Experience scouting kansas?

[binney59]

Hi guys, just wanting to bounce a few things off of you since I just got back from my scouting session in North Central Kansas (Riley County). We walked approximately 1600 acres of land, most of which is crop land with long draws and some pasture. I found a lot of beds but very few were what I would consider primarily, well used beds. A few were well worn, well placed beds that are obviously buck beds but a majority seemed to be randomly placed throughout the tall grasses and not heavily used. We also didn't find a single rub and very few of the well worn trails you would expect to find where I hunt in Wisconsin or Iowa.

For those familiar with this area, is this normal to not see a lot of well worn trails and rub activity? Most trees seem to be covered with thorns and more brushy than anything (not a lot of exposed trunk to rub on). This is not a huge deal but more of an observation and is going to make hunting off the ground a chore.

We spoke with a friend who hunts the area and he says deer tend to be way more mobile than in WI and that he never seems to see the same buck twice since they seem to travel so much compared to in Wisconsin. He also said he chooses his spots less on sign and more on terrain features than he does in Wisconsin. Can anyone speak on their experiences bow hunting this area? Am I just missing the sign or is it just that much diffrent than in WI?

Thanks for the help!

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[hunter_mike]

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=24454&hilit=beds+without+rubs

[binney59]

Thanks for the link, I read it over and am still not sure what to think. The lack of rubs may be due to lack of competition or older deer but I doubt it's due to lower populations.

Anyone experience similar things while scouting in Kansas?

Thanks!

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[dan]

I hunted that area for a few days, and I saw the same things I see here, I also saw the same bucks repeatedly...
When your looking at buck beds in thick brush areas (I would shy away from grass beds unless you have good evidence of a big buck) look more for areas of lots of beds rather than one well worn one.

[Redman232]

I don't have any Kansas experience, but a couple areas I hunt, have high deer numbers and very little buck sign as far as rubs and scrapes. You wouldn't know the bucks are there unless you check for large tracks or see them first hand. Just a thought.

[ozzz]

Dan,

Could you expand at all on your previous post? Thank you.

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[dan]

Dan,

Could you expand at all on your previous post? Thank you.

[ Post made via Android ]

I hunted Kansas back around the year 2000 (give or take a year) I found it to be real similar to Missouri except less hunting pressure, and a little flatter, at least where I hunted and scouted.
There was a drought that year and it was dryer than a cracker fart. I was planning on hunting rut in Wisconsin, the rut in Iowa, and then the rut in Kansas three weeks in a row, but a broken down truck in Iowa cut my rut plans short. So I planned a January hunt.
I was hunting private land. I was given a 160 class minimum. I was ok with that. I looked at some aerials and talked to the guy who hunted / managed the land. His idea was for me to sit back on food plots and the typical in between bedding. I located the nearest water close to the bedding and I am pretty sure I could of shot every buck on the property the 1st evening over that water source.
The next 3 days I made moves on the bedding areas and passed the same bucks I passed at the water near the bedding. The biggest buck was about 120 to 130 class and I seen him every day... I left after seeing there was nothing on the property within my size restrictions.

[ozzz]

m sorry, I should have been more Clear. I meant as far as your comments regarding bedding in thick brushy areas and grassy areas.

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[dan]

m sorry, I should have been more Clear. I meant as far as your comments regarding bedding in thick brushy areas and grassy areas.

[ Post made via Android ]

A lot of the area I hunted and seen in Kansas did not have trees like here, some did, but a lot of it was thick and brushy trees that grew 10 or fifteen feet high and dense. The pockets of brush were generally where the elevation changed or where the bedding should be based on elevation. Where the brush wasn't was just prairie type grass, pasture, or crop field. Bucks bedded a lot like they do here in farm country, down wind side of the brush or wood lot facing an opening, or within at a point of structure, an elevation drop, under a big tree within the brush, etc.

I have hunted all over the place and the way bucks bed does not seem to change, the varible that changes is the terrain, type of vegetation, and the amount of cover.

[MOBIGBUCKS]

Hi guys, just wanting to bounce a few things off of you since I just got back from my scouting session in North Central Kansas (Riley County). We walked approximately 1600 acres of land, most of which is crop land with long draws and some pasture. I found a lot of beds but very few were what I would consider primarily, well used beds. A few were well worn, well placed beds that are obviously buck beds but a majority seemed to be randomly placed throughout the tall grasses and not heavily used. We also didn't find a single rub and very few of the well worn trails you would expect to find where I hunt in Wisconsin or Iowa.

For those familiar with this area, is this normal to not see a lot of well worn trails and rub activity? Most trees seem to be covered with thorns and more brushy than anything (not a lot of exposed trunk to rub on). This is not a huge deal but more of an observation and is going to make hunting off the ground a chore.

We spoke with a friend who hunts the area and he says deer tend to be way more mobile than in WI and that he never seems to see the same buck twice since they seem to travel so much compared to in Wisconsin. He also said he chooses his spots less on sign and more on terrain features than he does in Wisconsin. Can anyone speak on their experiences bow hunting this area? Am I just missing the sign or is it just that much diffrent than in WI?

Thanks for the help!

[ Post made via iPad ]

If it was me, I would not overlook the grass bedding...I have shot and missed some of my biggest Kansas bucks in grass. The buck in my avatar was bedding in grass 8 feet high.

[MOBIGBUCKS]

As far as worn trails etc. You have to remember that Kansas does not have the numbers of deer your state has. It has limited habitat and generally speaking less deer. My advice to you is to look for big tracks close to bedding. Don't worry about about heavy rut sign on a property. There are lots of properties that come alive when the rut starts up and they are simply travel corridors. If you find a big track near that tall grass you were talking about, I would hunt that over any woodlot or creek drainage.

[binney59]

This all helps, thanks!

We did cut quite a few large tracks, especially in some of the low spots that run through the grassy areas which would make sense. It also makes sense that the deer numbers are not what they are in parts of WI, especially when you consider the numbers per square mile since we have a lot of woods in a square mile and it's nothing to have a pasture that size with no cover what so ever.

I am anxious to get down there and hunt and advance my skills in a new terrain. Thanks for the help guys.

[MOBIGBUCKS]

This all helps, thanks!

We did cut quite a few large tracks, especially in some of the low spots that run through the grassy areas which would make sense. It also makes sense that the deer numbers are not what they are in parts of WI, especially when you consider the numbers per square mile since we have a lot of woods in a square mile and it's nothing to have a pasture that size with no cover what so ever.

I am anxious to get down there and hunt and advance my skills in a new terrain. Thanks for the help guys.

How long you coming out for?

[binney59]

I'm planning on being there for a week around mid November, depending on when a cold front moves in. Any other suggestions or help?

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