January Kansas Hunt

Dakotazeb

Dakotazeb

Well-known member
How is the pheasant hunting (and maybe a quail or two) in January. I'm thinking of trying to put together a Kansas hunt in January with an old high school classmate that lives in Bonner Springs. Season closes here in SD on Jan. 3rd but I'd like to do some more hunting.
 
I would put the trip together as in Kansas most people have quit hunting this past weekend. I have had my best hunts in Jan and you will see very few hunters out. I live right across the river from your friend, almost niehbors.

zeepo
 
January is one of the best times to hunt the ditch parrots in Kansas, if we get some cold weather and/or snow.
 
kiotehntr said:
January is one of the best times to hunt the ditch parrots in Kansas, if we get some cold weather and/or snow.
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I agree completely. HOWEVER, an important point that my friend forgot to mention is that if the snow has ice crusted on top of it, forget about chasing pheasants. I know Dakotazeb knows all about this, but I wanted to point it out to those of you that may be planning to visit from the southern states.
 
kansasbrittany said:
I agree completely. HOWEVER, an important point that my friend forgot to mention is that if the snow has ice crusted on top of it, forget about chasing pheasants. I know Dakotazeb knows all about this, but I wanted to point it out to those of you that may be planning to visit from the southern states.
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Yeah I forgot to mention that, but if we do get ice over snow that is the one time and the only time that I will hunt CRP....:D
 
I have had some decent hunts in January. Sure, many of the roosters are already burned out by then but the hunting pressure is usually way down. Normally, the birds will settle down a little by the end of January and you can get some easy shots. Good luck and I will probably see you out there.
 
From an out of staters perspective I can say that January hunting in Kansas is great. Hardly any other hunters and still plenty of birds. The birds are smart but that just makes it more challenging. The only wild card is the weather. My buddy and I are planning our own January hunt with an eye on the weather.
One more thing; for the uninitiated Kansas visitor a warning about the roads. Depending on the weather they could be hideous. If it's cold at night and warm in the morning you have to be careful that the frozen road that you drove in on could loosen up and become a real nightmare. Also, be careful driving down snow covered roads. They can be hiding something for sure. If there are no tire tracks on them, that's probably for good reason.
 
Roads

Well said grousehunter. Those roads should be called paths.
 
kansasbrittany,
you said if the snow has ice crusted on it not to hunt pheasants, is this because of the noise or for the safety of the dogs or yourself. I just want to be sure of the reason. I have never hunted in such conditions so I want to be sure of the reason. Greatly appreciate it :).
 
All of the above you mentioned. It will tear the dogs feet up, I would buy boots for the dogs just in case. It is hard walking thru the crust of ice and snow and the birds can hear coming a mile away but the chances of having this type of conditions are slim.

zeepo
 
Zeepo said:
All of the above you mentioned. It will tear the dogs feet up, I would buy boots for the dogs just in case. It is hard walking thru the crust of ice and snow and the birds can hear coming a mile away but the chances of having this type of conditions are slim.

zeepo
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^^^^Agreed, but when the conditions are like that it's the perfect time to hunt plum thickets and pastures!!
 
When you drive by a pasture and look out across it pay special attention to the little cedar trees and thickets that line the draws. Usually they are surrounded by barren land, which is perfect for the roosters to see incoming predators. These make great places to hunt when the pressure on the other fields is up and no one and I mean no one usually bats an eye at a barren pasture. If the draws are drifted in then watch for the birds to flush out from the top of the cedars or thickets. How many times have you driven up to a CRP patch and you instantly know that it's been hunted 2 or 3 times that day already? First thing you think of is "okay where would they have flown off to?" The roosters know that they don't get pressured in the trees or thickets in the middle of a pasture so it's a likely place to see birds. Most people that hunt think that CRP is the only kind of ground to hunt(not trying to start a war)so they look at a pasture and scoff at it. I enjoy hunting pastures, knowing that it's one of my honey holes....:D
 
copheasanthunter said:
kansasbrittany,
you said if the snow has ice crusted on it not to hunt pheasants, is this because of the noise or for the safety of the dogs or yourself. I just want to be sure of the reason. I have never hunted in such conditions so I want to be sure of the reason. Greatly appreciate it :).
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The dogs' feet and the noise are the major problems when the snow is crusted with ice. You just can't navigate without making a bunch of noise. It can be nearly impossible to get a shot off in range when you're making that much noise and hunting late season roosters.
 
Most pastures are grazed off so the grass is pretty low so there's not much to hold the blowing snow. Usually you can walk into a pasture and walk in a few inches of snow, and usually there's not much ice if any over the snow.
 
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