Tentative or "concrete" season plans and random thoughts...

kansasbrittany

kansasbrittany

Banned
First, I gotta figure out when to go to SD. My older boy is turning 12 next month so its the first year he's eligible to go and I cannot wait to get him up there. I believe I'll dodge the rifle season...I don't want to go so early the crops are still in, but I don't want to go so late that the chances of "bad" weather increase significantly. Though I love hunting in the snow/storms, I'm not ready to take that chance with the boys.

Next thought; I gotta be here for the youth opener and the regular opener. Same place, same time as last year, with the same group of kids for the regular opener. We had 4 young boys last year and 2 of them shot birds. This year I hope to get the other 2 younger boys in position to get their first wild pheasant! For the youth hunt, I'll spend 2 days just wondering around the state with the boys; from NC KS, to NW KS, then back through central KS on our way home. This is quite possibly the best trip of the season if the weather treats us decent. Oh, and we'll be sure to swing through Lucas, KS at some point to show the younger boy the Garden of Eden since he was still in diapers the last time his brother and I visited.

Recently we started an annual tradition of hunting with a family from NC. We get into good numbers of both quail and pheasant on the ground they hunt, but that's not one of the things my boy brings up when he discusses this trip; instead he talks about the farmer, the farmer's house/junkyard, and the boy and his father, the jokes they tell, what they have in common with us and how they're different. He also remembers the forbidden cherries that we're mom about:D:rolleyes:

My 2 dogs are in their prime. The GSP was solid last season and is still just as energetic, only now he's another year wiser. Its going to be another great year of dog work.

Birds--I don't expect to witness any great recovery in population this season, but I bet there are enough that we'll at least see one on every trip. Modest? Yes, but not dismal. There are so many other rewards for just getting out there that the excitement of just one rooster or just one covey of quail is enough to keep me, the boys, and the dogs coming back for more.

So, share of your random thoughts/plans, whether set in stone yet or not...as we all know, planning the season is half the fun:cheers:
 
Just booked opener hotel this morning. Hope to get out several times but work and young kids don't always cooperate. Brother in law just picked up a lab pup and my buddy a Brittany. Hopefully they'll both get a nose full of scent.
 
I too am planning on heading to South Dakota again. Been up there with a small group of buddies 5 or 6 times now. Hunt all public land usually around the Mitchell area. We usually make it up there every other year and I really look forward to the trip, usually the end of October. For the past 15 years, except last year, I've hunted the Kansas opener on family ground in SW Kansas. Father in-law is saying this year is again going to be real bad out there so instead will go to an area of the state that was pretty productive for us last year opening weekend. Hunted this area quite a bit last year and it was about the only area we consistently got into birds. The one good thing about the drought is it's forced us to seek "greener pastures" and this in turn has allowed us to see new places and parts of the state we normally would not venture to. This cooler weather the past few days has got me excited for the fall! Along with chasing roosters, also excited to put a deer or two in the freezer. Down to my last couple pounds of venison, I can't wait!
 
kansasbrittany said:
First, I gotta figure out when to go to SD. My older boy is turning 12 next month so its the first year he's eligible to go and I cannot wait to get him up there. I believe I'll dodge the rifle season...I don't want to go so early the crops are still in, but I don't want to go so late that the chances of "bad" weather increase significantly. Though I love hunting in the snow/storms, I'm not ready to take that chance with the boys.

Next thought; I gotta be here for the youth opener and the regular opener. Same place, same time as last year, with the same group of kids for the regular opener. We had 4 young boys last year and 2 of them shot birds. This year I hope to get the other 2 younger boys in position to get their first wild pheasant! For the youth hunt, I'll spend 2 days just wondering around the state with the boys; from NC KS, to NW KS, then back through central KS on our way home. This is quite possibly the best trip of the season if the weather treats us decent. Oh, and we'll be sure to swing through Lucas, KS at some point to show the younger boy the Garden of Eden since he was still in diapers the last time his brother and I visited.

Recently we started an annual tradition of hunting with a family from NC. We get into good numbers of both quail and pheasant on the ground they hunt, but that's not one of the things my boy brings up when he discusses this trip; instead he talks about the farmer, the farmer's house/junkyard, and the boy and his father, the jokes they tell, what they have in common with us and how they're different. He also remembers the forbidden cherries that we're mom about:D:rolleyes:

My 2 dogs are in their prime. The GSP was solid last season and is still just as energetic, only now he's another year wiser. Its going to be another great year of dog work.

Birds--I don't expect to witness any great recovery in population this season, but I bet there are enough that we'll at least see one on every trip. Modest? Yes, but not dismal. There are so many other rewards for just getting out there that the excitement of just one rooster or just one covey of quail is enough to keep me, the boys, and the dogs coming back for more.

So, share of your random thoughts/plans, whether set in stone yet or not...as we all know, planning the season is half the fun:cheers:
Click to expand...

Same plan as last year which you know since we hunt in basically the same place lol..need to give you a holler that weekend and maybe we can hook up on an afternoon hunt lol..would love to see those boys get into some roosters and see those dogs work
 
Hey KBritt,
Save the weekend before Thanksgiving (and the Friday too if you can) for our hunt together. We will bring some more of those cherries and possibly some other concoctions. :thumbsup: Really looking forward to it!
Cheers
 
Well my season starts off Sept 15th with a little bow hunting for the big buck I saw Sunday evening while scouting. We then will be going to SD as it stands now the weekend after the opener up there to hunt my buddies family farm by Wagner.

November is full too now. The upland opener out in Bison for the 26th or so year and then a week of Bow & Upland hunting all over Kansas. I also got word that I will need to be in Greensburg the week of the 17th for a video taping of ABH for the Sportsman's channel. .:10sign: Then back home for Thanksgiving and a Abilene area hunt for birds.

Now December all depends on if I have a buck down with the bow. :eek:
 
Year looks to be a busy one, biggest of them being a trip to northern California to hunt brant on the coast, excited to get Taz in some saltwater. Have also worked in a day chasing desert quail and possibly some grouse while there, along with ducks in the valley. September will be filled with dove, chickens, teal, and a blackpowder hunt for a muley. Will head to NW for the opener, where I will be surprised if we hunt past noon, but lunch and hanging out at the barn will be worth it, we hunt with a great family of farmers. Rest will be ducks and geese close to home.
 
I am making my first trip to North Dakota in late September for some Sharptail and Hun hunting. We have not decided where yet, details details :rolleyes:

Then I will mostly hunt quail, and a few pheasants that get in the way here in KS.
 
I have a bunch of 4-day weekends scheduled in November and December. Should be a pretty sweet season, at least in terms of country I'll get to see and miles put on the dogs. I guess we'll just wait and see about birds...

Like last year, I hope to tag out early on the deer hunting and have more time to run the dogs.
:cheers:
 
Kansas - Have reservations made for the opener in 3 different spots. Haven't decided where to open or if I'll go on the opener. Recent rains have helped vegetation, but timing and amounts were hard on the birds. May see an increase in some areas, but it will be small. Southwest is still going to be worse than poor. Areas that had rain will be poor, but flooded with hunters. Not a good time to be a bird hunter in Kansas.

North Dakota - Not sure if I'll head back this year, depends on what my contacts up there tell me in September. Lots of hard winter up there last year, but appears far west may have missed the worst of it.

New Mexico - Late December

Nevada - Probably WILL head back to Nevada in January

SetterNut - If you're interested, PM me and I'll give you my 2 cents about North Dakota. (Where we sent, where we stayed, what we found, etc.).

Point!
 
SD in October: booked

NE opener: maybe

KS opener: booked

Rest of season: who knows
 
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KS Youth opener

Regular opener

Leave for SD immediately after the regular opener. We don't have all the plans ironed out yet, but we'll spend a bit of time on public and likely pay a trespass fee for a day to improve the boy's chances of getting into birds.

Then the w/e before Thanksgiving we'll meet up with wolfcreeknc for a couple days.

After that, I'll be back to visiting random areas here in KS for the rest of the season or as BC stated, "Who knows?"
 
Just a heads up kb..last weekend i did see a rooster running along the road in jefferson county in an undisclosed location while i was picking my wife up from work..let me just tell u it was between perry and oskaloosa and leave it at that lol
 
bchunter said:
Just a heads up kb..last weekend i did see a rooster running along the road in jefferson county in an undisclosed location while i was picking my wife up from work..let me just tell u it was between perry and oskaloosa and leave it at that lol
Click to expand...

That is the same Rooster I saw up by Valley Falls a few weeks ago;). Gotta be him since he is the last of his kind in Jeff Co. :eek:
 
I knew you guys had it good in Jeff Co!

I forgot to add in the first post that we're going to try our hand at deer hunting again. Its still pretty boring after an hour or so, but the meat is a great reward.
 
Kansas: just booked trip today....Dec 15th thru 21st
Renting a lodge w/ ground to hunt.
Will be my first trip back there since 2010.....pre-drought.

Montana: mid October....possibly
My hunting buddy went last year and had a great time on BLM land and really got into a bunch of Huns and sharpies.

KY: opener is always November 1st.....
Have private land in CRP less than 2 hours from home....
Can't wait!

PM me for details......
 
opening day

part of hunting is the peace and quiet except that allowed from the shotgun, therefore I tend to miss the confusion and hoards of an opener, one advantage of retirement. Kansas however will be the place to go as Colorado offers but little and what little walk-in property that is available will by the end of the first week, have paths in it already

cheers
 
kansasbrittany said:
I knew you guys had it good in Jeff Co!

I forgot to add in the first post that we're going to try our hand at deer hunting again. Its still pretty boring after an hour or so, but the meat is a great reward.
Click to expand...

Doing the same this year, been a while since I've taken a deer. Going the muzzleloader option this year in Sept, I have found that I am a terrible deer hunter during bird season.
 
Also had some unexpected expenses this year. I don't go west for the opener, just too many people for me. I'll start my season with Early Chickens, teal season, and then more running dogs in the flint hills for chickens and whatever.

I'll kick the opener off not far from the the house for quail. I would like to go to the sandhills this year for a 3 day weekend just to see what it's like and maybe on the outside chance see a sharpie or two. Over Christmas vacation I would very much like to head down into Oklahoma for some quail hunting depending on the outlook. I know a guy can get just as many quail pointed around here but sometimes it's nice to have a change of scenery.

Should have some good cover to hunt if nothing else. I have left quite a bit of cover on my land instead of haying it all so that I can turn some quail out for the dogs here. I may do that more than anything this year. And come to think of it that just may be what I do for opening weekend.
 
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