Just when you think you have it all figured out, plans change due to unforeseen circumstances. Long story short, I was not drawn for a Kansas whitetail tag for the upcoming 2016 archery season and I’m bummed, to say the least. Well, I guess I can say not getting drawn was not unforeseen but it was certainly something that was out of my control. Kansas has been my “go to” state for the last two seasons and ever since that first hunt almost three years ago, I’ve been in love. Although my number one focus in 2016 is the September archery elk season in Colorado, I can’t imagine not hunting whitetails come late October when the rut starts kicking in.

Last Summer I spent a few days knocking on doors in Western Kansas and picked up two good farms to hunt for 2015. After learning the properties and understanding the general deer movement from the first season, I was hoping to put that intel to good use for this coming Fall. I will miss that I’m not going to be able to build a history with the deer I encountered from the year before. I will sincerely miss hanging trail cameras, scouting, and hanging tree stands for the upcoming season. And above all, I will miss the relationships I’ve developed with the landowners who were so great to me, welcomed me openly into their homes, and made me feel like a part of their family.

Ok enough with the pity party… shit happens and life goes on! I’ve come up with a few options to consider for the 2016 deer season:

Purchase a Left Over Kansas Tag

This seems like the ideal scenario on paper but the problem is that it would require an eight-hour drive as compared to my five-hour drive last season, making the weekend hunts tough to manage due to a full-time job. The units that I want to hunt have zero leftover tags and I will have little time to scout due to the upcoming elk season.

I also have to consider the monetary costs of this tag in addition to the time spent traveling. This tag costs $550 which is a lot of money to spend for just a few opportunities to hunt.

It will be a tough to decision not to hunt in Kansas considering I shot a great buck in 2015!

Read more about my successful 2015 Hunting Season in Kansas.

Purchase a Nebraska OTC Tag

The area I have been scouting via Google Earth in Nebraska is roughly a six-hour drive from where I live, which means it will be manageable for weekend hunts. Nebraska also holds a good amount of public land and is known for great deer hunting. The downfall is that hunting pressure will be higher and private land would be harder to gain access.

Another thing to consider is that the Nebraska rifle season falls right in the middle of November, giving me a small window to hunt before the orange army moves in. A positive is that a non-resident tag only costs around $300, which is a pretty good deal in my mind.

Hunt an OTC Unit in Colorado

Colorado implemented an OTC whitetail tag for select units on the front range a few years back and it would only be a three-hour drive to the areas I am looking at. The downfall to this is that the season only runs December 1 – December 31, meaning I would miss the rut. Also, the whitetail densities in these units are low so my whitetail sightings would be few and far between.

The good thing is that the price for a resident tag would be a very low cost of around 25 dollars!

Hunt IL On Highly Managed Private Land

I have access to hunt a number of farms in West Central Illinois where the deer hunting is unreal and the stands are already set. Literally, all I have to do is purchase a tag and show up! The negative to this scenario is that I would not be able to hunt multiple outings because I live so far away, meaning I would only have 1 week to whitetail hunt this year. Also, I really enjoy the challenge and take pride in the work that goes into hunting new farms and/or public land.

Decisions, Decisions

I’ve been trying to wrap my head around what I’m going to do for this Fall and I’m hoping that by writing this article it will help me make my decision. The good thing is that I have a few months to decide. In fantasy land, I would hunt 10 states and take off three months of work to do so, but the reality is that I have limited time and resources so I am forced to choose.

I love this view!

I’m also considering doing the IL hunt in November and then trying my luck with the OTC tag in Colorado where I can hunt the post-rut during December. In this scenario, I would get an awesome week of the whitetail rut and have a closer drive and cheaper tag for late season Colorado.

What are your thoughts? Leave me some words of advice in the comments section below!

1. Kill a Bull Elk With a Bow
2. Join a Conservation Effort
3. Kill a Mature Buck With a Bow Via Spot and Stalk

I know it won’t be easy and there is a pretty good chance, let me rephrase that, a very good chance I will come up short in one or two categories but it doesn’t matter. At the end of the day as long as I have put in 100% of my effort towards making this happen, I will tip the odds in my favor and 2016 could be a year that I will never forget. I’m ready for a good challenge!

1. Kill A Bull Elk With My Bow

One of the many reasons for making the move to Colorado was to be immersed in a new landscape where I could hunt elk and mule deer in my back yard. A rocky mountain elk hunt has been on the bucket list for quite some time and now I can literally walk out my door hunt these amazing animals. It is truly a dream come true.

Knowing that an elk hunt is on the horizon, I am already starting my preparation for September by reading a very informative book titled Elk Hunting Guide: Skills, Gear and Insight written by Tom Airhart. I am literally starting from ground zero for this hunt so I figured this would be a good way to expand my knowledge on elk behavior, strategies, and resources I will need for the backcountry.

This is starting point for my 2016 elk hunt in Colorado.

In addition to reading material, I have been scouring Google Earth like a mad man. Damn, you can really spend a lot of time looking at the computer screen. Sometimes I’ll start scrolling and scouting certain areas and the next thing I know, 3 hours has passed and my eyes are shot and my head hurts! Now that I live mountains, scouting on foot will be much easier and more accessible considering some of these places are in very close proximity to where I live. This is such an advantage over the nonresident hunters who don’t have the time to do the scouting before they arrive.

I spend way too much time on Google Earth!

I am also looking forward to hunting elk with my good friend, Joey Wilson, in 2016 where we will be chasing those big boys in the mountains together! We didn’t get to hunt with each other last Fall so it will be good to make up for lost time!

2. Join A Conservation Effort

One of the hot topics of the hunting industry lately is conservation and hunters responsibility to be involved in all aspects of land management, habitat preservation and giving back to the lifestyle we love. If you haven’t listened to the Wired To Hunt Podcast with Shane Mahoney, stop what you are doing right now and turn up the volume. All sportsmen and women who are avid hunters should take the time to really soak in what Shane has to say because hunting is not a right, it is a privilege.

As I get older I put more emphasis each year on giving back and as a hunter, gatherer and fisherman, I believe it is my role to give back to the landscape I utilize to harvest my food. I have befriended a local DOW Officer and he has agreed to put me to work where I can volunteer my time this Spring and Summer to help make Colorado a better place for the animals, plants, and species I love. I’ll let you know what my tasks end up being in an upcoming blog post this Spring.

3. Kill A Mature Buck Via Spot and Stalk

I damn near completed this goal this past Fall in Kansas on November 7th but the stars just didn’t align. Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades! I was 2 hours into a stalk on a bedded buck with a doe and I was doing everything right. Long story short, I crawled to within 20 yards and missed the shot on a 160” eleven point. To say I was devastated would be the understatement of the year!

This is me failing at a spot and stalk attempt. Look at how sneaky I am! Photo Credit: Steve Trowbridge

Spot and stalk is exhilarating and is unlike any other style of hunting. One of the more valuable tools I have in the bag to raise my level of confidence for a stalk is my Heads Up Decoy. Read my full interview with Garrett Roe, owner of Heads Up Decoy HERE. If you haven’t hunted from the ground, I highly recommend you try it at some point in your life because it is an adrenaline rush like no other. Speaking of an adrenaline rush, if you need a little inspiration make sure you check out the Whitetail Adrenaline DVD’s as they are the best in the business at this style of hunting.

I plan on hunting in Kansas again in 2016 and I plan on killing a mature whitetail on the ground, face to face, mono e mono. Let’s hope I get drawn for the tag!

It’s Good To Set Goals

Setting goals helps push you harder when your season isn’t going exactly as planned and will act as a reminder of the expectations you set for yourself at the beginning of the year. Hunting is a mental game as much as it is physical and when I’m deep into the backcountry, tired as hell from chasing elk to no avail, I’ll think back to my goals and it might be the spark I need to keep going. When I have the choice to either to sleep in on a Saturday morning or go get my hands dirty to support wildlife conservation, I’ll reflect back to this article. When I’m three hours into a spot and stalk on a Kansas whitetail and my patience is wearing thin, I’ll remember why I’m here.

Setting goals will not only push you further, it will also help reflect on your season at the end of the year and measure your progress. Regardless of the outcome, as long I can look back and say I gave a 100% effort, my season will be a success even if it’s just in my own eyes.

What are your “hunting goals” for the year 2016? Share them below in the comments – I would really like to hear from you!

-Adam Parr

Kansas is one of my favorite states to hunt whitetail deer for a number of reasons:

1. It is a draw tag that is relatively easy to acquire for non-residents.
2. The hunting pressure is significantly less than Michigan and other parts of the midwest.
3. Kansas grows lots of big bucks.
4. There is an abundance of public land that holds quality deer.
5. Other wildlife such as grouse, bobcat, badger, pheasant, and hawks are abundant.
6. My hunting property is only a five-hour drive from where I live.

For all of these reasons combined is why I LOVE to hunt in Kansas!

Putting On The Miles

I woke up last Saturday morning feeling a bit tired and groggy after a two-day event in Denver but knowing that good hunting land opportunities were on the horizon, I crawled out of bed and pushed on. I had done a bit of homework prior to this trip and located a general area (three counties) where I wanted to hunt so I headed out to the open prairie.

Since I already had a tri-county already in mind, I resorted to using the Arc GIS app for iPhone, developed by ESRI. This shows you on a real GPS map where Walk-In Hunter Access (WIHA) properties are in proximity to your location. The cool feature is that it is an interactive map so you can click on various properties and it shows you how much acreage the property is, what species can be hunted and what dates they can be accessed. Click HERE to find out more information about WIHA maps and related software programs.

Zoning In

After I had a general area picked out, I started to key in on areas with concentrated WIHA property. My next step was to then start zoning in on river bottoms with trees in close proximity (within a mile) to crop fields for optimal travel routes and food. Once I had located a property with these characteristics, I drove to the area and put the binoculars to work!

After spending some time glassing fields, river bottoms, and ravines, I decided that this particular section was worthy of trying to get additional private land access so I set out to start knocking on doors. It never hurts to have more options! “I have way too much hunting property” said NO ONE EVER!

The First House

First off let me start by saying that the people in Western Kansas are some of the nicest people I have ever met in my life. By the time I pulled up to the first driveway it was already 95 degrees outside with about 90% humidity and it takes by breath away when I leave the comforts of an air-conditioned truck. After knocking on the door I was greeted by a young guy about my age named John. I explain why I am there and he invites me out of the blazing sun into their cool air-conditioned house. I thought to myself “Wow, you don’t find people too often these days who just let you in to their house after 10 seconds of conversation”

I get to talking with him and his family and next thing I know he gives me permission to hunt the family farm. He starts explaining all of the property in the area and he offers to ride along in my truck to show me exactly where each parcel is, where to park and the best access locations. His family doesn’t really hunt and John is moving to Illinois to move in with his fiancé. I seriously can’t thank him enough for him letting me access 5,000 acres of good hunting property. John, I owe you big time!

My Secret Scouting Weapon

Below is a quick 30 second video of me using my QuietKat to quickly scout potential ground. It came in useful after gaining access to some new property!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LflqzunmRo

The Next Attempts

After leaving John’s house I headed up the road to talk to the neighbors to the East because the property had good characteristics and was hoping for more success. Upon talking with the owner, he stated that his son-in-law hunts the farm, meaning no hunting privileges for me. It was still really good to talk with him because he said there are some big ones in the area and he had a pile of shed antlers in the yard to prove it! I thanked him for his time and headed on my way.

My next move was to head to the neighbors to the West. After speaking with him I was also denied access due to other people already hunting the property. Once again, I received great info from talking with him and he too had a bunch of fresh sheds lying around the yard. He said he doesn’t actively look for them but instead picks them up out of the pastures when he lays an eye on one.

After leaving the last farm I chose to head further East. After a few miles of driving I spotted a few good farms mixed with river bottoms and crop fields so I had to stop. I too was denied access to these properties because they already had hunters. Both guys mentioned that there were a lot deer in the area and how they wished there weren’t so many!

Picture Time

Below are a few pictures from the open prairie of Kansas. The photo of the building is actually an old school-house. One of the neighbors I talked to said he actually attend school there as a young boy.

My Luck Strikes Again

After many failed attempts I connected on another farm about 5 miles from the first property. This parcel is much smaller at 500 acres, but when you are coming from Michigan, 500 acres is still a lot of hunting ground! Although smaller in size by Kansas standards, I really like the way this property is laid out.

This piece of property is located where a river bottom and a ravine intersect in to each other; both natural funnels. The other reason I really like this piece is because it has a water tank on the property, making it very attractive to thirsty whitetail deer! The river bottoms in the area are dry which could mean great success if I can set up a stand or ground blind along the travel route to and from the water tank.

Scouting Trip Recap

All in all I was very pleased with my results for the trip. I scouted thousands of acres of public land and picked up approximately 5,500 acres of solid private land to hunt on this fall. To say I’m excited for the season to begin is an understatement!

Already, I have learned a lot about the area by seeing it in person and talking with local land owners. In the coming weeks I will write a blog post showing how I will hunt these properties and how my tactics will change as the season progresses. Hopefully in a few weeks I will be able to get back out there with some trail cameras and really begin scouting.

In closing, if you are actively looking for private hunting land this Fall don’t be afraid to knock on doors. Sometimes it can be intimidating but the more you do it, the easier it becomes. It’s a numbers game; meaning the more houses you approach, the more likely you will be able to gain access. Keep going and never give up.

-Adam