Kansas residents can get OTC whitetail tags anywhere licenses are sold, but to hunt mule deer with firearms, you must apply in the draw (Archery "any deer" is OTC, but requires archery only hunting, even in muzzleloader and rifle seasons). There are two zones for the any deer tag.....western and eastern. The western units all touch Colorado, while the eastern units are the next ones east of them.
I knew that kansasson and I were going to Wyoming in September, and knew that the odds for drawing an eastern zone any deer tag is low (around 100 tags up for lottery, while western zone is closer to 1600-ish) so I threw my hat into the ring just to get the point. And then the purpose of this thread.......I drew the tag.
I have been working my personal connections for intel on where to find mule deer in my zones, with some promising leads. Many years ago I could have had the best informants a guy could ever wish for.......my dad taught vet medicine at K-State, and thus knew almost all the vets practicing in Kansas. Now many of his students are retiring (and snowbirding in Arizona!)
I have hunted NW Kansas for turkeys, killing my first bird north of Hays, back in the day. The hills up and away from the whitetail river corridors will be fun to explore as I try to find a needle in a haystack, and get my first ever Kansas mule deer.
Should any HuntTalkers wish to point me in certain directions to explore, let me say I'm all ears and down for any PM intel you wish to share.
As with all Kansas deer firearms seasons, the Wednesday after Thanksgiving is the opener, with two full weekends after that to do the deed. Upland season will have been pushing deer around for three weeks or so when the season starts, with archery hunters having a go for the last two months, the deer will generally be on high alert. I look forward to the challenge.
I knew that kansasson and I were going to Wyoming in September, and knew that the odds for drawing an eastern zone any deer tag is low (around 100 tags up for lottery, while western zone is closer to 1600-ish) so I threw my hat into the ring just to get the point. And then the purpose of this thread.......I drew the tag.
I have been working my personal connections for intel on where to find mule deer in my zones, with some promising leads. Many years ago I could have had the best informants a guy could ever wish for.......my dad taught vet medicine at K-State, and thus knew almost all the vets practicing in Kansas. Now many of his students are retiring (and snowbirding in Arizona!)
I have hunted NW Kansas for turkeys, killing my first bird north of Hays, back in the day. The hills up and away from the whitetail river corridors will be fun to explore as I try to find a needle in a haystack, and get my first ever Kansas mule deer.
Should any HuntTalkers wish to point me in certain directions to explore, let me say I'm all ears and down for any PM intel you wish to share.
As with all Kansas deer firearms seasons, the Wednesday after Thanksgiving is the opener, with two full weekends after that to do the deed. Upland season will have been pushing deer around for three weeks or so when the season starts, with archery hunters having a go for the last two months, the deer will generally be on high alert. I look forward to the challenge.