Kansas Upland Bird Hunting
Kansas upland bird hunting in Mid-America Hunting Association is self guided on private land over crop, brush and tall grass for wild pheasant and Bobwhite Quail.
How to make a hunt work is to talk to one of the two Association partners who are responsible for hunt quality. They train and hunt behind their own dogs. They are out on the land throughout the year. This hunting Association is their full time employment. And, has been for a long time. While all will be hunting on their own none will be left to their own to know where to hunt.
Versatile dog hunters have a special page telling of duck, goose, pheasant, quail and dog hunting of turkeys.
These two will get the hunter using our online maps to the point of where to park their truck, put dogs down and hunt. All will have a plan 'A' and 'B' for every hunting trip. All will have a choice of cover habitat and bird distribution to chose from. Each hunter will have more places to hunt each day and more hunting acreage than daylight hours to cover. This allows the hunter to further refine what cover or bird hunting that best suits his dog power and hunting style. See more about planning a Kansas upland bird hunting trip.
Kansas Upland Bird Hunting For The Average Hunter
Our organization is for the average hunter for hunting through the season. A look at any pictures will show worn hunting clothing, self containment of the hunt within the truck, a variety of trucks and so on.
Different faces, differ dogs, different hunts. All Kansas hunting trips.
The Nature of this Hunting Association's Self Guided Kansas Hunter
We offer this section as contrast to any background experience the reader may have.
Most that hunt Kansas come for its pheasant hunting. These include those without dogs, flushing and pointing dog hunters. The wild Bobwhite Quail hunter is more rare. Quail hunting for many reason inclusive of the longer training requirement for pointing dogs, quail are a tougher hunt due to shot opportunity and cover all keep hunter numbers down. Pheasant hunting on the other hand requires no dog, offer high flat flying targets in open sky's.
Quail shot opportunity is lower due to their ground loving nature. Any covey or singles flush will quickly seek return to ground cover offering a brief instance for a shot. This increased over pheasant shooting frustration is often enough to keep many pheasant hunting.
Quail hunting is also tougher than pheasant due to woody cover often blocking any shot. Pheasants on the other hand occupy open grass lands where any bird in range not bagged should be a source for humor.
Regardless of any one upland bird hunter's orientation what Kansas hunting has is diversity. All may hunt wild birds regardless of dog breed or habitat preferences. Flushing/retrieving dog hunters weigh towards pheasant hunting. Pointing dog hunters commonly comment their preference swings both ways making any hunt more enjoyable.
Bonus Upland Bird
Kansas bird hunting is unique as it also includes the Prairie Chicken. Seen frequently within a week long bird hunt and rarely bagged.
An often missed bird for looking too much like a hen pheasant. When the upland bird hunter harvests his first Prairie Chicken new discoveries await. That first bird will show well through its meat coloration, odor and taste why the next one, especially if a male, will go to the taxidermist. A nice grasslands mount of a strumming male being watched by a hen makes a unique mount few have collected.
Kansas Prairie Chicken
This deceptive bird in flight resembles a hen pheasant long enough to delay shot until out of range.
While Kansas does have the Prairie Chicken they do not exist in any predictable pattern to allow for reasonably successful hunts. Current agricultural practices support far more pheasant and quail hunting than it does open ground with low cover prairie grouse habitat. So much so this is true that while some guides may offer Prairie Chicken hunting we do not manage for them at all. We also do not build expectations of being able to hunt them.
For those chance encounters when Prairie Chickens are seen before flush the hunter will make good use of 3 inch shells with Heavishot. Leading this fast in flight bird much like a duck. Once one is harvested and the dog learns of this new bird then the frequency of encounters will surely increase.
The Prairie Chicken has strong scent to it that humans can smell it when holding one. That strong scent is instantly captured by dogs. This creates many a long point standoff. That is both a benefit and a consequence.
The Prairie Chicken is similar to a Ruffed Grouse at not wanting to hold long under point. Especial short range points. The long standoff allows for the longer hold to flush. That creates another issue. The hunter will probably be conditioned to walking in on shorter standoff pheasant and quail points. This will often set the hunter up for believing the dog is on a blank drawing that hunter's attention to the dog. This distraction from looking about 35 feet or so where the Prairie Chicken is laying up to that of the dog adds to the shot delay. This is the third to the three fold reason why many Prairie Chickens are not shot at.
First they look like hen pheasants. Second they have a long point standoff giving them an extra jump on range. Next they are fast to get to top flight speed and fly faster than pheasants. So, the end result is for those few hunters that do harvest Prairie Chickens they have a trophy harder to come by than a limit of quail.
The final point about plains birds is they are highly reactive to visual movement, sound and color. More so than Ruffed Grouse, pheasant and Bobwhite Quail. Those that turn their dogs into successful Prairie Chicken hunters soon shed orange for camouflage clothing. The next step is no bell or beeper. Walk during the hunt to avoid sky lining of hunter and dog. No voice or whistle commands to the dog or hunt buddy. These tactics gain more point opportunity.
Achieving a level of recurring successful Prairie Chicken hunts puts that hunter and dog into a higher category than 99% of the successful pheasant and quail dog hunters. That is the advantage that Kansas brings to the upland bird hunter. The chance to move on when successful pheasant and quail hunting becomes routine.
Kansas Pheasant Hunting
Kansas pheasant hunts are mostly over tall grass cover in close proximity to grain fields. Other common pheasant holding cover is that of the brushy draw that quail occupy as well. Inside of these draws when a dog goes on point or a retriever gets birdy it is a guess weather a pheasant or quail will flush. It is the tall grass, the plum thicket and draws that create the stories of the great hunts where a limit is bagged in less than an hour. Or, the story of how more birds were seen in one day than that traveling hunter's previous experience within his home state.
On the same trip those that chose to hunt pheasant and quail may do so the same day or alternating days. That extra variety of cover gives a boost to the hunt when fatigue begins to set in the third day.
Pheasant Hunt
In this one picture are two dogs and the hunter. This upland bird hunter is also responsible for the Prairie Chicken photo near the top of the page. One dog is partially visible as the dark spot in front of the hunter. The other dog is deeper into the tall grass that hides it from view. Open sky's in every direction. Grain fields on three sides. Be prepared to walk much on this ground to find those hot spots of loafing pheasants.
Look over some detailed picture Kansas pheasant habitat or cover our Kansas pheasant hunting itself in greater details.
Kansas Quail
Kansas quail cover is mostly linear edge of transitional cover lining a grain crop field. Many times this edge will take a hunter across ridge lines into draws, in field waterways and small wood patches. The benefit and consequence is this quail cover runs for many more miles than most have walk in them to cover. Those that have good down wind edge running dogs capable of being cast out with good visual check-back will find many coveys. Anything less and there will be much walking for less point opportunity.
For the quail hunter the Kansas land adds to that of the better Missouri and Iowa quail regions giving flexibility of where to hunt should one region have a down hatch. Add that to Kansas quail country being more open and those with the dog power, willingness to walk and shooting skills will simply find more eyes on points and shot opportunity. In general terms when working the more woody cover of Missouri easily half of the points go without shot due to intervening trees. In Kansas the open lands, waterways and thin fence lines offer farm more shots per points.
Quail Hunt
Late season Kansas quail hunt. The dog on point distance to the hunter with raised gun and a single quail seen through the brush at left represent well the range of good point standoff and shot opportunity. Notice how low the quail flies. Having a dog steady to flush, second dog that honors and where the hunting buddy is are absolute requirements for shot. The trajectory of the majority of quail shots will have the shot impacting ground.
Review our picture heavy Kansas quail hunting presentation or habitat to hunt.
The Association Advantage
Private land. Every bit of the land we lease for our Association is exclusive to the Association hunter. We do not share or franchise our operation.
Wild upland birds. Take the time and cost to travel our way to hunt wild pheasant and quail. No other bird hunt comes close. For those that simply want to shoot birds over dogs go to a local preserve and get that 1/2 day experience. To have a wall full of pictures and memories for a lifetime comes only through true upland bird hunting.
Self guided. That extra addition of setting your own alarm clock. Pick where to hunt, walk, rest, break and resume without anyone telling you when. No guides to rush you through to be done with you.
No lodge. Pay for what you want that is a wild upland bird hunt. No special lodge with special decor. The benefit is this Association is not limited to the driving distance around any lodge That allows us to acquire land where we get the most return for the hunter. This is example of why traveling a bit longer distance for a better hunt pays off. Lodging will be by local motel that we maintain an up-to-date listing of for the Association hunter.
Simplicity Of Operation. One cost for the entire season to access all land to hunt any time that hunter has time in our three state area. No one is ever denied a hunt.
Ease of access any time at the hunter's schedule allows on long or short notice. All that is required is a telephone call.
There is not any guesswork. We provide the private land, recommendations where to hunt and a lodging listing in time to set all travel requirements. The hunter does the rest on his own and without competition. That includes the hunter provides his own licensing, transportation, hunt equipment, meals and dogs.
The downside is when hunters want the Association to be something different than what it is. We take great effort on this web site and over the telephone to be clear at what is offered. No one can say after joining they were misled.
2010 Association Kansas Upland Bird Hunting Land
This map shows the total Kansas hunting acreage available listing county name and acreage within that county. All may hunt their choice or our recommendation based on pheasant or quail or habitat preference.
