Kansas Rio Recommendations

[spaightlabs]

..You have better luck sleeping with my ol lady then knowing where I hunt at.

Is it in West Virginia?

[WV Ridge Reaper]

Pm me don't want to ruin the swimming hole for everyone haha


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[Rapscallion Vermilion]

This was our fourth year running going to north central and north west Kansas in the latter half of May.  Each year was worse than the last in terms of bird numbers on walk in areas.  This year was pitiful. At this point I wouldn't recommend a walk-in only trip to anyone without some really good advance intel. If it wasn't for knocking on doors and getting permission to hunt private land, we wouldn't be going back.  I would guess that some of those walk-in areas could be quite good early on, but late season they've just been too hammered.

[duxrus]

We got back a week ago and will say that every local person ( farmers and land owners) all said that recent droughts had really knocked the turkey and pheasant populations down. Said there used to be birds all over but were now only located in small pockets. That is exactly what we found.  This was our second trip to Kansas so I think the "Glory Days" are behind us. Dropping populations along with too many "Kansas is the promise land" posts have done serious damage.

[RS]

I sure had tough hunting last week in KS.

[Bolandstrutters]

I hunted public in Kansas during archery season and there was a good amount of birds, hunted the same areas this past weekend and it looks like the gun hunters cleaned them up pretty good this year.  Not many birds left at all.  And I ran into more hunters this past weekend then I ever have.   The word is out on Kansas and everybody wants a piece of it. 

[Borat]

No need for an outfitter or private land. The public land in Kansas has excellent bird numbers. Do some online research and you'll have no problem filling tags.


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I'd say that before you just jump in the truck and head for the promised land you should do a forum search on this very topic...several posts in the last 2 weeks that are contradictory to this advice.

Maybe they just want to keep the motherlode to themselves, or maybe they are just telling the truth.

I personally killed my 2016 Kansas Rio on May 9.  I had just left Nebraska the night before, drove down, parked, and heard my first gobble from the WMA parking lot while putting on my boots. I did not buy a second tag for the state, but just as I left the next morning, a strutter on some WIHA ground made me think long and hard about running to town to buy the tag and going back and killing him.  I agree Kansas has probably received too much publicity and the longbeard population might not be what it used to, but hunters are failing to recognize that you don't need to see 15 longbeards in a one mile stretch to tag out. Find one, focus in on him, kill him, and then on to the next.

[cuttinAR]

I've been going to KS since 2004 hunting a mix of public and private land.  I can say the influx of hunters has been tremendous and the way the turkeys have changed in both numbers and behavior is very noticeable.  Just as someone else has said, I used to see turkeys on the side of the road and you could stop and watch them literally right outside your truck.  Now, slow down at all and they will run.  This is from the countless stories of road hunting that I hear about just so guys can brag about their kill numbers.

Alot of it stems from the fact that KS has a reputation of easy, plentiful turkeys.  So when a group of "hardcore turkey killers" show up from out of state to hunt KS there is no way in hell they are leaving without pictures of dead turkeys.  What happens?  Turkeys get shot from the road, poached, ambushed, etc. 

That coupled with the increased pressure and number of kills has led to lower turkey numbers and tougher hunting.  I still go because I have great friends there and it is more of a vacation now, but the hunting has without a doubt gotten much tougher.

[Roost 1]

I've been going to KS since 2004 hunting a mix of public and private land.  I can say the influx of hunters has been tremendous and the way the turkeys have changed in both numbers and behavior is very noticeable.  Just as someone else has said, I used to see turkeys on the side of the road and you could stop and watch them literally right outside your truck.  Now, slow down at all and they will run.  This is from the countless stories of road hunting that I hear about just so guys can brag about their kill numbers.

Alot of it stems from the fact that KS has a reputation of easy, plentiful turkeys.  So when a group of "hardcore turkey killers" show up from out of state to hunt KS there is no way in hell they are leaving without pictures of dead turkeys.  What happens?  Turkeys get shot from the road, poached, ambushed, etc. 

That coupled with the increased pressure and number of kills has led to lower turkey numbers and tougher hunting.  I still go because I have great friends there and it is more of a vacation now, but the hunting has without a doubt gotten much tougher.

Sounds like a lot of places these days.

[Roost 1]

I laugh when hear someone talk about hardcore turkey hunter and all that guys carries is tail fan or strutting decoy!!! THese things and 60yd shots are gonna be the demise of this sport... THese guys prolly have a tough time in heavily wooded areas.

[cuttinAR]

I laugh when hear someone talk about hardcore turkey hunter and all that guys carries is tail fan or strutting decoy!!! THese things and 60yd shots are gonna be the demise of this sport... THese guys prolly have a tough time in heavily wooded areas.

That is 100% right.  Don't get me wrong I like to turkey hunt anywhere and see new places, but nothing like a hunt in pine/hardwood hills.  That's turkey hunting in its essence.  I'm not the best hunter by any stretch but I'm also no slouch and turkeys around here kick my tail all the time!  I love it!

The type that is happy with a 70 yd shot and fanning are just in it for the kill and bragging rights.  I don't worry about them ruining the sport because there will always be turkeys in the big woods that all the gadgets in the world won't kill.

[dejake]

Back to the original subject; any outfitter reviews?

[spaightlabs]

I'll put a second in oh Fallhnt's recommendation for Beamer's.

I've known Beamer for around 20 years or so starting when he ran a waterfowl operation over here in CO. I've hunted his place 5 or 8 times in the last 7 or 10 years and we've always done well.  He's got plenty of property and manages his operation well so that birds aren't getting pounded on every day.

He's not cheap, but the lodge is a great place to go back to mid day for ago farm lunch and at the end of the day for a stick to your ribs dinner.

[JK Spurs]

I laugh when hear someone talk about hardcore turkey hunter and all that guys carries is tail fan or strutting decoy!!! THese things and 60yd shots are gonna be the demise of this sport... THese guys prolly have a tough time in heavily wooded areas.

[Britton40]

No need for an outfitter or private land. The public land in Kansas has excellent bird numbers.

Hunted in North West Kansas last week. Bird numbers are way way down.  Probably due to the Internet.