Kansas Deer Hunting
Kansas Non-Resident Deer Management Units
Kansas deer management units where Mid-America Hunting Association has private hunting land.
Mid-America Hunting Association private land locations shown by county name, relative state location and acreage amount.
2011 Kansas Hunting Land
Association Hunter Feedback
Larry, a self guided deer hunter from NC had one tag left to fill. He called the office open to hunt anywhere. We recommended a new lease a long distance away that had never been deer hunted by a member. This being a new lease that fall our only scouting knowledge of whitetail on this property came while posting this land from a ladder at dusk. A case of luck simply from being on the land when while nailing the sign we saw a herd of whitetail's bouncing over the hill. We had a quick glimpse of a couple of respectable racks, but weren't sure of the size.
Larry walked the farm and found good sign. He set up and rattled in this buck from over 200 yards to pose broadside for a 15 yard shot. He wasn't in his stand for over an hour. Hunts like this only happen once in a lifetime.
Deer Quality
Not every hunter is hanging on the wall bucks in the 160s. All may hunt to their own level and most will become the hunter they seek to be.
We do not have any rack penalty or trophy deer fees.
To see the monster bucks that Kansas deer hunting is famous for review our success galleries and see many. To place only the very best of the deer on the opening pages of a web site is misleading as they truly are as hard to come by as most believe and most will not tag one.
How We Manage Land
Hunters would reserve an individually numbered property by telephone to ensure we do not place another hunter on the same lease at the same time. Each hunter may hunt a different or the same spot from day to day.
Self Guided Deer Hunter Feedback
John, Having only been a MAHA member for a year now, I did not want to fall into a rut and hunt the same properties year after year. So I've put over 5,000 miles on the truck in the past month scouting new properties in different parts of KS, MO and IA. MAHA has some diverse, outstanding, quality land. It has been fun to scout/hunt and what attracted me to MAHA in the first place. Attached is a doe taken Saturday in [location deleted]. In just a quick two hour morning hunt I saw an armadillo, raccoon, bobcat, coyote, turkeys, and several deer. I know that pictures of big bucks sell, but the boys and I try to take 5 doe a year in which we donate them to needy people through our church. Again, just another testament to the fine diversity of the land that you are leasing. Thanks! Steve
A member sent in these pictures from a game camera he had setup on one lease while hunting another.
Deer web site reviewers want to see top 25% trophy deer in a great many pictures to give confidence they too will have trophy success on a short hunt. That is not realistic and we will not oversell this organization by posting only the top deer pictures. These pictures reflect reality
We selected three of the pictures from all he sent in to keep web page download time reasonable. These three were some of the better pictures, not necessarily the largest racks. What this series shows is a good number of different bucks used this one trail and several were recurring users.
For our Kansas deer hunting and for all the deer hunts we offer, reading this whitetail deer section will provide much more information than just our acreage and deer hunting service designed for the do it yourself hunter. We will provide as much information as there is possible to list to ensure all have a better idea of what they may expect about our private lease Kansas deer hunt opportunity.
For the Kansas non-resident deer hunter the wildlife regulations and tag application may be confusing due to the multitude of Kansas deer tags. The short answer is the draw application month is May and for all that are not familiar with eh application and deer management units to call us. We will recommend tag units suited to hunting methods and trophy production.
The non-resident regular draw deer tag allows the hunter the opportunity to hunt anywhere within a particular whitetail deer unit. Archery hunters have a choice of 5 Kansas deer units while the firearms hunters have 8 to select from where MAHA has its leases.
The comment made earlier about Kansas deer hunting regulation changes should not be taken lightly by any hunter be he a seasoned Kansas resident or first time non-resident hunter.
While the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks does maintain a web page posting all deer hunting regulation changes both passed and proposed, few of us in our busy daily lives have the chance to remain up to date until just before going deer hunting. Even the resident long time hunter needs to re-read the Kansas hunting regulations each season as many of the recent regulation changes have significantly impacted the average hunter.
Kansas deer hunting regulations may seem troublesome as it appears that Kansas State is not following a path to effective whitetail management.
From our Kansas resident perspective their is much to debate about past and planned whitetail hunting regulations. We will offer that one central aspect of why we have the trophy whitetail that we do is first what many recognize and that is a declining rural human population. Second, the peer pressure of local youth where to shoot a scrap rack would bring ridicule. That second aspect alone may account for more of our trophy whitetail than all the deer management efforts by Kansas State itself.
After getting past the bureaucratic nature of Kansas deer hunting regulations the hunter will find a range of whitetail deer habitat that frequently defies what many deer hunters believe to fit preconceived ideas of what holds trophy whitetail deer.
While many will recognize that Kansas is a trophy whitetail deer state of a long standing reputation, many of the same do it yourself hunters come prepared to hunt large wood rather than the predominate whitetail habitat that is very prevalent throughout the state. In this case it is the hunter that must change as the trophy producing habitat will not adapt to the hunter.
It was a non-resident hunter many years ago that thoroughly explained to us the cause for his lack of success is that our leases were for "bird hunters" and not deer ground as we did not have enough trees for cover habitat. This first conversation many years ago led to the adage that hunters need to come to hunt trophy whitetail, not trees.
Proof our our hunter success and of Kansas' trophy whitetail habitat is in the gallery and many letters telling of hunts to include those that were not successful with those same hunters telling how they will return for another hunt.
We recommend those in their first year of MAHA to stick to a specific set of leases so to concentrate and learn patterns. This is opposed to jumping around trying to cover too much ground or states and simply pushing deer about.
When reviewing our lease land maps it is readily apparent that we have concentrations of leases within specific areas and many areas where no land at all is leased. We go to where we get the best return on our money. In this case the right whitetail habitat in the region that has a history of trophy production.
Even within these areas where we do lease land not all of those areas are for whitetail and not all leases have whitetail huntable habitat. Some of that land under lease is actually for upland birds or heavily into the Mule Deer region.
The next consideration is what deer hunting season the self guided Kansas hunter will hunt. The obvious benefit for the deer hunter and our approach to making the entire and all Kansas deer hunting seasons available is the hunter has a choice covering archery, rife and muzzleloader deer seasons. The choice limiter is that Kansas limits all hunters to one primary tag.
Archery
Kansas archery hunters may select from a range of regions of differing habitat from the big open of the west to the more bow hunter friendly closed in wooded terrain of eastern Kansas. It is the MAHA hunter's choice of where he may like to hunt as opposed to a guide service that places the hunter.
For the first time Kansas do it yourself archery hunter we would recommend the region right down to individual farms that are most likely to give the best results, meaning eyes on trophy whitetail. Even at that, the hunter is still free to select other leases to include within those regions where to find a tree in the right spot for a stand may be near to impossible.
Kansas archery deer hunting starts in early October just after the rubs and and right before the scrapes begin to show. Archery season continues to the firearms season that opens either the last Wednesday in November or first Wednesday in December and runs for 10 to 12 days. Archery season resumes after that until the end of December.
For the bow hunter that is planning to hunt early November be aware that is the Kansas upland bird opener and motel rooms in some areas may be booked up to 6 months in advance. After the opening week of upland season the Kansas countryside returns to ghost town status and motel rooms are readily available.
The only other exception more notable to our Kansas deer hunting than that of our other two states is that some Kansas counties are remote and may have only one motel for the entire county. If the railroad or highway crews are out in the nearby country side these crews could easily book the entire room space. The rule, especially in Kansas, is to always call ahead.
Archery deer success - for Northern state (Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, etc.) archery deer hunters have had the highest success rates during the late Kansas archery deer season in December. They seem to have the clothes to sit in the stand as well as the mental stamina to withstand the cold during this late deer season. Conversely, the southern state deer hunter seems to have a slight edge during the warmer Kansas October hunts as they seem to be more aware of rattling and grunting having more of that experience during their home state deer seasons.
Best deer hunts - Overall, when it comes to those traveling for Kansas deer hunting we have observed those that do the best deer hunting here, locally, do so during the same portion of the rut they are most experienced with in their home state. For most that attempt deer hunting outside of their range of familiarity success rates seem to drop. It appears choosing when to go deer hunting is better by this rut phase method rather than the deer hunting method of choice (archery, muzzleloader, rifle).
Firearms
Kansas firearms whitetail deer hunters may easily find the opportunity for out to 300 yard shooting and right down to 10 yards as well making a variable scope is the right answer.
Even with the rifle and scope deer hunting advantage the most common failing of the firearms Kansas whitetail deer hunter is the inability to judge range over open ground. The typical miss is to undershoot the deer. No small point and one we will reemphasize later and far more common to our Kansas whitetail deer hunting than that in Missouri or Iowa.
Muzzleloader
Kansas deer hunting is distinct for its muzzleloader season that is most underused season we have to offer.
Muzzleloader hunters have a Kansas advantage of a double season one in late September into early October and another in December and both are available on the same tag.
The early Kansas muzzleloader deer season is during the last two weeks when the bucks separate into bachelor groups, lazy and easily scouted and maneuvered in on.
Any bucks scouted during late July through September are likely to remain within the smallest areas that allows for undisturbed bedding, loafing, watering and browsing. The bucks are lazy, move later in the morning well into daylight, bed during the heat of the day and generally move again during evening daylight hours. This season is unique to Kansas giving the hunter one more variance to his hunts.
Kansas' regular firearms and muzzleloader December deer season allows the muzzleloader hunter to return for a second hunt with either a muzzleloader or modern rifle. That same hunter may have either a Whitetail or a Mule Deer tag or the any deer tag that allows either one on the same tag.
In all cases of our Kansas whitetail habitat the cognizant review of geography will show our deer leases within watersheds of some of the largest river systems such as the Medicine Lodge River, Neosho River, Osage River and smaller watersheds of the Republic, Solomon, Big and Little Blue as well as some of the extensive creeks like Stranger, Soldier and the Delaware. This is no small point about our Kansas whitetail deer hunting and not to understand its value may make for many long miles without any whitetail's of any description let alone a trophy deer.
What the watershed brings to Kansas deer hunting is first more soil depth than in areas like the Flint or Sand Hills or the well know Kansas public land access of the ancient dry areas found in the Cimarron. More soil makes for more cover and more drainage's that cut through farm fields. Just more deer cover overall.
The contrast between these types of Kansas geographic regions and corresponding soil conditions is the deer cover to be found that will grow in these areas, trees most notably (remembering this is Kansas part of the great plains as opposed to thickly wooded Alabama). These areas of water and cover habitat combined with grain crop farming provides the environmental enhancing factors that allow for more dense whitetail deer populations within Kansas, more opportunity for a trophy deer and simply a better deer hunting. In short, Kansas trophy whitetail deer first seek a food source and then as a secondary need that of cover.
On this second point more deer hunters have come to realize that whitetail deer will make use of any available cover regardless of size as long as there is food nearby. That presents another set of challenges that out in Kansas' agriculture rich region food is not hard to come by, it is everywhere.
For those with children the Kansas youth deer season is at the end of September-early October separating the September muzzleloader season from the start of archery deer season.
This short deer season allows dad and child to be out in the field when other deer hunters will not be pressuring the land leaving all to be as alone as it gets within each other's company. All with any youth should whitetail deer hunt this season and work for a buck and be happy with a doe.
Kansas muzzleloader deer hunts
Overall, if wanting to come out and spend some time Kansas whitetail deer hunting or scouting we have the private leases, the local motels will be nearby and we are the friendly point of contact to get all to the right place to park the truck, step out and go deer hunting.
