expected in my opinion though.
I lived in Kansas for 20+ years. Hunted there the last 8 I would say. The monsters that live out there are phenomenal. The poaching is relatively low. Deer crawl all over the place. So to say that it's bad out there, on public Land it is. If you can get permission from any of the farmers out there (and most of them are willing to let you hunt for the sake of getting deer off their property due to crop damage) you're set. 4 years ago I remember a hunt. I had probably 5 or 6 shooter bucks stand up in front of me about 200 yards. 1 being a 180 class deer. (Have trail camera photos of hom) the deer there are monstrous in my opinion. Kansas is probably the most underrated state when it comes to giants. This was in southwest Kansas where I hunted. About 20 miles east of Garden city Sent from my SM-G925W8 using Bowhunting.com Forums mobile app
Easy now the guy had a job to do go to Kansas to hunt public land and tell the story. I think we are all guilty of complaining or whining about a hunt or a season etc.
Basically what I've been seeing in Southern Illinois, but I don't think it's due, entirely, to hunting pressure. I believe it's due to patterns. It started about four seasons ago, and it's just gotten better last year. Little to no sightings, not as many killed. 16-17 season was much better for many that I know. I think it has more to do with weather, timing, winter harshness, fawns, etc. Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
Kansas does need to cut back a bit on non resident tags. Furthermore unit specific tags both archery and general for both residents and non residents would go a long way to bringing Kansas back to were it's was. Lastly don't shoot young bucks. Too many guys come from states that have lessor trophy potential and they shoot the first 120 deer they see just because it better then what's back home. Keep that up and you might as well stay home because your turning the Kansas into what you were leaving to begin with.
The quality of bucks changes from year to year as well depending on the weather. I thought they were way off last year from normal. We had a prolonged hot and dry spell last year about the time corn got up chest high and stressed a lot of stuff. I think it also in turn effected the antler growth.
Sounds like Ohio... For every buck that graces a magazine cover or TV show, there are a thousand PA and east coasters (no offense fellas) tripping over each other on public land; half of them with x-guns slung over shoulder.... only to discover that these bruits live on highly managed (and highly guarded) private lands. Yet, they keep coming, and ODNR is more than happy to take their money. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
There are plenty of guys on here from Kansas that shoot GIANTS! You are bowhunting public land with a set amount of days and probably nowhere near the time needed to scout very well. The problem with most guys who go on a out of state hunt whether it is leased land, guided or public DIY think it is a gaurantee they are going to kill a Booner. The old phrase it is called hunting and not killing could never be more true. The odds that you are going to go somewhere to hunt for 5 to 10 days without knowing the pattern of a mature buck or the area and kill one is low plain and simple.
