I spent 4 days in Kansas from Thanksgiving thru sunday hunting the WaKeeney and and Hays area north and south with 2 guys and 6 shorthairs and it was a little disapointing. First the map with all the walk in areas is misleading because allot of it is pasture that is marked walk in but has cattle grazing on it or it is wheat stubble ankel high. Yes thier are some good areas but not near as many as the map suggests. The few good spots we had to beat people to them as we saw people from Texas, Colorado, Nebraska all over. We saw a total of 6 birds and three were hens, and in talking to some of the local ranchers they said the the numbers are way down and they just havent seen many. Also Talked to other hunters at our hotel from all over and they were not having anymore luck than us and had been there longer. The people are friendly and gave us plenty of info but I dont think we will be back for awhile, probably heading to SD from now on and I think allott of the other hunters will be doing the same. One thing I can tell ya is if you have a beagle then go there as we saw a ton of rabbits.
Disappointed in Kansas
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kansasbrittany
Banned
I think folks are having better luck hunting some of the less popular areas. Problem is, ppl watch this site all year and think the Hays area is where it's at. Sorry but the Hays area just doesn't have the #'s that some of the other parts of the state do. I think it gets mentioned a lot b/c a lot of people stay there. There are good highways leaving the town in all directions and there are pheasants in all directions. What some ppl don't understand is that you can go 2hrs E, W, or S, and quite a ways N and still get into birds, though the majority probably just go to the WIHA cluster S of town (w/ the masses), chasing the birds out of the WIHA. Loads of people hunt the area traditionally b/c it is a consistent area. However, consistent doesn't mean there is always a high concentration of birds. Consistent means you can still get a few birds even when some of the better areas didn't have a good hatch. Either way, going back to the KDWP upland report and picking WIHA clusters FAR from Hays would yeild more success than following the masses and hunting the Rush county area. People are still shooting limits in much of the state, but not so much in the Hays area. Due to the "Hays craze" (that's what I've decided to call it) there are a bunch of WIHA's spread across the state recieving very little pressure. I'm confident that I'll shoot a limit in one of those less traveled areas on my next multiple-day outing. My next one day hunt will probably take place in NC KS, despite KDWP's prediction that #'s would be down. I expect to do better there than I would in Rush b/c the area hasn't recieved the same amount of pressure. I'll take reduced pressure over high bird #'s at this point in the season. I'll wait until everyone gets burned out on the Hays area to go back.....probably in a season or 2.
KS never has and probably never will have the #'s that SD does, which in my newly formed opinion is probably a good thing for the KS resident hunter
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Gove County Britts
New member
If you come to kansas anywhere and expect to shoot birds like they do with the pen reared ones in southdakota then maybe thats where you keep going to from now on we have alot of birds here in this area wakeeney gove and ellis but th e problem is your expectations you can't shoot a limit in ten minutes you have to work at it especially on wiha that has been pounded over and over for three weeks
Kansas Brittany well said. After the forecast came out by KDWP I called the farmer I know that farms over 10,000 acres. He told me he was seeing very few pheasants. I then called the 2 KDWP agents for that area and they told me the same thing. I ask if the pheasant population was not that good then why the great forecast. They did not have an answer for that. I hunted hard for 4 days between Lucas and Hill City and say very few birds. All private land and it does not get hunted that much. We still got birds but maybe saw 20 birds a day. Saw triple that last year. Quail population down in that area also. From what the KDWP people said and from talking to other hunters south of I-70 and west of Hill City is better. They had a terrible drought in the area I hunt.
Zeepo
Zeepo
kansasbrittany
Banned
It was noted Sir. Truth is though, some folks wouldn't notice it b/c they actually feel that way after a less than productive hunt in KS, especially if they've experienced one or both of the Dakotas. They came in hoards and they'll leave in hoards. SD is a great experience...much easier to bag birds than KS. Which state to choose should depend on one's willingness to work (and in most cases I do mean WORK) to find birds. I enjoy the gimme type hunts in SD and ND, but I typically get more satisfaction on the days I work to scratch out a couple in KS.
kansasbrittany
Banned
I haven't done well N of I-70 this season either. Haven't spent a lot of time there, but that's primarily b/c we didn't see much for birds on the back roads. I do plan to hunt around Concordia at least once this season. The #'s were way better last year than they'd been for some time IME.
Good luck in the remainder of your season Zeepo!
Mr Hyde
New member
I agree with GCB
I have never been out to Ks. yet, but in the old days you worked for your birds I can remember taking the whole day hunting just to get our limit in Iowa, thats was the fun part.
WI ditch chicken
New member
Thats why I picked kansas it was the challenge. I had fun the first time last year only shot one. Will probably have fun in a couple weeks when I go back don't care how many I see its more like vacation for me.
I hunted around Smithcenter and will probably do the same this year. Pheasant numbers may not be super but they are better than here, plus it should be slightly warmer down there then up here.
Good luck,
Scott
I hunted around Smithcenter and will probably do the same this year. Pheasant numbers may not be super but they are better than here, plus it should be slightly warmer down there then up here.
Good luck,
Scott
Now quit trying to downgrade your state guys It is a wonderful state with lots of birds and better weather than SD this time of year. This time of the season there are no gimme hunts anywhere. I live in one of the top pheasant counties in the US and after 70,000+ rooster have been shot in the county there aren't any gimmes left this time of year. You can still limit out, but when the big flushes get up now it is a lot of hens. Which of course is a good thing for next year. Although on Thanksgiving day there where some guys from Kansas here in Winner SD. I know if I lived in KS I wouldn't come to SD as long as KS season was open, just like I don't go to KS now.
I for one think more guys should try Kansas
It is a wonderful state with lots of birds and better weather than SD this time of year. This time of the season there are no gimme hunts anywhere. I live in one of the top pheasant counties in the US and after 70,000+ rooster have been shot in the county there aren't any gimmes left this time of year. You can still limit out, but when the big flushes get up now it is a lot of hens. Which of course is a good thing for next year. Although on Thanksgiving day there where some guys from Kansas here in Winner SD. I know if I lived in KS I wouldn't come to SD as long as KS season was open, just like I don't go to KS now. I for one think more guys should try Kansas
Now quit trying to downgrade your state guys
I for one think more guys should try Kansas
Dang it Wirehairs, I was enjoying where this thread was going. Don't try to turn it on us. I figure that more guys should go to South Dakota!
I am not saying we didnt have a good time, because anytime I can get out with my dogs is a good time, heck I dont care if we dont bag any as I just want to see the dogs work and get them ready for the trial season but to do that we needed to see some. Probably my biggest dissapoinment wasnt the number of birds but the map with all the so called walk in ground to hunt, like I said allot of it was pasture being grazed on or real short wheat stubble. Yes we did hunt hard 4 days to be exact, from morning to night as we were there to work dogs not sit around, and being from Iowa and our low population I know how hard you have to hunt to find them. I have hunted Kansas, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Missouri and have had a great time in all the states over the years and honestly I think the hidden gem is North Dakota as license is cheap and not allot of pressure like Kansas and SD, all you have to do is find the sunflower seed fields and hunt the walk in areas around it and you will see far more birds than you can imagine. I chose Kansas this year because of the forecast of the bird count and maybe my expectations were to high having hunted the Dakotas the past few years. I will come back but not in the near future and when I do I will probably hunt the cimmeron and try to get into some quail, but one thing for sure is I wont use the map for grounds to hunt. The sad thing about it is being from Iowa we used to be the pheasant capital of the world and I would shoot my limit out my back door everyday but now with corn being so high and farmers farming fencerow to fencerow to produce even more corn for ethenal all the ground is gone along with the waterways and its sad. Never did I think I would have to leave the home state to have to hunt for pheasants and quail in my lifetime.
kansasbrittany
Banned
I was thinking along the same lines V-john!
Congrats on the hunt blueweim.....nice to know there are still a few birds somewhere in KS
I've been here in KS for 2 weeks and having a great time, today is the exception, it's flat nasty out there. I've been quail huntin here for four years but on occasion I'll go into pheasant country just to try our luck on the big birds. I must say that KS pheasants are the smartest, strongest I have ever seen. When you hear of a guy or a couple guys limiting out you can bet they have a dog (probably 2) that know their stuff.===Heck, if it were easy everyone would be doing it.
RogerWYO
RogerWYO
Mr Hyde
New member
Limit by noon on KS Wiha Friday and 3 on Saturday (should have been 4 but that another story). You are correct the bird numbers are going down.
everytime I go.
Blue W judging by the picture are you baiting those birds in with those doggie treats again.
blueweim
New member
Blue W judging by the picture are you baiting those birds in with those doggie treats again.
yep!!! they are suckers for the corn/milo/wheat treats. Dog actually prefers these
birdrunner
New member
Huh thats awesome to here your having so much trouble gettin birds. I have not had any trouble we killed almost sixty in three days opening weekend and i shot a single limit in just over one hour thanksgiving day on walk in land...
You guys all must be allot better hunters than I or you read your map differently than I do. On a sidenote how much does the kansas farmer get from the state to put thier ground in the walkin and still be able to put cattle on it at the same time? I know a guy who just bought 10,000 acre ranch land down by Eureka so was just curious. Anyway good luck to you all the rest of the year as I have one hunt left and that is to NM for some quail hunting with my dogs, now that takes work up and down those reveins.