Anyone familiar with Riley County, KS?

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binney59
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Anyone familiar with Riley County, KS?

Unread postby binney59 » Wed Mar 05, 2014 12:17 pm

I am planning on heading to Kansas this year to hunt some new ground and would appreciate any insight in what you look for in hunting this type of terrain? We have access to a lot of pastures and several have creek bottoms and low spots that I am initially drawn to. I have spoke with people in the past who have hunted similar areas and lots have mentioned how many deer will bed in the middle of the huge fields that are down there. Most of the land we will be hunting will be planted with grains- have you experienced a lot of bucks that feel comfortable bedding in wide open grain fields? In your experience, if there are small wood lots do they typically hold a lot of deer since they are the "only show in town" or is wooded land not something I should look at as a deal breaker?

Any tips or suggestions on what you look for in this type of country would be greatly appreciated!


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Re: Anyone familiar with Riley County, KS?

Unread postby MOBIGBUCKS » Thu Mar 06, 2014 5:25 am

I've hunted all over that area. Bedding is typical Farmland type stuff; Look for isolated areas where they can utilize their vision. Cow pastures are really good as long as the cows are rotated out of there. As far as grains are you talking Corn and Beans? Yeah, they bed in the corn more than you would think if there is any kind of pressure. Look for isolated stuff and start scouting now if you can; the small woodlots will hold deer but they are very sensitive to hunting pressure. If anyone else is hunting that property they will go to the woods and hunt first. Personally, I would seek the isolated spots and sit back and observe before moving in to hunt.
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Re: Anyone familiar with Riley County, KS?

Unread postby binney59 » Thu Mar 06, 2014 6:48 am

Thanks for the info- I believe they will be planing a lot of beans in the immediate area but also think they do a lot of wheat and Im sure corn as well. The properties have not been hunted in many years- not unless they were trespassed on, so hopfully the pressure is very low.

I will attach images of two of the properties. One is sparsely wooded but the woods that is present is fairly remote which I assume would be a good thing. The other is a more heavily wooded piece that is surrounded by some huge ag fields. The fairly open piece is about 300 acres in total to give you an idea about size. The other, wooded piece is about 150 to the west of the road and 80 on the east.

I live in WI so I am going to have to "speed scout" it when I get there- thats why I appreciate hearing what others would key in on since I am used to higher pressure, larger wood lot hunting of WI.

Thanks again for your time!

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Re: Anyone familiar with Riley County, KS?

Unread postby binney59 » Thu Mar 06, 2014 6:58 am

Here is another example- this property has road access on 2 sides but looks desirable because it has a couple ponds and some cover surrounded by food. When I described it as pasture, this is what I meant. Lots of it does not hold cattle.

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Re: Anyone familiar with Riley County, KS?

Unread postby DEERSLAYER » Thu Mar 06, 2014 7:22 am

It looks like you found some good property. I especially like all the woods in the first one. Is there tall grass mixed in with the trees? What time of the year do you plan on going?
You cannot invade mainland America. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass.
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Re: Anyone familiar with Riley County, KS?

Unread postby binney59 » Thu Mar 06, 2014 9:30 am

I just got permission last week so we are still in the early stages of planning. As of right now we are planning on hunting it hard for a week to 10 days in mid-November (depending on weather) and are working on a time to get down there to speed scout it. The problem with getting down there is I have 3 kiddos under 6 and work a lot of hours during the week- time away from them is tough to justify so I usually save it all for November!

I am not sure about if there is a lot of tall grass in that area but it looks to be the case. Below are some photos from bing maps which are as good of resolution as I can find. Thanks again for the help, I appreciate all the insight I can get. I would like to get down there to try to establish some bedding areas- for those with experience in similar areas if there is cover in the woods to bucks tend to prefer that or do you find them bedding on elevations in the middle of wide open areas so that they can use their sight to their advantage?

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Re: Anyone familiar with Riley County, KS?

Unread postby MOBIGBUCKS » Sat Mar 08, 2014 3:02 am

Great properties Binney!! I'm jealous buddy :D

With low pressure you are in for a great hunt! I'd observe a day or two before moving in for the kill. Set yourself up to kill but don't go right into the thick stuff from day one. Those properties are good sized, but if you bump one his other bedding area is likely on the other side of the fence.
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Re: Anyone familiar with Riley County, KS?

Unread postby binney59 » Sat Mar 08, 2014 8:47 am

Thanks for the encouragement- I appreciate you guts taking the time to offer up advise and opinions.

My current dilemma is when I can get there ahead of time and if I do so, how effective that will be? It would be a 12 hour drive one way and then obviously take a while to walk the promising properties. My hunting partner wants to get there ahead of time but the most I would be able to put towards it would be a weekend which would give me a solid day to day and a half of scouting. I am not sure if it is justifiable based on the potential gain of information vs cost of time and travel?

We looked into flying and renting a car but it is still going to take a lot of time and money- what are your guys thoughts- is pre-scouting valuable enough that you would make sacrifices to get it done ahead of time or is it better to burn a couple days when you show up- hunting observations stands (and maybe getting lucky while doing so)?

Thanks again for your time!
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Re: Anyone familiar with Riley County, KS?

Unread postby MOBIGBUCKS » Sat Mar 08, 2014 12:49 pm

binney59 wrote:Thanks for the encouragement- I appreciate you guts taking the time to offer up advise and opinions.

My current dilemma is when I can get there ahead of time and if I do so, how effective that will be? It would be a 12 hour drive one way and then obviously take a while to walk the promising properties. My hunting partner wants to get there ahead of time but the most I would be able to put towards it would be a weekend which would give me a solid day to day and a half of scouting. I am not sure if it is justifiable based on the potential gain of information vs cost of time and travel?

We looked into flying and renting a car but it is still going to take a lot of time and money- what are your guys thoughts- is pre-scouting valuable enough that you would make sacrifices to get it done ahead of time or is it better to burn a couple days when you show up- hunting observations stands (and maybe getting lucky while doing so)?

Thanks again for your time!


If you got the time and money I would pre season scout it for sure. I would do it even with only a day and a half to scout....Your odds of success will go way up. If you can't swing it money wise, don't worry about it; sit some observation stands and make your moves strategically. Have your buddy sit one of the other properties so you guys can share info and get the deer figured out faster. Remember, your observation stands should still put you in kill range of the deer. However, if your coming during full rut you got a chance anywhere you setup.
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Re: Anyone familiar with Riley County, KS?

Unread postby DEERSLAYER » Sun Mar 09, 2014 7:44 am

I think MOBIGBUCKS put very well. All is not lost if you can't pre scout it, but I think pre-scouting would still be a huge plus if you can manage it. I would try to get down there and power scout it while using an app like my trails (free) to do what KLEMZ dose with documenting through photos, video and showing everywhere you walked all on an aerial. It makes it much easier to piece everything together and make sure you don't miss anything while your there.
You cannot invade mainland America. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass.
Isoroku Yamamoto, Japanese Admiral
binney59
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Re: Anyone familiar with Riley County, KS?

Unread postby binney59 » Mon Mar 10, 2014 5:29 am

Thanks for the heads up, I will look up that thread since I'm not familiar with that app. Sounds cool though.

Still 50/50 on if ill be able to make it down there but if I do I will report back with findings. Thanks!

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DEERSLAYER
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Re: Anyone familiar with Riley County, KS?

Unread postby DEERSLAYER » Mon Mar 10, 2014 9:27 am

binney59 wrote:Thanks for the heads up, I will look up that thread since I'm not familiar with that app. Sounds cool though.

Still 50/50 on if ill be able to make it down there but if I do I will report back with findings. Thanks!

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Make sure to watch the video too.
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You cannot invade mainland America. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass.
Isoroku Yamamoto, Japanese Admiral


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