Kansas Pheasant Hunting
Kansas pheasant hunting with this Association is a self guided hunt on wild upland birds, over natural private land, tall grass and brush draws frequently with overlapping wild Bobwhite Quail. The upland bird hunter has the opportunity for a mixed bag hunt each trip.
With our approach to self guided hunts that does not mean the hunter is left without resource of where to hunt. If allocated an Association membership that hunter gains access to our online private land map library. That hunter can look at the same map as one of the two Association partners, Jon Nee or John Wenzel, while talking on the telephone of where to park the truck and put the dogs down. Both of the Association partners will get that hunter to the bird and habitat of preference. Each will also have a plan 'A' and 'B' to address adverse weather.
Self Guided 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.
The retriever/flushing and pointing dog hunters are welcomed. We exist 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 birds 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 does vary. The Association hunter may select from tall prairie grasslands, to compartmental farm fields with soft edge, to brush filled draws. Anyone with a habitat preference will have his choice. Those looking for variety will find it every day all season long to enjoy his dogs in action.
2010 Kansas Pheasant Hunting Private Land Acreage
Posted on the map are the county names and private land acreage we have under lease in that county.
The best hunts occur in the agricultural regions. More so where we also have large acreage tall grass.
Wild Bobwhite Quail will overlap in varying densities.
Habitat
This grass picture is deceptive. The grass is running six feet tall and thick. The overall terrain is gently rolling as seen in the picture and broken by dry drainage's.
The best tall grass is 3 to 6 feet tall. It is thick to limit visibility allowing birds to hold for point. Best when damp to keep dogs cool and scent hot. A a 5 to 10 MPH wind is optimal 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 often makes or breaks that hunt.
The worst weather effect during the season is wind. On the windy days we frequently give up on the open tall grass fields and hunt the tree lined edges for quail.
If an applicant is accepted we will get him to the locality that minimizes driving, maximizes habitat preference and gives the best hunt experience our weather and habitat will allow. No one is left to flounder.
The last piece is where to lodge. Our lodging listing per county provides that.
Our do it yourself hunts includes Bobwhite Quail and their numbers do vary in accordance by regional habitat.
For those hunters desiring mixed upland bird experience we will offer such recommendations based on our upland bird forecast for that year.
Prairie Chickens exist in many of our areas. Plenty are seen. Most are never shot at. The experience is to pass on Prairie Chicken looks far too similar to a hen ringneck than most can distinguish within the 2 second window before the chicken is out of range.
The daily limit is 4 and 16 in possession, the highest of our three states.
Kansas Pheasant Hunting - One Day On Wild Birds
Have a read and see a picture series from Don about his hunts.
The season starts the mid November and runs through the end of January state wide. 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 have season long mild winter weather allowing many field days.
The vast majority of our Association 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 hunt consequence is dog power. Those that hunt best are slow dogs with long standoff. Hard running dogs will simply make too much noise and push the birds to run or long range flush. This is often times the cause for the large numbers seen in a day with few in the bag.
The hunter that hunts quiet will see birds and have more in his bag in shorter time. Those with bells or run mode beepers will have less action.
While the tall grasslands will hold many birds and consistently so throughout the season, it can be monotonous to walk. What many have found to be more enjoyable 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 ringnecks.
The greater advantage of changing habitat types may also be for the dog. On the same hunt many find plenty of action over a variety of conditions making that dog better at target habitat overall.
The tall grass and brushy draws does require a beeper collar. 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.
This Kansas pheasant hunting web page was just the highlights. Details with many pictures are yet to be reviewed. Those details will cover the intangible aspects that gain tranquility for the hunter. It is common after the first break-in year for Association hunters to express how the quality of their hunts continues to improve.