North Central Kansas - Bad

[RuttCrazed]

We hunted private property intentionally planted for birds (not cut, overgrown, etc..) and found very few pheasants. Opening morning I was fortunate to shoot 2 roosters within 15 minutes of hunting, I knocked another down about 3 PM and I didn't pull the trigger on another rooster the rest of Saturday, all of Sunday or Monday!
I managed to bag a few quail here and there, but the pheasants were few and far between. I would wager I hunted the best habitat in the area and the birds were simply not there.
My uncle has hunted Kansas his entire life and we have been hunting with him for the last 10 years, it has become a family tradition, and he told me to start researching South Dakota because he was done with Kansas.....and he owns property here!

Rut

 

[KansasCowboy]

I hunted NC opening weekend as well and had the same luck. Not many pheasants and I was hunting great private land. I will be heading farther west this weekend where my buddies are having better luck and are atleast seeing some.

 

[RuttCrazed]

Good luck! I talked to a buddy with 3 other guys in his party (and good dogs) that hunted near Oberlein for 3 days and they ended up with 3 birds total.
I don't know if I will head back out.

Rut

 

[KansasCowboy]

I have some really good ground to hunt southeast of Norton. I hope to do pretty well as my farmer friend has watched what he says is a decent amount of birds every night go from one his "better shape" CRP fields to one of his many cut milo fields. He did have a group go through last weekend so hopefully there is some left!

 

[Zeepo]

Real BAD is the word. I hunt from Hill City to Plainville and we saw 2 roosters in 3 days of hunting all private ground. The worst I have seen in my 25 years of hunting the area. May fish this winter instead of bird hunting.

Zeepo