Went out to Western KS, Unit 3 hunting with a buddy who is also a member here. We had a great time and had fun scouting and hunting together. We hunted mostly private ground but found out quickly we weren't the only people who had access to the farm we were hunting. Made for some frustrating and difficult times because we found several bucks we wanted to shoot but they would get bumped or shot by neighbors or trespassers or others who had similar access as us but weren't very willing to coordinate efforts with us.

We persevered though and had some luck and had a great time. Always good to spend time with a good friend and "strategize" and scout and game plan for deer. Here are a couple of pics.

Mine was a mistake deer as we had seen a big ten bedded down in a draw this guy came out of that same draw chasing a doe and I saw that he was a decent 10pt and I never paid much attention after that and just focused on getting a shot. Good deer and I'm pleased with him.

My buddy also killed a great deer but it was a deer he had passed earlier in the hunt and maybe he will chime in and tell his story. He was also pleased to be going home with a great deer but it wasn't exactly how he planned the whole thing.

We made great friends with the landowner and his family and will definitely be back in the future. That's what it's all about is spending time with good people and making new friends.

My deer:





My buddy's deer:

Big Deer.

Congrats to both of you.

Great story! You seem to get it done no matter the location or species. Congratulations!

Nice Buck

Nice deer. Kudos to both of you.

Lee,
Nice bucks! Sorry we couldn't connect when I was in that neck of the woods.
We'll make it work soon!

Great buck Lee. Once again congrats

Nice buck, congratulations on your hunt.

Nice deer! Congratulations!

Yep, great trip despite being harrassed by locals and trespassers. I passed on a couple of bigger deer earlier in the hunt waiting on the "big one". I had seen the deer I ended up killing twice, not even giving thought to shooting him.

Funny story on my deer. On the last morning of the hunt, the farmer frantically flagged me down as I was driving past his home to go pick up Ebby and come up with a plan for a mid-day hunt. The farmer was agressively trying to unfreeze the action on an old rusted 30-30 with WD40 when he asked if he could borrow my rifle. His neighbor had called and told him he had glassed "a giant" bedded by a yucca plant in his pasture. I graciously offered him Ebby's rifle which was on the back seat, and also offered to follow him in case he missed and I could shoot back-up. We got down wind and slowly stalked over a few rolling hills in the pasture. As we crested the last hill, a doe bolted and we spotted the buck bedded by the yucca. He immediately stood and gave us a look; the farmer shot and the deer bolted. I took a running 80 yard shot and the deer dropped. We high-fived and went to take a look. Not "a giant" for sure. We were a little dissapointed in his neighbor's assessment of the deer's size. I recognized the deer from the previous two days. Nice buck, just not what I had planned on shooting.

Wow! Thats the kind of deer you go to Kansas for!

Not bad for a "consolation" prize though! Both deer were the typical 250-300lb live weight variety that we aren't used to growing up in the deep south. You can tell in Rusty's pic how big the bodies were on these deer. I'm always amazed how big they are!

Great deer Rusty. Another wonderful trip with great memories.

Lee

Both dandy bucks, congrats!

Did you guys see any muleys there in unit 3? I know you can't hunt them with a rifle as an on resident, but just wondering if you saw many in that area.

Congrats on some nice bucks.

Didn't see any muleys

The landowner says he seems them some and he has some sheds around the house but we didn't see any and we covered a fair amount of ground. We have hunted a place in Unit 1 in the past and there are plenty of Muleys out there.

Congratulations

Dang man looks lIke a great trip and a gorgeous couple of bucks for having to "Settle"! Awesome!

Good going Lee! Great deer despite the problems. I was hoping to get the story, figured you'd get it done. More info for us rifle/bullet/optics looneys?

Good on the both of you!

Great bucks for sure. Loved the pics and story. Good looking country too. Congrats to you guys.

Nice bucks guys, congrats

Cool deer

David, I used my Borden built 280 AI with the Barnes 145 gr LRX bullet. My buck was one of 2 chasing a doe down into a small canyon and I played cat and mouse for a while. She finally popped up on the far side of the canyon at 290 yds or so. I got everything set up and watched her for about 20 min waiting on the bucks to step up behind her. Finally had my deer pop up coming towards me on my side of the canyon. Terrain and grass prevented a good look so I repositioned myself and finally stood up and saw the buck standing about to drop back into the canyon. I took a free handed shot at about 140-150 yds. Bullet was a high shoulder shot and he dropped right there. Bullet zipped right thru with typical small entrance and 1/2 dollar size exit and broke both shoulders and made mush inside the chest.

Thanks Lee. Sounds like a heck of a trip. Better get to MS, they're chasing in the Delta..

Very nice deer. Reminds me of home. I don't know exactly where in KS you were hunting but we used to have a lease up in NW Oklahoma just 3 miles from the KS border. Looks like the same country

We were hunting Unit 3 in the North Central/West part of the state.

David, I'll be down Tuesday. I've heard the same thing as you. Got pics of a 200" typical sent to me from Buzzard Bayou which is 5 miles or less from us.

Lee

I believe I have that pic and another of a 200" plus 5x5. I've just come back, hunted 6 days and saw 23 bucks. Passed a 2 1/2 year old 5x5 on Saturday morning and Wednesday pm and a 23" wide 4x4 that had a very short G2 on his left side but was an older deer. Going back day after Christmas and hope it's still on.

Good luck to you I hope you kill the one that 200" buck was afraid of

Nice deer, looks like good country.

Both are nice deer! Congrats!