Im leaving NC around the first of May to give KS my first try. Going to do the public/wiha route. Mostly concentrating on north-central. Don't need anyone to put me on a bird, but if you have any info on what to avoid, unseen pitfalls, or general area knowledge, I could use some help. Have some areas honed down but I really don't know what to expect.
Long time forum member, you can see from my past that I don't blab, but for the sake of cyber-scouters shoot me a pm.
Thanks -Scott
2015 Old Gobbler contest Champions
Set up your hotel early and go have fun. The small overlooked WIHA can be great. Lots of birds in that part of KS. Good luck
One thing to note is the KS Dept. of Wildlife does not qualify the land that goes into this program.
If you have 50 acres of concrete parking lot you can put it in the program.
It's totally up to you to research and scout.
Download the WIHA maps and drive and glass the fields. That's the best way to cover ground and find gobblers you will not have any problems finding gobblers.
Ive been once, but I think the following will hold true.
Google earth or Google Maps is your friend. Use WIHA maps to locat' e parcels then verify timber with aerial imagery. Drive, glass, call, glass some more and drive some more. Big properties probably require some leg work but you can get quite a bit done with glass.
Rain is the enemy, not so much for hunting as access. Roads that appear to be "gravel" turn into 2" of snot that will put you in the ditch and ball your truck up so bad you can't drive it. Learned my lesson on this in Nebraska but Kansas is the same just different color. If it's going to rain, take note of properties with the best gravel roads so you have access.
Have fun. They aren't Easterns in the timber, but can still be stubborn (especially if they have a bunch of hens).
Thanks for the replies and pm's...great bunch of people on here !
2015 Old Gobbler contest Champions
Best of luck. I tried that area of KS last spring. Did not score but had a good time. Only had 2.5 days to hunt and really needed at least a week to start to figure things out. I'm wanting to try again this spring, but my family schedule won't allow it until mid May.
Quote from: RS on February 05, 2016, 12:36:52 PM
Best of luck. I tried that area of KS last spring. Did not score but had a good time. Only had 2.5 days to hunt and really needed at least a week to start to figure things out. I'm wanting to try again this spring, but my family schedule won't allow it until mid May.
Mid May would be the best time to hunt that part of the state, IMO.
Quote from: RS on February 05, 2016, 12:36:52 PM
Best of luck. I tried that area of KS last spring. Did not score but had a good time. Only had 2.5 days to hunt and really needed at least a week to start to figure things out. I'm wanting to try again this spring, but my family schedule won't allow it until mid May.
If I could stick your nephew Jeff in my pocket Id have it whipped....havent hunted with him in a few years, we're due.
2015 Old Gobbler contest Champions
I too am from NC, last year me & my brother went to north central Kansas for the 1st time I studied the atlas with Google for months before we left! But after we got there we put a ton of road miles just trying to locate gobblers! Which we did, both of us tagged out in 2 days. We were there around May 10 and every adult bird we seen had plenty of hens!! Oh yeah if it rains you should avoid the black roads! Good luck!!!
So... other than after a rain what are the roads like? I've heard don't even attempt them in the biggest 4wd unless you want to end up in a ditch and that they also dry out very quick. So, could a regular compact suv with AWD make it ok if it's dry?
Also, anyone ever flown into Denver and rented a vehicle and driven from there. What was your experience and where did you rent from? I'm flying into Denver and making a loop and hitting NE and then KS.
PM's preferred if you have any recommendations on where to rent and or anywhere specific you'd recommend staying in KS.
Thanks!
In KS. you'll be fine on the roads that are mail routes. So if there is a house on a road it's safe to drive when wet. It may take a couple days to dry out a road after rain or snow melt. Flying into Denver is approx 4 hours drive depending on where you want to hunt. When the roads are dry anything can make it. Hope this helps.
Better have ground clearance. A lot of the mud roads have deep ruts. Drop in one and get high centered and it's game over. I remember being north of Russell hunting pheasants. Had mud tires on my truck and we were sliding backwards down a hill and I couldn't do anything to stop it. Never been so glad to see pavement in my life.
One problem with the small SUV types is they only run 4 ply tires. You will have a lot of flats if you end up in this part of Kansas. We had a 4x4 Toyota RAV4. That thing was great in the snow and mud, but I got tired of flats. Put 10 ply tires on it and the flats stopped. Even my new 4x4 pickup had to ply tires. I got to change the first flat 50 miles into ownership. Swapped to 10 ply tires and 30k miles later I haven't had another. Tire shop wouldn't even take my tires with 100 miles on them in on trade, said nobody around here would buy them.
Oh just a reminder your tag isn't valid the same day you buy it.
If it is dry, an SUV will be fine on the roads I drove. The passenger tires could be a problem, but they aren't all created equal. I'd check into what tires they are running. As far as where, if I was flying into Denver I'd be renting from one of the fleets at DIA.
Interesting comments on the roads. It was hot, dry and windy when we were there ... but I seem to remember a lot of the rural roads in the two counties we hunted were paved.
Not sure why anymore (maybe gas prices), but two of us drove down from MN to Kansas and killed three Toms (I shot two) in just a couple days of hunting.
We hunted out of a HONDA ACCORD.
Friend had family down there, but when we got there the vast majority of his land was enrolled in WIHA (sad, but true, but worked out fine).
I grew up in the Dakotas so I knew how little "cover" is needed by prairie turkeys.
i can hook you up with a public hunting spot if you decide to hunt in eastern kansas.
Don't rent a car at the airport.... Huge waste of money.... Rent a car from an off site rental store...... The off site rental places won't pick you up at the airport, so you have to arrange the pick up at a hotel and take the free shuttle from the airport to the hotel...... You will save a bunch of money.... I do it all the time. As far as road conditions I can't help you, I hunt all private ground and once I get there I don't have to drive around any longer
This thread is full of good info regarding travel. I appreciate it guys !!
2015 Old Gobbler contest Champions
I did a quick check on price per day comparing DIA with one in Denver and noticed that one of the SUV's (Rav 4) in town was significantly cheaper than the same vehicle at DIA. However, the rest of the larger SUV's weren't significantly different. Maybe there are additional fees that the airport location hits you with.
The following is just something to think about. I'm not trying to discredit any of the above advice.
As far as hunting from something other than a 4x4 of some sort goes............you're are taking your chances. Note that the fella that made it in a Honda Accord said it was dry and windy. When I was there it rained some everyday and we left just before a big storm along with a tornado came through. So, yes, it can be done with a car if its dry, but in my mind that is a big risk to take if your flying into Denver from the east coast then driving from Denver to north central KS.
Also, mail routes may indicate a better road, but in one short hunt I saw multiple locations with a row of mailboxes at the end of a "gravel" road. The route from there back toward the homes that those boxes serviced and to the location I wanted to hunt was 2 or 3" of sticky snot that would put you in the ditch or ball you up so bad you weren't moving.
I've seen this same type mud in Nebraska and Eastern MT, and it can end your day quickly. If it's dry.....no problem, but if it gets wet............your up a creek without a paddle.
Go west of Salina for Rios. Plenty of public hunting opportunities and good access knocking on doors. Head the warnings on the "black suck mud" and once in it, don't stop until you hit drier road or gravel. This past winter I was doing 45 mph sideways on 2-3 inches of mud over ice, just remember to have your front wheels pointed down road so that when they finally catch you don't roll. It is really important to dope the ever present wind and to try to get downwind to hear gobblers. Carry the best 10x42 binoculars which you can afford and carry optical grade cleaning cloths and cleaning solution.