Those who read the prior thread (that we now know was deleted due to Del's low esteem of whitetails 
) have some background on this trip.
Quick background. I drew both KS (rifle) and IA (shotgun) tags this year. I had some great private land to hunt in both states, but decided the public land challenge was more my style, and as such, have told the private landowners "Thanks, but no thanks."
I drove to Kansas over the weekend. Two days from my home grounds in Montana.
I spent the first two and a half days scouting. Saw a total of eight deer. Found lots of other hunters doing the same scouting and noticed a lot of feeders located just off the public land where the outfitters were operating.
Today was opening day. I was awoken by the winds last night and by this morning, they were a steady 30mph, with gusts to 45mph. Absolutely terrible to try and hunt in. Combined with the temps in the mid-20's, I lasted until about 11:00 am. At that time, the snot-sickles were too long and I packed it up for the warmer confines of the truck.
Knowing that deer would be bedded in this wind/weather I decided the afternoon would be better spent scouting more. I put on a lot of miles, looking at many of the WIHA (Walk-in hunting areas). Most are 80-320 acres, with many being over-run with cattle, but a few occassional gems. I saw a lot of other hunters using these properties. Some looked very good from the roads, and those were the ones that hosted the most hunters.
I walked into a few that looked pretty mediocre from the county road. Most of them were mediocre. I did find one that was really good. I walked the permiter where it joined some nasty brush on private land, and found many rub and scrape lines. The rut is over, but it gave evidence of some buck activity in the last month.
In my mind, I am thinking some of these bucks probably got toasted in archery season, a season that ended in late November. I am more than glad to work on the leftovers.
I tried to stay out of the wind as much as possible, but it was, as Winnie Pooh would say, "A blustery day in the hundred acre woods." Very blustery. Hell, it was damn cold.
I did notice that the deer are feeding hard on the emerging winter wheat, now that the corn is harvested. The area I walked into had two long oval fields of winter wheat surrounded by heavy brush.
With about a half hour of light left, I saw a very big buck cross the back corner of one of those wheat fields and quickly jump into the brush on the private land boundary. I moved over to that property line hoping he would travel the additional 400 yards that would put him in my shooting range. No luck. I did see eight does feed out of that brush to the WIHA, but no buck.
I have concluded the rut is over, based on how secretive that buck was, and the appearance of eight does, with no buck nearby. The lay of this piece of ground is excellent for an ambush on this buck if he comes off the private onto the public. Whether or not he will, time will tell.
This was a really big buck. Just how big, I don't know, other than I would shoot him with any whitetail tag I have/had.
Unfortunately, I have this thing called "commitments," so I can only hunt five days. I will be leaving early Monday morning, giving me four more days to close the deal.
The forecast is for morning temps in the low teens, with winds around 15 mph. I think I can handle that for a while. Highs tomorrow are supposed to get in the hgh 20's, so I am hoping it will force the deer to feed longer in the morning and earlier in the afternoon.
Calling it a day now. Hope to have a real pic to post tomorrow.
) have some background on this trip.Quick background. I drew both KS (rifle) and IA (shotgun) tags this year. I had some great private land to hunt in both states, but decided the public land challenge was more my style, and as such, have told the private landowners "Thanks, but no thanks."
I drove to Kansas over the weekend. Two days from my home grounds in Montana.
I spent the first two and a half days scouting. Saw a total of eight deer. Found lots of other hunters doing the same scouting and noticed a lot of feeders located just off the public land where the outfitters were operating.
Today was opening day. I was awoken by the winds last night and by this morning, they were a steady 30mph, with gusts to 45mph. Absolutely terrible to try and hunt in. Combined with the temps in the mid-20's, I lasted until about 11:00 am. At that time, the snot-sickles were too long and I packed it up for the warmer confines of the truck.
Knowing that deer would be bedded in this wind/weather I decided the afternoon would be better spent scouting more. I put on a lot of miles, looking at many of the WIHA (Walk-in hunting areas). Most are 80-320 acres, with many being over-run with cattle, but a few occassional gems. I saw a lot of other hunters using these properties. Some looked very good from the roads, and those were the ones that hosted the most hunters.
I walked into a few that looked pretty mediocre from the county road. Most of them were mediocre. I did find one that was really good. I walked the permiter where it joined some nasty brush on private land, and found many rub and scrape lines. The rut is over, but it gave evidence of some buck activity in the last month.
In my mind, I am thinking some of these bucks probably got toasted in archery season, a season that ended in late November. I am more than glad to work on the leftovers.
I tried to stay out of the wind as much as possible, but it was, as Winnie Pooh would say, "A blustery day in the hundred acre woods." Very blustery. Hell, it was damn cold.
I did notice that the deer are feeding hard on the emerging winter wheat, now that the corn is harvested. The area I walked into had two long oval fields of winter wheat surrounded by heavy brush.
With about a half hour of light left, I saw a very big buck cross the back corner of one of those wheat fields and quickly jump into the brush on the private land boundary. I moved over to that property line hoping he would travel the additional 400 yards that would put him in my shooting range. No luck. I did see eight does feed out of that brush to the WIHA, but no buck.
I have concluded the rut is over, based on how secretive that buck was, and the appearance of eight does, with no buck nearby. The lay of this piece of ground is excellent for an ambush on this buck if he comes off the private onto the public. Whether or not he will, time will tell.
This was a really big buck. Just how big, I don't know, other than I would shoot him with any whitetail tag I have/had.
Unfortunately, I have this thing called "commitments," so I can only hunt five days. I will be leaving early Monday morning, giving me four more days to close the deal.
The forecast is for morning temps in the low teens, with winds around 15 mph. I think I can handle that for a while. Highs tomorrow are supposed to get in the hgh 20's, so I am hoping it will force the deer to feed longer in the morning and earlier in the afternoon.
Calling it a day now. Hope to have a real pic to post tomorrow.
