Kansas mule deer

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lakedelavan

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Hello everyone I just moved to Kansas and as a resident I’m looking at putting in for my mule deer tag and looking to target them in the NW part of the state around Atwood or St. Francis area On public or WIHA land and was wondering if anyone else had success in this area and if I could bend there ear for a little bit. I’m not looking for exact spots just some advice on hunting Mulies and their terrain. I’m used to deer drives and whitetails in Wisconsin.
 
I have seen a lot of nice mule deer in the northern part southwest Kansas around Finney county. If your only wanting to rifle hunt you could apply for the either species, either sex deer tag. My luck is that when I just get a whitetail tag I end up seeing more mule deer.
 
this is going to seem like the easy answer but if you have the time take a trip out and do some walking you can check it all you want on google earth but walking the land on your own is key. Can Kansas residents draw the mule deer tag easily? I'm not super familiar with the process because as a non resident the tag is pretty expensive vs some other tags that are OTC or easy draw
 
Its a lot easier to draw a tag if not every year but every other and we can use rifle too. I was planning on taking a trip I was just looking for some general insight on what to look for as for terrain for mule deer. Also unfortunately I can't do the lifetime license due to the fact that since I am stationed here for military I can get resident tags but not the lifetime one.
 
lakedelavan said:
Its a lot easier to draw a tag if not every year but every other and we can use rifle too. I was planning on taking a trip I was just looking for some general insight on what to look for as for terrain for mule deer. Also unfortunately I can't do the lifetime license due to the fact that since I am stationed here for military I can get resident tags but not the lifetime one.
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That seems pretty cool to bad you can't do the lifetime good luck no matter hat happens and thanks for your service! As far as terrain I'm not familiar with Western Kansas but same as whitetails look for the food ex) if there are farms muley's will go right to the farms to feed on crops. I'm going to guess it's similar terrain to Nebraska. The deer are found in rolling hills and like to hide in any cuts that they can find that shelter them from the wind. Probably won't be possible there but try and find the highest spot you can that overlooks a lot of terrain. Depending on the water situation out there try and find hidden water sources or sometimes just look for small public pieces of property to investigate. I find that the smaller the piece the less likely people are to check it out
 
The mule deer in Western Kansas seem to favor different crops as I have not seem them together that much. But when you find the fields they like they will be thick.

The usual driving in the early morning and late evening will be a good time to see where they mule deer are.

Once the walk in areas open up you will have a lot more choices for where to hunt.

The second week of Nov in Kansas with a deer tag in your pocket and a bow in your hand is a special time.
 
If your going through the drawing, I assume you will be rifle hunting. Residents can hunt muleys OTC with archery or muzzleloader. During rifle season, I usually use spot and stalk techniques to cover as much ground as possible. Sometimes I'll sit on a field and wait for the deer to come feed. The country in the NW is mostly open, interspersed with big draws.
 
I moved to Kansas mid-2017 so 2018 was my first year to apply as a resident. I drew the rifle either-species tag and hunted the walk-in areas along the Smoky Hill River. I had better luck hiking back into some of the bigger areas compared to trying to cover as much ground as possible in a truck morning/evening. Lots of hunters on the roads but very few willing to walk a mile or two...doesn't take the deer long to figure that out. Next time I go I want to check out the St. Francis area! Curious to hear how it works out for you.
 
I live in nw kansas and will be trying my luck as well. Ill be hitting all the walk in to the west.

Depending on the time of year and how late harvest goes itll effect the whitetails atleast. Im new to mulies as well but im going to hunt them just like i do white tail. Pure luck....
 
Do you have any suggestions on where I might have the best luck finding Kansas Mule Deer in early/late September. I was thinking about the St. Francis or Gove City areas and I would be hunting the WHIA areas. Thanks!
 
saintie said:
Do you have any suggestions on where I might have the best luck finding Kansas Mule Deer in early/late September. I was thinking about the St. Francis or Gove City areas and I would be hunting the WHIA areas. Thanks!
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Look in weedy undisturbed draws, close to crop fields. If you don't find any on one day, check the next. They have big home ranges.

Also, welcome to HT.
 
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Standing corn and milo can make a September hunt tough, as they tend to use those fields as refuge. The crops do offer good cover for a stalk though when you can locate them. One strategy is glassing the smaller WIHA tracts with good native CRP grass in them. Just like with many other areas and species, the hunter who wants to get out of the truck and pack out an animal has a good advantage.
 
In September the muleys are mostly found in the higher hills away from the fields. In some areas they will migrate to the fields at night and return in the predawn. I have hunted ML in the Bird City/ St. Francis areas for whitetails (never ever drew a muley tag) 8-9 times and have seen some stud bucks but they all fit the above pattern. I would see them at night as I traveled to and from my blind on private farms. In winter they will usually migrate to the creek bottoms until March/ April. There are also some big whitetails during this time but they are weather dependent. Cooler/ rainier days and nights and they will be out at dawn and dusk but if it is hot they will be mostly nocturnal. They love standing corn.
 
My families from NW Kansas, and I do a little bird and whitetail hunting out there. I've never hunted mulies up there, but I have a couple deer points and one of these years, maybe this year, I'm gonna get a WT buck tag, and then see where I go from there.

Good luck hunting mulies up there. There's lots of walk in, and I've seen some big deer up there, both whitetails and mulies. Not gonna lie though, a lot of the big deer, especially the mulies I've seen are on private when we were out driving around, looking at the old ranch house and stopping by small town cemeteries and stuff like that.
 
I know this thread is old, but wanted to open up the discussion of the mule deer population crises in KS. The last 10 years we have seen populations plummet in the area we hunt and from other research I have done this is pretty much state wide. Areas that once had 5-10 deer in each section now have none. We are basically down to about 20 mule deer in a 5 mile radius. There are some whitetail scattered around, but they seem to be very cyclical in our area in NW KS. It seems like the drought in 2012 really started the decline and along with that came the EHD outbreak. The state has cut the number of tags and has eliminated the either species doe tag (bad idea from the beginning), but numbers continue to decline. The farming practices have definitely changed as well. Less milo and more corn, little CRP or pasture ground remain, removal of trees and fence lines, all have undoubtedly contributed to this issue. Just wondering what others thoughts are about the current situation.
 
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