Kansas advice for 1st-timer

roadscholar

roadscholar

Active member
Greetings everyone. I'm new to the forum. After about a week of scouring over loads of discussions here I decided to join yesterday.
Great site, with a ton of information!

I'm from Texas, but live in Europe. I'm taking a two-week trip home from late-Dec to mid-Jan, and gonna do some bird hunting.

My brother and I are thinking about heading up to Kansas for a couple of days to chase pheasant. (with the help of his Brittany)
We'll be heading from the Dallas/Ft Worth area up to the Texas panhandle to hunt quail, and could possibly continue on from there.

I've narrowed it down to two possible areas in KS to target.....NW area- Hill City/Norton/Oberlin.......or SW area- Liberal/Garden City.
Any thoughts/advice on these two areas? (Or suggestions for other areas!)

We would be hunting WIHA, but wouldn't be opposed to knocking a door or two to inquire about the possibility of hunting some private land.

Coming from the TX panhandle, obviously the SW part of the state is closer. But we'll gladly drive extra to have a better chance of getting into birds.

We want to go wherever we have the best chance to get into a couple of roosters, and don't mind putting in lots of walking to get it done.
We have tremendous numbers of quail in the TX panhandle this year, but the pheasant in the area we hunt are all but gone.
So driving to KS is worth it to us, even knowing that it will be tough late-season hunting.

Any advice/thoughts/suggestions are greatly appreciated!
 
My advice/thoughts/suggestions: Go to South Dakota where they actually have pheasants. I can tell you the birds in NW KS are few in number. I have no intel for you on SW KS. Good luck.
 
BritChaser said:
My advice/thoughts/suggestions: Go to South Dakota where they actually have pheasants. I can tell you the birds in NW KS are few in number. I have no intel for you on SW KS. Good luck.
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Thanks for the reply, Brit. We have considered SD, but the season ends Jan 3.
I don't arrive in TX until the 30th, and we have a quail hunt scheduled in central TX on Jan 4. It would be kinda tricky to make a trip to SD work. (but we do plan to make the trek to SD in the next couple of years)

The time frame that we're looking at maybe heading to KS would be somewhere around Jan 5-6-7-8.
 
I'd say bring it on! Hunting beats siting in the house anyday. Just don't have high expectations and if you end up shooting some birds then it's icing on the cake. If you don't then you still had a great time.

If I went out and counted on killing birds each time I went I would be very disappointed. I know your coming a long way to hunt but, hunting is a gamble you have to be willing to take. Especially freelancing it. There is no return on your investment with hunting. None...
 
duckn66 said:
I'd say bring it on! Hunting beats siting in the house anyday. Just don't have high expectations and if you end up shooting some birds then it's icing on the cake. If you don't then you still had a great time.

If I went out and counted on killing birds each time I went I would be very disappointed. I know your coming a long way to hunt but, hunting is a gamble you have to be willing to take. Especially freelancing it. There is no return on your investment with hunting. None...
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Duck, that's exactly the way I look at it. Getting out and seeing some new territory, and having a chance at a rooster or two beats the heck out of not going at all. With the way the quail have come back in TX this year, we will for sure have plenty of action when we hunt there. (I was over for a quick 4-day trip earlier this month, and we squeezed in one day of hunting. Lots and lots of quail)
But we're really itching to chase pheasant....nothing else compares for me.
 
duckn66 said:
I'd say bring it on! Hunting beats siting in the house anyday. Just don't have high expectations and if you end up shooting some birds then it's icing on the cake. If you don't then you still had a great time.

If I went out and counted on killing birds each time I went I would be very disappointed. I know your coming a long way to hunt but, hunting is a gamble you have to be willing to take. Especially freelancing it. There is no return on your investment with hunting. None...
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I don't agree there is no return on your investment. I know when I get back from hunting, regardless of how many birds I harvested, I am much more relaxed. There is nothing better for me than a hunting trip to clear my mind and get away from the stresses of work. When I get back I am sure I do a much better job running my business, and I am easier to be around. That could save me a 50/50 split with the wife. lol
 
fsentkilr said:
I don't agree there is no return on your investment. I know when I get back from hunting, regardless of how many birds I harvested, I am much more relaxed. There is nothing better for me than a hunting trip to clear my mind and get away from the stresses of work. When I get back I am sure I do a much better job running my business, and I am easier to be around. That could save me a 50/50 split with the wife. lol
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Very true.
 
I've heard there is a slight improvement in SW Kansas, but just a few years ago we hunted hard for two days and saw one bird. Next week will be my first trip back there with a shotgun in two years, so really hoping the birds have come back at least a little.

If there's an upside, I doubt you will have much competition on the WIHA. Might not see another hunter in 4 days. :laugh:
 
the cover on the high plains is MUCH better this year, but the bird numbers are only slightly better. cross you fingers for good nesting conditions this spring and then think about a great hunt in NW Kansas.
 
1 1/2 day hunt in Russell area last week hunting all public gave us a few roosters in the bag and a few more opportunities if we hit shots. We also got into good quail numbers. I'm with some of the other guys...hunting with friends and good dogs is always worth the time and you won't know until you've covered all the ground anyway. Good luck wherever your dogs nose takes you!
 
MOBirds said:
1 1/2 day hunt in Russell area last week hunting all public gave us a few roosters in the bag and a few more opportunities if we hit shots. We also got into good quail numbers. I'm with some of the other guys...hunting with friends and good dogs is always worth the time and you won't know until you've covered all the ground anyway. Good luck wherever your dogs nose takes you!
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Thanks for the reply, MO. Good to hear that you got into some birds.
I have a cousin that hunted last week north of Dodge City and managed to get into some birds with lots of walking.

I'm still trying to figure what my plans will be. I'm actually considering to make the drive to SD around the 28th-29th. If I do that, it will be by myself, with no dog. (crazy, I know)

If I do go to KS, I think I'll target the area from north of Dodge City, up through Russell and maybe Cawker City.
Just getting out and seeing some new territory, and having a chance to kick up a rooster here and there will be great.
 
SD is a great experience but I'll be honest, I've got to think hunting w/o a dog would make it really tough. Not saying it couldn't be done, just my experience/thoughts for you to consider for what that's worth.

In my experience, dogs can definitely help get them found and pointed or flushed, it's the once on the ground that the dogs are truly invaluable. It's simply amazing how pheasant can run and hide after getting pounded with lead and the only way to recover them is dog power.

I do hear you and understand on the experience of new territory, adventure of a hunt, and simply getting away. However, I would encourage you to find someone on here that might take you that has a good dog in SD or trying KS with a pup as your odds of bringing birds home will probably be higher.
 
MOBirds said:
SD is a great experience but I'll be honest, I've got to think hunting w/o a dog would make it really tough. Not saying it couldn't be done, just my experience/thoughts for you to consider for what that's worth.

In my experience, dogs can definitely help get them found and pointed or flushed, it's the once on the ground that the dogs are truly invaluable. It's simply amazing how pheasant can run and hide after getting pounded with lead and the only way to recover them is dog power.

I do hear you and understand on the experience of new territory, adventure of a hunt, and simply getting away. However, I would encourage you to find someone on here that might take you that has a good dog in SD or trying KS with a pup as your odds of bringing birds home will probably be higher.
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Good points. If I do end up heading toward SD, I think I'll post in the SD section here and ask for tips/advice. I've been watching youtube clips from SD today, and man will that get a fellow revved up for chasing birds.
 
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