Unfriendly Kansas. What's happened here?

COWAN

COWAN

Active member
I have hunted Kansas since 2010. I have never had an issue with getting on land or with locals at all. In fact I've never even seen any type of law enforcement until last year. This year a friend of mine was hunting around Colby and Brewster and their group had a terrible encounter with a dwr officer. In fact it was down right harassment. They gained permission to hunt a farm and was accused of trespassing. The officer checked with the landowner and came back and wrote them a warning ticket. When asked why the officer said the owner of the ground was dead. What!? Why did the farmer give them permission then? After that the officer followed the group around and watched them hunt. When they would leave a field, here he would come telling v the group what he saw them doing.
I certainly hope that there was more going on than what I've been told.
It doesn't end here. My group got tickets because we were told we were too close to train tracks.....in a field. I can't wait to see what this ticket costs.
 
I am from out of state and hunt leased land in Kansas, i always make sure to park in a somewhat hidden spot so as to not draw attention if i can. I do this because i have been told the same thing that the person has died and also that the owner has not been receiving money for the lease. I didn't argue i just put the dogs back in the truck and went to another field, i believe some farmers just don't like people hunting adjacent to there property or out of state hunters for whatever there reasoning is.
 
I've been checked the last two times I hunted a place , two years apart. Never been checked anywhere else. Maybe it's the landowner maybe the community, I don't know.
 
Its Kansas culture in general. We hunted there in the mid 80s. Colby Kansas, 5 in the morning just cracking daylight, in town on a sunday, the only car on the road except for the only cop in town, pulled us over for not coming to a complete stop, on a back side street leaving town. You know, kinda a slow roll up and thru, and gave my friend a ticket. Had to pay a cash fine or come back. Really? Spending tons of money here, motel, diner, gas, but not enough apparently. The only grace was tons and tons of pheasants and miles of back roads thru fields to nowhere, and abandoned farmsteads before the early 90s when the corporate farming plowed everything under to the edge of the roads. They just don’t like outsiders, period.
 
buttehole said:
Its Kansas culture in general. We hunted there in the mid 80s. Colby Kansas, 5 in the morning just cracking daylight, in town on a sunday, the only car on the road except for the only cop in town, pulled us over for not coming to a complete stop, on a back side street leaving town. You know, kinda a slow roll up and thru, and gave my friend a ticket. Had to pay a cash fine or come back. Really? Spending tons of money here, motel, diner, gas, but not enough apparently. The only grace was tons and tons of pheasants and miles of back roads thru fields to nowhere, and abandoned farmsteads before the early 90s when the corporate farming plowed everything under to the edge of the roads. They just don’t like outsiders, period.
Click to expand...
The sunrise is no where near 5:00 am anytime in KS.
 
buttehole said:
Well, memories fade, so it did 35 years ago where the sun don’t shine. Anyway I was referring mostly to the law enforcement, but your post confirms the negative waves from the yocals.
Click to expand...
Well I got a ticket last year 15 miles from my house for rolling thru a stop sign on my way deer hunting. Had nothing to do with the locals or anyone else on this forum. And I spent more money here yesterday than you ever will in your lifetime.
 
COWAN said:
I have hunted Kansas since 2010. I have never had an issue with getting on land or with locals at all. In fact I've never even seen any type of law enforcement until last year. This year a friend of mine was hunting around Colby and Brewster and their group had a terrible encounter with a dwr officer. In fact it was down right harassment. They gained permission to hunt a farm and was accused of trespassing. The officer checked with the landowner and came back and wrote them a warning ticket. When asked why the officer said the owner of the ground was dead. What!? Why did the farmer give them permission then? After that the officer followed the group around and watched them hunt. When they would leave a field, here he would come telling v the group what he saw them doing.
I certainly hope that there was more going on than what I've been told.
It doesn't end here. My group got tickets because we were told we were too close to train tracks.....in a field. I can't wait to see what this ticket costs.
Click to expand...
You sure have a lot of information as down right factual——without actually being there!!!
But of course no story ever gets bigger and better with each telling😕??
But help us out here—they had permission to hunt— from a dead or alive land owner ?however when officer checked with the dead or alive actual owner they still received a warning ticket??
Who then did they receive permission to hunt there?? And why did the actual landowner object/complain to officer? Living or dead!?
Confused😳
Sorry —but would really like to hear The other side of this situations—More going on here I do believe
 
My friend said they asked a farmer if he owned a piece of ground. He said yes and let them hunt it. A while later here comes DWR officer and tells them they are trespassing. They told the officer they got permission from the farmer down the road. The officer left and came back and said the owner of the property was dead. He then wrote them a warning ticket for trespassing. How and why I do not know.
 
buttehole said:
Its Kansas culture in general. We hunted there in the mid 80s. Colby Kansas, 5 in the morning just cracking daylight, in town on a sunday, the only car on the road except for the only cop in town, pulled us over for not coming to a complete stop, on a back side street leaving town. You know, kinda a slow roll up and thru, and gave my friend a ticket. Had to pay a cash fine or come back. Really? Spending tons of money here, motel, diner, gas, but not enough apparently. The only grace was tons and tons of pheasants and miles of back roads thru fields to nowhere, and abandoned farmsteads before the early 90s when the corporate farming plowed everything under to the edge of the roads. They just don’t like outsiders, period.
Click to expand...
This couldn’t be further from the truth.
 
Kansan said:
This couldn’t be further from the truth.
Click to expand...
I agree with you Kansan. But this year has proven to be a little different. For the most part I have been treated very well in Kansas. I will return but I'm not sure my friends will.
 
COWAN said:
I agree with you Kansan. But this year has proven to be a little different. For the most part I have been treated very well in Kansas. I will return but I'm not sure my friends will.
Click to expand...
Can you explain the RR track ticket? I'm a lifelong resident save for 2 years spent in S Florida after college- hunted many a RR tracks - in the 8th grade that's where I shot my 1st pheasant - neighbors farmed one side and there was always weeds there so I'd park my 3 wheeler on one end of the mile - my mother would follow me and drop me off at the other - walk - ride 3 wheeler home. Was still an active train track and I didnt really have a trained dog back then so I'd just walk them up. Can think of a few WIHA's over the years that bordered them or had active Train tracks going through them next to a busy hwy too. Hunted it and saw others.

Anyways would be curious as to the details -- didnt think there was anything wrong with it?
 
Hunted from 97-2009 and from 2017 to now. Only checked maybe once back in early 2000s and I think it was because we offered up our licenses. We were checked in 1991. My uncle lived up there and my dad and I drove up for the opener. He had picked up my dads license for him and Walmart told him I didn’t need one since I was a youth. I’ll never forget the warden asking “You asked Walmart?” We totally deserved a ticket for me not having a license (Nonresident). I was about 13 or so. He gave directions to a COOP down the road. Said go there right now And take care of it. So.... my only experience, which was our fault, was a positive one. Funny I remember the event so vividly. Was just a kid, but I remember we were near Bison. We laughed for years about how he asked my uncle about asking Walmart a regulation question..
 
KsHusker said:
Can you explain the RR track ticket? I'm a lifelong resident save for 2 years spent in S Florida after college- hunted many a RR tracks - in the 8th grade that's where I shot my 1st pheasant - neighbors farmed one side and there was always weeds there so I'd park my 3 wheeler on one end of the mile - my mother would follow me and drop me off at the other - walk - ride 3 wheeler home. Was still an active train track and I didnt really have a trained dog back then so I'd just walk them up. Can think of a few WIHA's over the years that bordered them or had active Train tracks going through them next to a busy hwy too. Hunted it and saw others.

Anyways would be curious as to the details -- didnt think there was anything wrong with it?
Click to expand...
The warden said someone called us in and said we were walking on the tracks. We were not. We were walking the crops up to the tracks. Occasionally if we got a rooster we would cross the tracks. But the 2 sheriff's and the warden never saw us near the tracks. We still got a ticket because he said someone called us in.
 
I believe the railroad owns 75 feet either side of the RR Tracks from the center. You would have to have permission from the RR. Even if you have permission to hunt a property you can't hunt close to the RR. Funny though that people and kids are always walking down RR Tracks.
 
Railroad right-of-ways are off limits. Considered trespassing unless you have permission from the railroad. In Kansas, game recovery requires permission from the landowner (in this case the railroad). The OP's group recoving roosters on railroad right-of-way was trespassing. (not saying I haven't done the same in the past either)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top