Best Public Hunting Unit??

[slabbandit]

Going to check out a few outfitters but what, in your opinions, are some of the best units for public bowhunting and not to much hunter pressure? My son and I are hoping to get a shot at a 140 or so. From what I've heard so far, unit 11 is supposed to be one of the best units.

[Kansasoutdoorsman]

Not to be a debbie downer but KS has the smallest amount of public land of any state the US and it gets pounded. Your best bet for anything is going to be SE KS but getting a 140 off of public is going to take a LOTTTT of work. Your not going to go in on a weekend and just pick one up. Most public places are good for a doe over a weekend if you get luck but you need to be in there early in the season or hit the needle in a hay stack. As an examaple up at Jamestown a guide was charging out of state hunters $1500 a person to walk them out to his stand on public land. He had 9 stands in one tree row and was just walking guys past each other from stand to stand... With the law changes this year where you can't leave a stand out on public land he lost a lot of money.

Despite what KDWP tell you I have been hunting deer in KS for 15 years and never shot a 130+ deer, granted I spend most of my time duck hunting and crappie fishing and only rifle hunt a few days a year. Good luck to you if you come but plan on at least a week to scout and break down an area.

[Silent]

Money talks. I have a 180 walk through the yard everynight!

[DroptineJoe]

Booners Guide and Outfitting
Jon is an excellent guide that eats and sleeps deer 365 days a year! His clients shoot some absolute beasts, I have several pics on my work computer he has sent me!

Another thought is Ft Riley, I have been seeing some bruiser bucks cruising in the middle of the day while I'm at work!

Like Springhill Duckman said"Your chances of coming in and shooting a 140" class buck on public land are very slim!!" I too have hunted public for the last 25 years and I've seen some giants but I can tell you that they are few and far between! Way more hunters than deer in unit 8! Its so bad that this year I didn't even buy a deer tag, every driveway(public hunting) has a vehicle in it even during the week!!

Good luck to you!

[slabbandit]

Sounds like we need to check into some of the outfitter services in the eastern part of the state.

[huntcapn]

I am a member here of crappie .com and I have some properties available for semi-guided hunts...this yr or next....let me know if I can help

[huntcapn]

Eastern KS, that is..

[Kansasoutdoorsman]

Sadly, (and no disrespect intended to silent) but Silent is exacltly what deer hunting in KS has become. The sport of it and old friends are gone, it all about money and selling deer to the highest bidder. It's his land and he can do what he wants with it but the average Kansan is getting pushed out of the game. This is the reason that public land is so over ran with hunters, the average guy has very few places to hunt any more.

Capn, you better not be selling my seat!

[springhillwantabe]

Sadly, (and no disrespect intended to silent) but Silent is exacltly what deer hunting in KS has become. The sport of it and old friends are gone, it all about money and selling deer to the highest bidder. It's his land and he can do what he wants with it but the average Kansan is getting pushed out of the game. This is the reason that public land is so over ran with hunters, the average guy has very few places to hunt any more.

Capn, you better not be selling my seat!

lad sounds like your moving out just in time looks like your gettin an attitude like they say some of those springhill people have??

[Fish Taxi]

Sadly, (and no disrespect intended to silent) but Silent is exacltly what deer hunting in KS has become. The sport of it and old friends are gone, it all about money and selling deer to the highest bidder. It's his land and he can do what he wants with it but the average Kansan is getting pushed out of the game. This is the reason that public land is so over ran with hunters, the average guy has very few places to hunt any more.

Capn, you better not be selling my seat!

I don't think the problem is rooted in landowners or outfitters, although some would certainly like to blame them for the lack of access. My .02, the real problem is the trophy craze currently going on among deer hunters. Everybody "needs" to have bragging rights at the barber shop or at work, and they are willing to pay whatever it costs to get the biggest rack. I saw a potential top 10 deer shot this year South of JC, and I really wonder what the rack is worth... A pretty penny, I imagine...

Anyway, when people are willing to pay whatever it costs for trophy deer, it encourages people to feed and manage the population for trophies. All of a sudden, hunting isn't a pastime for landowners, it's a revenue source. And who can blame them? It's really no different than putting an oil well on your land, mining for precious metals, or planting whatever crop is the most lucrative (corn).

If we were all just hunting for food and not the precious antlers, it wouldn't be this way. But unless and until people decide that antlers are not that important, the trophy hunting industry will continue to expand and gain momentum. Just my opinion...

The good news is there are still plenty of outstanding farms for a person to hunt, all one has to do is ask permission... to shoot a doe.