I have been to Kansas, but to do some video/photo work for an Outfitter in Southeastern Kansas. Alot of good deer have been taken in his area for sure, but it looks much different than the area I hunt here in Southwestern Wisconsin. I am looking to hunt some private or public ground. No location set in my mind yet and I have done a little research on the net, but theres nothing like asking our great friends on the forums! Il start with saying I will be using archery tackle and plan on hunting early to mid November right after our good rutting action here in WI. Would only be going for an extended weekend or so. Am after a respectable P&Y buck. My questions are, where would you go? What areas are easier to draw for a tag or are there over the counter tags for archery in certain areas? Are there areas for either whitetail/mule deer tag in the western part of the state? Im picking your brains, fill me in on what you are thinking? Thanks in advance, Trevor
for nonresidents there are no over the counter buck tags to my knowledge. However, with that said, in the past three years I know that units 12, 13, and 14 all have leftover tags from the lottery which can be purchased on a first come basis. Everyone I know that has applied in the lottery for an archery buck tag in a given unit in Kansas draws his tag. This is not so for gun hunters. I'm a big fan of units 12, 13, and 14. This is where our family land is. There are always a few 200" class that get harvested and countless in the 140"-160" range. The terrain is mainly creek bottom oak timber, CRP and native grasses, and in november youre likely to see winter wheat attracting deer. All the beans, corn, milo, and other crops have been harvested by this time. I've got a grandfather with 4000 acres, and a cousin with 6000 acres. The cousin has 4 heads on his wall over 200", 2 of those being over 230". He grows big deer and manages his preoperties well. If you'd be interested in getting his information just PM me.
Long as you plan ahead, since the draw changed a few years ago (the whole land owner tag deal) you can pretty much draw any unit you want to for whitetails long as you know how the draw works. Last few years, only a handful of units actually have more applicants than tags and the caveat is that in KS, you pick a primary unit and then you get to pick a secondary unit that is directly adjacent to your unit that you get to hunt as well.... So long as you research the draw odds around the unit you want to make sure you draw, you can actually just pick a lesser demand unit directly 'touching' the unit as a 1st choice then the hard to draw unit as your secondary unit... Sometimes there are even some decent leftovers after the draw - just make sure you jump on a tag ASAP after the draw - some units sell out super fast and others may take several weeks or longer... Mule deer is a different deal.... Once you draw a whitetail tag, if you are in a 'mule deer unit', you can choose to put in and try and draw a mule deer stamp (separate draw) - believe odds probably aren't in your favor if you don't have any preference... From my hunts in KS (have hunted in 3 different units - 2 of the ones Jeff has listed), I've seen nice deer in every unit I've been in so I would put more focus on the property your going to hunt... Worth your while to try and get yourself on private rather than go the public route - IMO.
