Thread: A little Kansas Help please!

Hey guys... I am from central Arkansas but every spring i find my self heading north west to turkey hunt up there in Kansas. I have been hunting just outside of Fort Scott on a friend of mines place for the last 6 years but like every good thing has to come to an end when some big money folks from KC came down and leased the land for hunting rights. I will still be heading up but looking at some of the public Walk In areas and really wanting to go a little farther west to get into some Rios. Does anybody have any suggestions so I am not going completly blind and waist a morning some where there are not many turkeys. Respond to this,PM me or shoot me an email at gobblergetter01@yahoo.com. Thanks for your help in advance!!!!

Parker

Welcome to KS,

I use to be a big turkey hunter about 5 years ago and we had some crazy land. KS public gets hit very hard with hunters because of the lack of land owner access to hunters caused by leasing. That said if you scout hard then you can find birds, I would recommend Melvern and Pomona Res as two great options for you. If you want to go more to the west then you can find some Rio's also over around Kanopolis Res west of Salina.

You can also get access to land if you knock on doors. I use to live north of the Hutchinson area and the turkey hunting around there is unreal. We use to have Primos Camera crews out to hunt with us and they said over and over they had never seen anything like it. One last thing, most of the Turkey in KS are not True eastern or Rio's. Most flocks will have a blend and you have pick out the bird that shows the most characteristics of what you want. Several time I have been there then two tom's where killed side by side with one being very dark (eastern) and one being very light (Rio)... there are very few true blood lines in KS.

Best of luck…

Originally Posted by Springhill Duckman

Welcome to KS,

I use to be a big turkey hunter about 5 years ago and we had some crazy land. KS public gets hit very hard with hunters because of the lack of land owner access to hunters caused by leasing. That said if you scout hard then you can find birds, I would recommend Melvern and Pomona Res as two great options for you. If you want to go more to the west then you can find some Rio's also over around Kanopolis Res west of Salina.

You can also get access to land if you knock on doors. I use to live north of the Hutchinson area and the turkey hunting around there is unreal. We use to have Primos Camera crews out to hunt with us and they said over and over they had never seen anything like it. One last thing, most of the Turkey in KS are not True eastern or Rio's. Most flocks will have a blend and you have pick out the bird that shows the most characteristics of what you want. Several time I have been there then two tom's where killed side by side with one being very dark (eastern) and one being very light (Rio)... there are very few true blood lines in KS.

Best of luck…

Thank ya there brother man! Yes even as far east as Bourbon county we have killed turkeys that have lots of characteristics of Rios. From coloring to the sound of there gobble. THere are a few places that i can still hunt in Bourbon county but i believe it would make me sick being in the area and knowing what i had before. I will put in some work and look at the areas you mentioned. I really do appreciate your help!

If you see a bewildered looking guy in the woods at Pomona wearing a ridiculous polyester jacket, an almost hunter orange neck tie, and tortoise shell spectacles please don't shoot.

Good luck!

Originally Posted by gobblergettervideo

I will put in some work and look at the areas you mentioned.

Here's the link to the KDWP's atlas of 'walk-in-hunting' and other public areas.

2009 Spring Turkey Atlas / Hunting & Fishing Maps by County / Locations / KDWP Info / KDWP - KDWP