I hunted there back in the late 1970s, and the mule deer, on average, were the largest that I saw in Kansas. The red dirt draws seemed to hold the biggest bucks. Of course, this is ancient history and it sounds like the bucks are being over harvested. Not many people bothered to go that far from eastern Kansas back then. Most people who wanted to hunt mule deer went to Colorado or Wyoming.
I suspect that recurrent drought has probably knocked reproduction and recruitment in the head, as well. If I were in the situation that you describe and could afford the tag without needing to harvest a deer to justify the expense, I would be up there every time I could get away. It's nice shortgrass prairie country.
