New to the forum but I have been turkey hunting for 10 years or so in my home state of GA. A friend of mine and I are headed to Kansas this year chasing Rios. Just wondering if anybody had any tips or suggestions about an area of the state we should check out. Not asking for anybody's spots, just seeing if anybody had any tips for two Georgia boys headed out of their element.
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Go west!
East has been hit hard...one tag only for 3/5's of the state...
Yessir we are planning on doing all of our hunting in the 2 bird areas. Gonna have about 4 or 5 days to bounce around in there and hopefully get on a few.
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The roads in Kansas are bad. I think they call them black ice, it is like driving on wet clay.
Hopefully you have a 4 X 4, even then they are nasty.
Take a good pair of binoculars and try and glass from the road, then make a move on them. We would spot some driving around and then park and try and get un front of them, but we where hunting private land.
Also it could be hot or it could get real cold, pack accordingly. I am in Florida and hardly ever hunted with a box call, I have since started practicing. Very windy and open in Ks and a box call can reach out there and hopefully strike a bird for you.
Good luck, John
As stated above, do not trifle with the roads. They are something serious and in isolated areas you do not want to be stuck in. Even a tiny bit of moisture will make them dangerously slick.
As most of public is WIHA, I would look on aerial maps and find a group of 5-10 that show promise within a reasonable drive from each other. With the open terrain, it usually does not take long to cover a property. I'd cover one, and then drive to the next, making a rotation. Birds travel a lot there, you just have to find them at the right time. It's a frustrating way to hunt, because you will spend more time driving than hunting, but it is an effective way to cover the smaller, spread out WIHA.
Thanks guys we'll definitely take a 4 wheel drive. I've been dropping pins in several places fairly close together so that we can do some steering wheel scouting. Thanks again for the advice we are pumped.
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If the wet road has a yellowish look to it, it's gravel/clay mix and usually navigable, although very slippery due to the clay. If the wet road appears darker it's not the former and you'll sink to your axles...ask me how I know. All 4WD means is that you get stuck in worse places.
Best advice for Kansas is to just get out there and do it, a lot of public land to hunt but also don't be afraid to ask for permission on private land if your seeing a lot of birds somewhere, its a different world than the south those farmers up there will let you hunt. And everybody is right about the roads, I've put myself in a bad situation a couple times up there, if it rains be careful but the wind blows so much and so hard it normally doesn't take too long for the roads to dry back out in most places.
Don't run and gun like you would in the south, you'll end up busting more birds than you'll realize. They can see through the treelines pretty easy and will spot you a long way away. In the Midwest I'll drive and spot/stalk/get in front of turkeys but I much prefer to find areas they frequent and hunt those early and midday. It involves more sitting than I like but it's not deer hunting. With how much they move you'll get a response from half mile away then all of a sudden he's in your field strutting his way towards you. Cool way to hunt. Good luck.
And as others said go west to the 2 bird zones. I've been hunting what is now a 1 bird zone for 15 years and it is incomprehensible how much the population has tanked.
Call about 4 times as much as what you're used to.
Find a river..birds will be roosted near it since the only trees will be there. And watch the roads as everyone else said. We got stuck on a public road...it was slicker than owl snot.
Went out there last year. Take everyones advice on the roads, if wet stay off the clay roads, gravel roads are bad enough. Put in a lot of window time and find the birds. I hope to go back this year if everything works out, Good luck
same as above. I have hunted out there for the past 3 yrs. I would spend your first day driving and scouting. make sure you find a few places that are along gravel roads so you can hunt those if it does rain. if you can locate a spot they are roosting its almost a guarantee they will be in the same spot the next morning. If your hunting a WIHA off one of those clay roads and it starts raining run like hell back to the truck and get off that rd. Me and a buddy waited about 10 minutes my first yr out there before we headed for the truck. by the time we got there you couldnt stand on the rd it was so slick. We dented everything but the left rear qtr panel getting out of there. Have a standing rule now first one to the truck drives out second guy is walking. From what I have observed they tend to like staying in the open and not the wooded creeks even on the hot days they seemed to like the shade on the edge of the fields or a lone tree in the open. dont be afraid to use the creek bottoms to move and spot and stalk.
1x more on the roads. When wet they're like the consistency of snot and peanut butter, Slick and Sticky! That mud will render even the deepest treads on any tire mostly useless and you won't be able to tell where you're tire stops and wheel well starts.
Got caught by a fast moving storm and ended up sliding off a road and into a muddy field in a 4wd truck. Trust me 4wd don't mean squat when a lot of those roads get wet. Had to walk, or rather slide 1 mile to a farmhouse and have one of those giant 8 tire JD tractors pull us out to a hard road. There were times I was really concerned that big ol monstrosity was going to get stuck pulling us out or not be able to get us back to the hard road because it's tires were completely clogged up with that death mud. That was day one of final leg of my single season slam trip and with only 3 days to get it done I was very, very concerned! Rain and mud are serious out there and oh yeah tornandoes are scary crazy as well. Mud maybe worse!
However, the hunting when the weather turns good though... WOW!
What everyone else said on all that other stuff, but I would also add, if you go late season like we did the crops or weeds in fields can be very tall. Mid May on the birds can't see or walk through them because their so thick, that will and can work for you or against you. Just keep that in mind.
Wonder if those steel Mennonite tractor tires would work?
Make sure you pack some winter clothing...we were there towards the end of April and it was rainy, windy, and cold. It felt more like deer hunting weather.
If you aren't in the chips, the Midwest can be nightmare to turkey hunt. I think the days of being in the chips in Kansas are about behind us. I hate driving around and looking but you have no choice anymore. Scout , scout, and keep scouting. and when you find one, get in front of him and do it quickly
The turkey population is at the lowest level I have seen in over 20 years,with the floods of last season there was a very small hatch . I think it's something else Such as bird flu because the numbers have been dwindling for several years.
Yet another reminder about the dirt roads. Always park where the gravel ends and walk to your hunting spot, no matter what the weather forecast says. All it takes is a sprinkle to ruin your day.
Quote from: stinkpickle on February 27, 2020, 05:28:20 PM
Yet another reminder about the dirt roads. Always park where the gravel ends and walk to your hunting spot, no matter what the weather forecast says. All it takes is a sprinkle to ruin your day.
Ain't that the truth