Kansas Pheasant Hunting
Kansas Pheasant Hunting
A day's hunt for three. It is not unusual to see 20 - 30 birds get up at one time. Or, see well over a 100 in a day. A big difference exists between what is seen and what goes in the bag. Dog power is the key to that difference.
Kansas pheasant hunting with Mid-America Hunting Association is a self guided pheasant hunt on wild pheasant over natural private farm land, tall grass and brush draws frequently with overlapping wild Bobwhite Quail to give the upland bird hunter the opportunity for a mixed bag quail and pheasant hunt each trip.
Both the retriever/flushing and point dog hunters will enjoy large numbers of pheasants for the individual and small hunter groups that are in the field for their dog work foremost. No gang or drive hunts permitted under any condition. The ability to hunt wild pheasant on private land without competing with public lands hunter mentality is exactly the more leisurely approach we take to our hunts. We have the land, we have the birds and the hunter may hunt as he sees fit on his own schedule. This is how the special since of tranquility is achieved that makes for a far more satisfying experience that we all seek from the field, our dogs and the hunt. Those that are single minded focused on bag limits as quick as possible do not even think of calling us.
Habitat throughout these Kansas upland bird areas does vary and the Association hunter may select from tall prairie grasslands in northwest and south-central regions to compartmental farm fields with soft edge in the north central with pheasant and quail holding brushy draws (picture 1 2) spread throughout all areas. Anyone with a habitat preference will have his choice and those looking for variety will find it every day all season long to enjoy his bird dogs in action.
2010 Kansas Pheasant Hunting Acrage
Posted on the Kansas map are the county names and private land acrage we have under lease in that county.
The best pheasnt hunting occures in the agricultural regions of kansas and more so where we also have large acrage tall grass.
Wild Bobwhite Quail will overlap in varying densities.
Kansas Pheasant Habitat
This grass picture is deceptive. The grass is running six feet tall and thick. The depth of this picture at grass level is probably 24 inches. The overall terrain is gently rolling as seen in the picture and broken by dray drainages.
The best tall grass is 3 to 6 feet tall, thick to limit visibility allowing birds to hold for point, damp when hunted to keep dogs cool and scent hot with a 5 to 10 MPH wind to make a scent cone. Take away one of these ideal conditions and hunt quality declines. While we can get the hunter to the right field the weather variable we cannot control.
A tall grass field. This field is better than most as the wooded waterway would allow for a quail hunt on the same walk. Total contiguous tall grass acres at this one spot is 440 acres on 480 acres of land surrounded by row crop and pasture.
If an applicant is accepted for membership we will get him to the locality that minimizes driving, maximizes habitat preference and gives the best pheasant hunt experience our weather and habitat will allow. No one is left to flounder.
The last piece is where to lodge and our lodging listing per county provides that.
Our do it yourself hunts go beyond pheasant and includes Kansas Bobwhite Quail and their numbers do vary in accordance by regional habitat.
For those hunters desiring mixed quail and pheasant experience, north central Kansas offers the best mix of habitat for both. The north west and south central and east will provide plenty of quail action for those with the dog power to cast the field edges. The hunter's only decision is to select from large open grasslands where pheasant hunt is the best to smaller farm areas of mixed habitat where both Bobwhite Quail and pheasants may be found in good numbers.
While Prairie Chickens exist in many of our areas plenty are seen most are never shot at. The Kansas experience is to pass on pheasant hens and the Prairie Chicken looks far too similar to a hen pheasant than most can distinguish within the 2 second window before the chicken is out of range.
The daily pheasant limit is 4 and 16 in possession, the highest of our three states and Kansas comparatively has the most upland bird habitat.
One Day Kansas Pheasant Hunt
Have a read and see a picture series from Don about his Kansas pheasant hunting trips.
The season starts the early November and runs through the end of January state wide. The quail season is split from pheasant and closes earlier. Prairie Chicken season runs earlier and overlaps.
Under our system there is every reason to enjoy our do it yourself hunts at least once each year. We currently have hunters from 36 states that find the time and money each year to enjoy a hunt. We provide the private land, recommendation where the best upland bird range is and Kansas has season long mild winter weather allowing many field days.
The vast majority of our Association Kansas pheasant hunting CRP properties are in high grass. This one aspect alone accounts for some of our best hunts in terms of total number of birds seen during a hunt. It is in such grass that the stories of seeing 100+ birds in a day originate. This is also a case where every benefit has a consequence.
The first pheasant hunt specific consequence is the dog power that pheasant hunts best is a slow dog with long standoff. Hard running dogs will simply make too much noise and push the pheasants to run or long range flush. This is often times the cause for the large number of pheasants seen in a day.
The pheasant hunter that hunts quiet with a slow, close working dog will see fewer birds and have more in his bag in shorter time. This pheasant habitat is a prime example how some dogs and hunters are better matched to other pheasant hunting conditions or find the grass to be the very ideal. Within MAHA our do it yourself pheasant hunts allows each hunter to make such choices.
While the tall Kansas grasslands will hold many birds and consistently so throughout the season it can be monotonous to walk on every day of a pheasant hunt. What many have found to be more enjoyable while on a Kansas pheasant hunting trip is to hunt the grass for a day then go to one of the nearby upland bird units and hunt some brushy draws, fallow pasture and other habitat types to get into quail as well as find more roosters. The greater advantage of changing habitat types may also be for the dog that on the same hunt may find plenty of quail and pheasant action over a variety of conditions making him better at target habitat overall. For the upland bird hunter, a day of walking crop edges along the draws will be a welcomed rest from the tougher to push through tall grass pheasant hunts.
Kansas pheasant hunts in the tall grass and brushy draws does require a beeper collar, as a dog on point three feet away may be completely covered by grass.
Burs, snakes and fence lines are virtually nonexistent in these areas with the most significant safety requirement is for the hunter to wear an orange hat and carry water for the dog. This is a type of habitat where shooting blue sky birds is the rule. Shooting downward or horizontal may yield a hit on bird, dog or partner.