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My 2011 Kansas hunt - part 1

Hunter II

Junior Member
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127
One perk of working for a global company is the fact you have the opportunity to meet people from all over the world. This hunt would be on a coworkers 1100 acre wheat and milo farm in west central Kansas.

I had applied for and drawn a mule deer permit because my coworker said he commonly sees mulies on the property. Unfortunately, the mulies were not using his farm at this time but I did get to see this herd every time I drove past this one farm. I stopped in the road and took this quick picture.


The amount of deer we would see from stand was unbelievable and I didn’t even try to keep count. The rut was just starting and I watched a few different bucks scent checking does, making rubs, and scraping.

He sure was a pretty deer. At my dad’s place in Monroe county with my recurve in hand I would have shot this guy in a heartbeat but this is KANSAS.
Here he is after he worked a scrape 45 yards away.


A couple of small bucks sparring up on the wheat field.


A frosty morning with no wind. A rarity in Kansas.


In the year we had to look forward to this trip my dad and I had a lot of conversations about what deer we would shoot and what we would pass. I said if I couldn’t shoot a mulie, a whitetail would have to be 140 or bigger. I picked my bow up when I first saw this guy but forced myself to hang it up and just take his picture. I guessed him to be about a 135. He would make a reappearance later in the hunt.


A view from my stand. The wheat field is at the top of the hill.
 

Hunter II

Junior Member
604
127
November 10th was my best day.
This guy was at the end of the wheat field 300 yards away. I grunted at him and he turned and headed my way. Unfortunately he stopped 15 yards short of my maximum range and walked right back to where he came from.


The little bucks were chasing everywhere. This guy looks like he just got his butt kicked.


At 3:30 that afternoon this guy shows up by himself and ran a few does around the wheat and eventually followed one back across the fence.



Here is a doe bedded about 45 yards in front of me. She should have hidden a little better because it didn’t take long for this 8 to find her and they were off to the races. He came by my stand 4 times this day.



Here is the 8 point from earlier. Dad just couldn’t resist. 138 with a 3 inch sticker behind his left ear.


I came home with a $500 bowl of tag soup but I don’t regret not shooting a lesser deer. The possibility of shooting something special was just TOO great. One night, just 2 miles down the road from this farm, we saw a double drop tine monster standing next to the road. A few years ago my coworkers father shot a buck off the farm that scored 194+ and he said he had seen a bigger one this year.

Maybe next year.
 

moundhill

Senior Member
Supporting Member
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Hebbardsville..
Thanks for sharing! Great pictures, glad ya guys had a good time. TOO bad that buck wouldnt have given in and walked 15 more yards.
 

Gern186

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
10,172
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NW Ohio Tundra
Great series of pictures and a good story. I hunted Kansas one time back in the late 90's and it's neat out there. Those were some nice deer pics you were able to take.
 
I went to kansas in 2009. Even though I came home empty handed it was an unbelievable hunt. We were there the first week of november and I wish I would have moved it back one week. The Rut just wasn't in full swing and we faced temps hovering close to 60 every day. I will definitely make a trip back.. In fact, I just got word from my buddy in Missouri that his girlfriend's dad is the largest cattle rancher in Kansas (almost 20,000 acres either owned or leased). He took a trip down there this past weekend and couldn't believe the number of huge bucks that he saw. I told him she's a keeper and hopefully I can make the trip out there in the next couple of years.
 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
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Ohio
Much appreciation for you sharing your trip with us! Sounds like a great hunt. Congrats to your Dad!
 

Curran

Senior Member
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Central Ohio
Great read & great pics!! :smiley_clap: That sounds like a heck of a good hunt. Yes, it's always nice to fill that tag, but being able to hunt some place like Kansas & spend the time out there with your Dad is what it's all about. Congrats to your Dad and a really good buck & good luck next time out there!!