Kansas Hunt
 

I am thinking about taking a trip to Kansas in 2011 for a spring rio hunt. I was wondering how access to the WIHA areas work. Are they first come first serve? or do you contact the land owner? Also I was looking at the North Central part of the state. Is this a good area for Rios.

I have downloaded the Spring Turkey Atlas and have the maps, so if anybody has a suggestion for an area let me know so I can do some more research.

As far as a license. I saw that the non-res hunting license was $71, and the two turkey tag was $40 something. Is that all I need to buy? Are they over-the-counter? It also looks like the season runs from the April through May, so my license is good for the whole time?

I know those are a lot of questions, but any help I could get would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Dan

I went on a hunt there this past spring and it was great hunt. I did go with a guide but did see alot of public access land. I cant help too much with the access to the Walk In Areas because I was with a guide.

There were tons of birds, both Rio's and Eastern's. My guide was located in Hanover, KS which was about 2.5-3 hr drive from Kansas City in a NNW direction. We were about 5 miles south of the Nebraska border along Route 36.

As far as tags go, they are over the counter. When we got into Kansas City Airport, picked up the rental car and headed to Cabelas. Went to the customer service and purchased our tags there. The total cost was right around $135 for the hunting license plus two turkey tags. Your license will be good for the whole time plus it will also be good for the rest of the hunting season. If you wanted to hunt deer for example in the fall you would only need to draw a deer tag.

I hope this helps a little bit and sorry I couldn't help more with the Walk In Areas. I can give information on my guide if you are interested.

Good luck with the hunt.

Thank you that helps alot. I will check out that area. It sounds like it is in the area I was thinking about.

Dan

PM sent.

looking to do the same thing.... DIY Rio Turkey hunt this spring in KS....I'm in IL.

Walk in Access is on a first come first served basis. No need to find or contact the land owner. If you are looking to take a "pure" Rio's, that could be tough. The birds in the N.C. area of Kansas seem to be a hybrid of Rio/Merriams/and or Eastern depending on how far east you go. Some look like Rio's, some look like Merriams, some look like a cross. Lots of birds to be worked out there though! I've hunted around the Mankato KS. area the past couple of years and that is what I have seen around there.

Paintbrush,

The Mankato area was the area I was thinking about. Did you hunt the walkin areas? If so could you tell me which ones. I have the Atlas with all the areas numbered. I am not concerned with a Slam, so I guess they don't have to be a pure Rio or Merriam, although that would be cool.

Dan

I hunted with a small outfiiter on a semi-guided hunt. I did check out one walk-in piece and was not that impressed with it. Lovewell Reseivor has a bunch of public land around it you can hunt on. It gets some early pressure, but not a lot. Cann't tell you much about the other walk-in. PM me if you would like some details on the outfitter I hunted with or anything else I can maybe help you out on from what I have seen from down there. I'll probably be going back myself again this year.
Bill

As some have stated the walk in is first come first served. I wouldnt worry to much about it. There are thousands upon thousands of acres of public ground. And depending on the area you could probably get on some private ground if you tried. And all you need is your license and tags, and they are good the entire season. And I am fairly certain they are over the counter. I dont know about the area though but I would guess there are still pure bred Rios up there.

One thing to make note of... If you plan on buying a second tag, do it up-front, because the tag won't be good till the next day.
I hunt with a small outfitter and have enjoyed some spectacular hunts, including harvesting several multiple bearded birds.

Gman

That is good to know.

Thanks for all the great info. Keep it coming.

Dan