Kansas whitetail advice needed

[allank]

This is my third year hunting and last year I got my first whitetail. So relatively I am still a novice at this despite reading a lot. I hunt in very east of Kansas in rolling land with forest and patchwork fields with forest/brush borders. For several reasons I can only hunt in the morning until about 1pm to 3pm. Currently my hunting is all fixed position, sitting on the ground at known concentration points. I'm using a lever action 30-30 with open iron sights.

First day (Wed) was 35F and up to 35mph so deer (sensibly!) were bedded down. Saw no deer so walked through a very bushy bedding area and two whitetails saw/heard me first. Was impossible to walk quietly enough with the leaves.

Second day was colder, no wind initially but picked up. Saw no deer, and had to leave early.

Third day (today) was even colder but still/no wind. Scared off what sounded like a large buck getting to the position early at 6am (drat!). Saw a large doe at 50 yards standing still in the clear at 6:30am (too early!). Finally at 10am saw 4 does walking in line returning to another bedding area. However they were within the treeline behind trees/brush about 80 yards away and I could not get a clear shot due to a combination of distance, their walking speed, trees/brush in front of them, and my comfort level taking the shot.

The bedding areas on my property are heavily wooded or brushy and also have thick areas of Eastern Red Ceder. Pretty much impossible to walk through them and get a sight picture on a deer before they have heard you coming.

The full moon is not helping as they appear to be feeding at night and returning early. Last year I got my doe leaving the bedding area in the morning to feed so it was easier. From the lack of gun shots in the surrounding area compared to last year I am not the only hunter who is having challenges.

Any suggestions on alternative tactics for this season, or should I just continue trying to catch them at a choke point? [I'll post a separate thread later about some land changes I want to make for next year.]

 

[schlockinz]

If you got some kin or family that you're willing to hunt with, have them do a drive, you might get something then, wait till wait or end of season to do it and you might get a big ol' buck thats bedding in the woods (assuming that you don't enter the woods that often, or better yet, at all).

 

[jbkebert]

Where are you at in Eastern Kansas? I live and hunt north of Topeka about 20 miles. We also own another 80 acres in Nemaha county and will be up there Sunday hunting. The last few days the deer have been moving later in the morning and earlier in the afternoon. Seems like they are waiting out the morning cold and taking advantage of the late afternoon sun. I have been seeing most movement between 10:00-10:45am and 3:45-4:30 pm. I am taking a young man out this Sunday on his first deer hunt. He took one of our hunter ed classes in October. I was showing some of the instructors pictures of my boys deer. This young man reconized the pictures from the THR. Small world huh; any way if you would like to get together sometime and check out your hunting area or one of mine let me know. Perhaps we can pattern your deer and get you a better oppurtunity.

 

[jbkebert]

Land changes sound like they may help. Clearing out some of the pasture pines in limited quanites. Several years ago I cleared some land and put in a 7 acre food plot. I sowed red clover, white clover, alfalfa, chickory, turnip, and a 12 row parcel of corn. Hold deer and turkey like crazy. Be selective when removing your cedars. Take out enough to open up a few areas but not so many that deer don't feel secure. Also those cedars make great blinds. I have three or four that are pretty decent sized. I have cut some of the lower branches but not many. Cedar make a great windbreak to nestle into. The branches swaying in the breeze will mask alot of your movements, and the smell of cedar will disrupt your scent. I think they work pretty darn good for cover on a ridge or hill side.

 

[allank]

jb...that makes you pretty close, about 90 minutes away. Your observation matches mine today. This weekend I should be able to be out all day, so should see the early afternoon movement I've been missing. Also thanks for your offer...I'll maybe be in touch. Next year I've got at least one trail camera in the budget which should really help. Right now I'm only working off field marks (foot prints, rubbings etc). I know where large numbers of deer cross, but not when and in what weather or moon conditions.

Also thanks for the land suggestion - that sounds like a perfect idea. One of the large bedding areas is about 8 acres of pretty dense cedars and sumac, surrounded by other forest and more open areas. Clearing some of that out like you suggest would give great hunting but still leave the deer plenty of cover. It is also on a NE uphill to SE downhill slope, so hunting from the NE side downhill lets me hunt away from the road with N, W, or S winds shooting downhill into my land and a creek with a my matching hillside on the other side as a backstop.

 

[jbkebert]

You have a cold front moving through late morning to early afternoon on Sunday. I would be in the woods before that front comes through. Deer will feed heavy before that snow that we are supposed to get. Sounds like a possibilty of crappy weather Sunday late afternoon through Tuesday night. A deer will have his belly full and bedded down during a storm. If everything passes by Tuesday night. Wednesday morning would also be a pretty good time. What food sources do you have on your place or close to your place? I used to have problems before I put in the food plot. Deer would bed down on our land but would travel for food. The place north of use had soy beans and some corn. I didn't have permission to hunt that land. So trying to figure out when they were coming and going became a trick. Now the deer stay pretty well put. The bucks still travel but does are content. The most deer I have seen at one time on my place was. 3 bucks, 24 does/yearlings, and around 40-45 turkey all in the food plot at one time. I had looked into mixes like bio-logic and similar. Ended up just going to Tarwaters farm and home and buying the seed for 25% of the cost.

 

[allank]

jb..again thanks for the local advice. I was wondering about that weather pattern and what to do.

Unfortunately my land sounds like what yours used to be like. I do not have a food plot and the deer travel north or south to other areas, which as you note makes working out when they are going and coming challenging. I have 180 acres so should be able to fit in a reasonable food plot somewhere suitable between the trees

 

[allank]

schlockinz..thanks. Unfortunately my family like eating the venison but do not want to get involved in the business of getting it to the table. They are too city-fied and like meat to be delivered in neat packages. Of course I was like that too until recently since last year was my first doe, but I had a good set of instructions to work from.

 

[jbkebert]

Well good luck in whatever you decide. If you can swing it make your food plot in the middle of a clearing among some thickets. A near by water source will also aid you. If you don't want to spend the time to round up a area. Wait for it to die off then plow under, then fertilize, you get the drill. A application of pasture guard from you extension office. Will kill off most weeds not all but most. The result will be a cleaner native grass that will be healthier and more attrive to deer. If you have poor fertility in your soil clover can be over seeded and will take over. Mow the area as low as you can. Clover and most weeds can't grow in thick lush grass. But if you have spotty grass and a low nitrogen content clover will take off.

 

[allank]

No luck so far. I had to work today (Mon) and tomorrow (Tue). Although Wed is going to be very cold and windy I'm going to go down and see if anything moves and also identify current trails in the 4" to 6" of snow we are getting. I had been hunting on the north side of the property but now reckon the deer are moving to the south-east, so I setup a new shooting position. Hopefully I'll get something to eat in the remaining 5 days of the season!

 

[jbkebert]

Sunday didn't go so well for us either. I took that young man from the hunter ed class on his first deer hunt. After seeing nothing the first couple hours. I decided to do a drive up a draw. I don't think he saw the buck at first but saw it in time to get a shot off. A nice eight point trotting away in no real hurry. He took a shot with my .243 from about 65-70 yards. He waited a while and found a little blood among alot of white hair. Not good. Anyway we waited a hour or so before starting to track. We spent a around three hours and never cut anymore blood or hair. The hair was bright white and about a inch long. I assume from tail. Anyway I am confident it was not a fatal shot and we left it at that. I felt bad as heck for him but he was charged at getting the oppurtunity to get a shot. We did find a shed so I sent him home with half a rack from last year. Maybe next time we can get a matching set.

 

[Dodahdude]

Are you still hunting or taking a rest in Sac & Fox or Golden Eagle ?

 

[jbkebert]

Golden Eagle has better breakfast and Sac and Fox for dinner. I sure don't spend any money at the slots or tables.

 

[tactikel]

You may try a tree stand, cut some shooting lanes, and you can probably see well into the heavy cover. You wont make all that sound trying to get to the bedding areas.
A game camera can tell you when the deer are moving, and where.
If legal, use bait (deer apples or corn) the deer will come out of the bedding areas to your stand. (be sure to check DNR regs on stands and baiting).
You may fool a buck by rattling some antlers, or using doe in estrus scent.
Good Luck!

 

[allank]

jb..sorry to hear about Sunday. You were right about Wednesday morning.

tactikel..Last Sunday I setup a new shooting position on the south edge of the bedding area, shooting down an internal trail on my property. There were pretty heavy deer tracks crossing that trail. I do need to get deer cameras for next year.

This morning - success! This is my third year hunting, my second whitetail, and my first buck. A 9-point buck, 110 B&C gross, maybe 3.5 to 4.5 years old. I was expecting the deer to cross about 40 to 75 yards out, but this buck walked directly across my lane 20 yards away! One cough, buck stopped, and I took a perfect broadside shot. Interestingly because the shot hit the top of the heart (and both lungs) there was no external blood from the entry or exit wounds (I guess because it was not being pumped).

 

[Gunsafe]

I hunt around LaCygne with a buddy and the deer movement has been minimal on his land. This is VERY unusual for his property. On opening morning we saw nothing until about 4:30. That day we saw some forks and about six or seven does. The second day we saw nothing, the third day we only saw a single fork about 10 minutes before the end of legal light. On the fourth day we saw three does and an eight point buck about 4:45. I took that buck. The day afterwards we only saw one doe again. Very, very odd season. I wonder if the weather this year has them all messed up.

 

[allank]

I agree with the odd season. There seem to be plenty of deer/vehicle accidents or near misses, and a near by friend has plentiful deer on his property. But otherwise it seems all the hunters in our areas are not getting deer which makes both of us pretty unusual this year. And I've heard considerably fewer gun shots this year every morning than last year, even on weekends.

Could it have anything to do with the start of deer season having a full moon? Also it was a cool summer until August when it suddenly got hot.

 

[jbkebert]

Hey nice buck congrats. Sometimes persistance pays off but doesn't make it any less frustrating.

Do a little more scouting next year. Scouting season starts in Feb. Start hunting sheds while they are fresh. Deer don't go hide somewhere to loose there head gear. Walk any rub lines that you have discovered. Also known places where deer jump fences. Sometimes it provides just enough jar to work one loose. Area's that naturally narrow to a kind of hallway will drag antlers as well. When you start finding sheds and pounding the ground you'll figure out deer patterns. March is also a good time but when the grass is green and thick forget about finding sheds other than by luck. Once again congrats on a fine buck.

 

[allank]

Thanks jb. What you said certainly explains something. I've not been scouting until Sept or Oct! Next year I'll start early.

 

[RockinU]

congratulations!

 

[Steve 48]

I never hade a problem with deer in Kansas if you do yout homrwork and scout around and observed there habits and feeding and bedding areas.I would trade that 30/30 in for a good deer rifle like a 270. Most of my shots are 300- 400 yards.

 

[tactikel]

Allank, WELL DONE!!

 

[allank]

Steve...I agree on learning more about their habits, I'm still working on that. But I'm going to keep my 30-30. On my property due to slopes, trees and brush I have few, if any, sight lines that would exceed 150 yards. And so far any deer I've seen have all been within 100 yards, with the two I've taken being within 40 yards. Also personally I just feel the hunting is more of a challenge if the deer have some chance of sensing me.

 

[csd4682]

Thats a nice buck! as far as it being a weird season, we have had similar observations here in VA. It seems to be due to the lack of a good accorn crop. All of us who only have thick woods to hunt have not had great success. You can however, see tons of deer in the fields while driving. In fact I saw 4 right in the front of my truck. thats right, I hit 4 deer with my truck this year, and had never hit a deer in my life before this year. I was fortunate enough to be able to go with some friends to some more open areas and got a couple this year including my first big buck. It really seems though, that the food source is the coulprit this season. I will say also, that we had an amazing accorn crop last year, and the bucks that have been killed this year are huge. Bigger than most of us have ever seen. Next year we will not be so lucky.

 

[countertop]

Nice buck, that's a wall hanger for sure!