Given that I didn’t have the luxury of scouting every weekend, I needed an extra edge in conjunction with running trail cameras. At this point in time, I had no information related to deer densities and if there were even deer that I would be interested in pursuing on the recently acquired properties. Long story short, I was looking to take a quick inventory on any big bucks roaming the farms I had access to hunt. To help me do this I implemented the use of Big Tine Fortified Deer Blend!

A Needle In A Haystack

Now before you jump to conclusions about the 7,000 acres of hunting land, let me paint you a better picture by stating that the acreage is not continuous and only about 1,000 acres is what I would deem “hunt-able”. Out of that 1,000 acres, there are less than 10 acres of trees, the landscape is comprised mainly of open grass, small draws and has a total of two crop fields. Do you get the picture? If not, I posted a snapshot below for your viewing pleasure.

With all due respect, I’m not hunting Iowa, people! This is Western Kansas, where the only trees you will find are located in and around dried up river bottoms or in the immediate areas surrounding homesteads. The wide open prairie makes the deer extremely tough to pattern so just hanging cameras in a “hopeful” location wasn’t going to yield the best results. Big Tine was the answer to my early season scouting success!

Yielding Results

Upon my first use and within hours of putting out Big Tine’s Cherry Rush Last Call, I had a mature buck in front of the camera during daylight. Below are a few trail camera pictures showing me putting out the mixture and shortly after, catching a mature buck coming out of the bedding area from behind to investigate. Although he is not a giant, he is still mature and I was blown away at how quickly Big Tine was able to bring him in front of the camera. See my trail cam pictures below where it shows the dates and times only hours apart on the first day I put out Big Tine.

One of the more successful camera locations was where I put out the Big Tine 30-06 formula; a perfect blend of minerals, corn, sunflower seeds, and cherry aroma to spark their curiosity! Within 2 days I had pictures of 5 different bucks ranging in size from 150” – 170”. Right then and there I had confirmed two things; Big Tine really does work and I had hit the deer hunting property lottery! See below for a sampling of trail cam pictures of the giants I was able to capture on camera. To view the full card pull, check out the Transition Wild Facebook Page.

All Season – All Purpose

My original use of Big Tine Deer Feed was used as a tool to help with my early season scouting efforts but I will also utilize Big Tine for my Spring / Summer mineral sites. Because of the desolate environment that Western Kanas deer are subject to, they do not receive maximum nutrition through their everyday diet. With the help of Whitetail Institute’s Imperial 30-06 Mineral/Vitamin Supplement, Big Tine is the perfect supplement for enhanced antler growth and an overall healthier deer herd.

Although I can’t credit Big Tine entirely for a successful deer season, it did play a big part in my scouting efforts which was the first step towards completing my end goal of killing a mature whitetail in 2015. After many failed attempts and close encounters, the cards were finally dealt in my favor and I was able to arrow my biggest whitetail to date on November 20th. To read more about that memorable hunt, click HERE.

Don’t just take my word for it. Stop by your local retailer today and pick up a few bags of Big Tine and start experimenting on your own property. They have a wide range of products in addition to deer feed including; food plot seed, cover scents and mineral blocks. Regardless of what you use, I think you will be very pleased with the results!

To find out more information about Big Tine, please visit their website at: www.bigtine.com.

-Adam

As mentioned in a previous blog post titled “Kansas Whitetail Deer Scouting Trip – July 2015”, I was able to pick up over 5,000 acres of private ground to hunt on this Fall. To be honest, acquiring the land was the easy part and now comes the meticulous planning and scouting to get a good buck on the ground this season.

The Real Work Begins

After a week long work-related road trip I was able to swing back to Kansas on my way home to Colorado to begin dissecting the area I will be hunting. Not all of the land I have access to is what I would call “prime habitat” but I would say about 70% is a mixture of agriculture, CRP and river bottoms.

I am hunting two separate landowner properties which are about 8 miles apart from each other in Western Kansas. Both farms have multiple parcels that are all within close proximity which allows me to have a good mix of terrain and area to cover. I almost prefer this because I can drive around to each property and glass from afar if I wanted to do a spot and stalk hunt.

Prior to putting boots on the ground I did many hours of research on google maps to get an idea of how I thought the deer were using the area and how they utilized the local terrain. This helps cut down on the time needed to physically scout the area and allows you to immediately zone in on areas much quicker.

Hanging Trail Cameras

A few weeks ago I purchased four trail cameras made by Covert Scouting Cameras and so far I am very happy with my purchase. I was amazed at how small they are and have heard a lot of great reviews. I decided to go with two MP-E6 infrared cameras and two MP-8 cameras with black flash. The MP-E6 camera is their lowest priced camera but still features a good 6 megapixel picture and in fared flash.  The MP-8 black flash cameras are the middle of the road and feature a camouflage pattern, black flash and an 8 megapixel picture quality. Check out their wide selection of scouting cameras at: www.covertscoutingcameras.com

I hung one camera in a crossing point in a dry river bottom, I hung two more in a funnel area next to a low lying area with lots of cover, and the last camera was positioned over a water tank. While hanging the cameras I did scare out a few does but did not see any bucks on the hoof.

Also, at each camera site I utilized Big Tine attractants which included mineral mixes, salt blocks and shelled corn. This will bring in the deer and will allow me to more quickly inventory the area for bucks I want to target this Fall. Visit www.bigtine.com for more information on their products!

Setting My Sights For 140”

I hate to admit it but the biggest buck I shot in Michigan was 115” which isn’t all that bad considering the majority of the state follows “If its’ brown it’s down” rule. Last year was my first season hunting in Kansas and from what I can tell, 140” isn’t out of the question. There are very few hunters, vast amounts of land, abundant food and good cover for whitetails to grow old! I know I am in a good area because this 180” buck was found dead on the farmers property a few years ago. I was happy to pose for a quick picture!

Next weekend cannot come soon enough and I am anxiously waiting to get back to the farms and check my trail cameras! If I end up getting a good buck or two I will begin formulating a more detailed plan of attack and maybe even hang a few stands and brush in a few ground blinds. If I come up empty handed I will revise my plan of attack and tweak my cameras to different locations. I love deer hunting!

-Adam

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