SW Kansas opener

[JPD350]

So last year I went to SW Kansas in Dec without a dog and got a few birds and lost some but had a blast, this year I am going back with a 1 year old EP in hopes of not loosing any birds this time, this year I am going to do the opener.
Everything was cut and I mostly hit the weedy corners of the circle fields but with the dog I may have a hard time hunting the way I did since I walked the edge of the property line quite often and it could be tough to keep a dog on one side of an imaginary line. My thought for this year is to hit more of the grassy type WIHA areas so the dog can run but I would hate to waste a lot of time hitting dead zones.

I could use some thoughts and pointers on bird behavior for the opener in SW Kansas.

Also are private LO's approachable to ask permission to hunt? I was too chicken to drive up to homesites last year, it just seemed a little weird driving up to some of the farmhouses since they are back off the road a ways.

If anyone is from SW Kansas and wouldn't mind talking with me I have some specific areas that I have questions about.

JP and Trapper

 

[Roy68]

Live in Central KS and hunt birds from home, west and into Eastern Colorado. Opening weekend is usually a zoo. Bird numbers in general are better the farther west you travel in the state of KS. Opening weekend of Pheasant is usually a big deal when it comes to families & friends. Its a hunting / social thing. With that being said most landowners will save their ground for those gatherings & opening weekend hunts. After the first few weekends, those same landowners will let you have at it. The WIHA will be busy as well. I'm not trying to put a downer on your trip. If that is the time you have planned then so be it. Nice thing is when an area is hunted you can come back later in the day and birds will be there again.

Landowners are approachable and generally polite if you are polite & approachable. I would suggest that you have a KS WIHA Atlas and/or county platt maps. That way when you do gain private permission, you can pull out your map and have the land owner show you exactly where you can and cannot go. It shows that you want to do things right. Also get their written permission & phone number in case an issue arises in the field with another hunting party. Also provide your name and number to the land owner for the same reasons. It happens believe me, and I'm a land owner and I hunt other's land; so I've seen issues from both sides of the fence.

When I'm in the western 1/3 of the state (and hunting by myself) I like to hit the dry land corners of farmed ground; where the irrigation pivots don't touch. Hay piles and cedar tree wind breaks. Also overgrown abandoned farm yards are good. If the ground is terraced then the water ways will be good. Fallowed wheat stubble corners are my preference to stalks as birds will run sooner and further in row crop ground.

I'm not sure where you are exactly headed in the state, but I can tell you that if you draw an East - West line from Scott City; from that line North fall harvest is very late. The first of October they were just starting to cut High Moisture corn. I suspect by now that they are done with that and mostly done with insilage, but are still harvesting dry corn.

This is another option. The opening weekend is super busy, but you gain access to the marked ground for the season. Just keep your registration info with you for proof. I've personally never done it, but I do hunt the area every year with friends that live in Burlington.

Home

http://nebula.wsimg.com/ac533c6f32926d45463465d06043fde4?AccessKeyId=DBFCC75FA9970B7A74DA&disposition=0&alloworigin=1

Hope the info helps. Feel free to PM me your number and I can give you a call some evening in the next few days.

 

[JPD350]

Hey Roy I sent you a message but don't know if it actually went through, there doesn't seem to be any record of it anywhere.

 

[Roy68]

Pm sent

Never received a message

 

[Roy68]

JP how did the hunt go for you?

 

[JPD350]

Hey Roy, It was a great to get out with the dog but the trip wasn't without ups and downs.

The 1st morning the dog ran out into some thick private land and disappeared, finally got him back and the warden came up and checked my license and said that he hasn't seen many birds around that area so we went north, we saw only 3 or 4 birds over the next 2.5 days but Trapper still ran his greenhorn self ragged. Day 3 just before dark we finally got our first bird, we were in 3' deep grass when the bird flushed so unfortunately Trapper didn't get to point it but he did watch it go down and went right to it. Next morning it was foggy and we could hear roosters out there so we worked it for a bit and got a second bird but still no solid points for him. unfortunately Trapper was so beat up that when we finally got into a good field he was so worn out and had some injuries so I had to take him to the truck after only a 1/2 hour in the good field. On the way back to the truck I lost my brand new Astro 430, I searched for 4 hours and never found it! I had called garmin while I was looking to see if there was anyway to get a coordinate since it was still on, I knew the answer was no way but I tried anyway, on the way home Garmin emailed me and tells me the Garmin team got together and wants to send me a refurbished unit for free, I was amazed they even sent it on their own dime, pretty awesome of Garmin!!!!

 

[Roy68]

Sounds like a good trip and learning experience. That is surprising Garmin went that far out their way for a customer. Good on them.

It rained off and on here all day opening Saturday. I didn’t hear many shots while outside all day. I talked to some friends up around Burlington CO area and they saw a lot of birds just not sitting tight.