I closed up the office mid-afternoon yesterday and bowhunted the last couple of hours. I passed on this little 7 and a few does. Not much action but the wind was awful, swirling as it went from NNW to S.
This morning I tried a different stand because I was hoping the wind would stay out of the south. I saw a couple of does and a couple of buttons. Note the turnips, wheat, and clover they’re eating:
Then mid-day I was checking the football scores and grabbing a late breakfast when these guys tooled by the front porch!
I’ve had an absolutely awful docket this week. I’ll be in the field all next week, which means double duty now. Unfortunately that means I have nothing to write about. Fortunately I’ve made the acquaintance of some excellent hunters who are willing to share their stories with you all.
This story goes back to last year when a gentleman tracked me down and asked for some advice on a specific public area that I’d spent some time on over the years. He and his partner were coming down Minnesota for a chance to chase big Kansas whitetails. I helped to the extent I could and he was nice enough to share his pictures and stories with me.
This year he’s already got a Minnesota buck in the freezer but it’s not his. It’s his 10 year old son Jace’s! I know, crazy right? I was 16 before I killed a buck and it was another 5 years before I killed a deer with my bow. Frankly, I wasn’t strong enough at that age to shoot a bow. And this wasn’t just some random thing, he targeted this buck. They scouted it, had trail cam photos of it, and put him on the “hit list”. When the deer presented a good 20 yard broadside he took care of business with a perfect shot with a He was using a Diamond Razor Edge at 33lbs. Sounds like he had some good coaching…
P&Y 36 6/8!
Apparently this would not have been possible in Minnesota until just recently. In the last year the state has started allowing 10 and 11 year olds to hunt alongside an adult. What a fantastic opportunity to get young bowhunters in the field! Hopefully Jace and his father will have all the kinks worked out before my own daughter is old enough…
… but not a Kansas buck. I hunted today and have no good story to tell. But dihardhunter over at The Outdoor Smorgasbord scored on a great public land buck in Alabama. As usual, he tells a good story and takes great pictures. Take a look here.
Yesterday I got done with work early enough to climb up in a stand closer to town. Before long a young button buck came in and absolutely mowed down the food plot. Turnips, wheat, rye, whatever… he was going to town!
He had the largest buttons I think I’ve ever seen. Usually around here it can be hard to even tell a button from a doe. This guy’s got 3 inch bases!
Anyway, he hung around for at least 30 minutes before a spike, doe and fawn came and ran him off. Then another spike wandered by. Finally right before dark I laid eyes on my first no-doubt shooter of the Kansas season. He was working a scrape line 230 yards off and never headed my way, but I bet it won’t be the last time I see him. The light was bad enough I couldn’t get a picture but I think there’s a chance he may be Big 9 from last year.
Parker Madl, a 17-year-old high school senior from Stilwell, Kan., didn’t have long to wait or far to go to find the deer of a lifetime. On opening day of the Kansas archery season, the Blue Valley High School wrestling star—the reigning state champion in his weight division—shot this 20-point buck from a tree house on his family’s property. The deer green scores 228.
I started hearing about this buck not long after it was killed. See I went to Blue Valley, my parents still live in Stilwell, and I even vaguely know the Madl family. Rumors regarding the specifics have been hard to come by but it sounds like they’d been watching this buck all summer come to a feeder. He was stuck on opening day, allegedly not more than a couple of miles from where I stuck my 2008 Kansas buck.
Pat over at Bowsite has been trying to stick an elk for something like 12 or 13 hunts without success. He’s back at it right now and today he stuck a good bull… But the story doesn’t end there. Go read it here.
So apparently everyone drew. If you applied for a Kansas Non-Resident Deer Tag you won! Congrats!
I believe all 4 of the bucks in that video will be available for any of you non-residents to chase this coming fall. I passed the tall 8 and screwed up a great opportunity on the big 9. I passed the broken beam buck several times. Now as to where you should go to find these guys… That’s a bit more complicated…
There’s actually a great deal of resentment among Kansas hunters for our current system that allows basically any non-resident who’s willing to pay $350 to hunt deer here. This year it was a 100% draw with leftovers in each unit. Last year it was very close to a 100% draw with leftovers in most units. I believe some of the units never sold out. The locals, particularly those prone to whining anyway, are up in arms. They don’t like others killing “their” deer. They don’t like others leasing, “their” ground. They don’t like anything new. They firmly believe that they can turn the clock back to 1960 if they howl and moan about every change that happens.
I see it a bit differently. I’ve been extremely fortunate to hunt a few states each fall. I hunted 4 states and a province last fall. I respect the opportunity that those states provided for me to chase their deer, elk, pheasants, antelope, or whatever. I’m willing to provide those not fortunate enough to be born in Kansas the opportunity to chase some of our big deer. I want to return the favor. Plus, frankly, I’m just not really into complaining.
I’m also part of the problem. I’m excited about two friends from Arkansas and a friend from Southern Missouri joining us in early November. We’ve had a 50% success rate with the Arkansas guys over the last 2 years, and I’ve really enjoyed the adventure they bring with them. I hope they take three monsters this year.
Good luck to those of you who have tags. Don’t worry about all the bluster from “The Locals”. Welcome to Kansas and good luck. I hope you enjoy your hunt, but I hope I get the big 9 before you do!
Despite pleas to save the animals, Johnson County officials will employ sharpshooters and bow hunters to solve the problem of too many deer in Shawnee Mission Park.
The park and recreation board agreed unanimously late Wednesday with a staff recommendation to use the lethal option to reduce the herd from about 200 deer per square mile to 50 — a 75 percent reduction.
They are apparently going to let police officers shoot the deer coming to bait and if there are still any left there will be a controlled bowhunt. Not exactly how I would have drawn it up but better than trying to trap and relocate them all.
Sharpshooters and bow hunters would be used to cull the large deer population at Shawnee Mission Park under a recommendation issued today by Johnson County park officials.
This park is about 15 minutes from my house and has been the source of intense debate in the KC region for over a year. Now how hard do you think it will be to draw that tag? Actually if it’s like other limited entry hunts in Kansas it may count towards my one buck opportunity. If that’s the case I’ll probably let the opportunity pass…
I’m sure this isn’t the last word we’ll hear either.
