Kansas Hunting Triumph: Big Whitetails and Ducks in the Heartland

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On the long list of outdoor activities I enjoy, whitetail hunting falls below both duck hunting and panfishing. So when Micah Collins mentioned we might be able to find time to do both of the latter once we tagged out on deer, he all but signed a death warrant on the first buck that might appear in front of me the next morning.

It’s not that I don’t like deer hunting, or mean to disparage the 11 million Americans who eagerly anticipate the opening day of deer season. It’s just that I learned to deer hunt stalking Nebraska’s Sandhills for muleys, and would rather take the game to them than sit in a box waiting for a whitetail to walk by. Patience has never been a virtue I possess, but admit when I do get the chance to hunt deer west of the 100th meridian, I’m reminded what makes the endeavor so popular. And when that chance happens to come in Kansas, it doesn’t take long to realize true trophy-sized whitetails can make even the most jaded deer hunter fall apart.

Big Kansas Whitetails

When it came to picking a name for his whitetail-hunting operation, Collins may not score points for creativity. Like most of his generation, the young man does understand how the Internet works, and, specifically, what search engine optimization can do for a fledgling business. Big Kansas Whitetails isn’t just the name of his hunting operation, it also happens to be the words most hunters type into Google when researching hunting outfitters in the state, which then directs them right to the Big Kansas Whitetails website.

Internet marketing is just one of Collins’s well-honed skills. He also knows how to find trophy whitetails in the wood-lined farmlands an hour-or-so southwest of Kansas City. His photo gallery of big bucks taken by clients during the company’s relatively short timeline is as impressive as they come, and a phone full of recent trail cam pics proves Collins is in the business for the long haul. However, that long-term vision doesn’t mean heavy-handed management. Collins doesn’t saddle his hunters with a minimum-score requirement. While he does encourage the taking of mature bucks, his No. 1 goal is to send hunters home happy. (And fat, if his wife Abby’s home cooking is any indication.)

The night before opening day, Collins scrolled through his phone, showing off photos of the bucks that had been showing up on camera that week. The Kansas rifle season typically begins around the time when the calendar flips from November to December, and the deer were mostly in a post-rut pattern of filling themselves up on feed. Still, there’s always the chance a late-estrus doe could kick off another round of rut activity. Collins stopped on one particular photo of a well-framed eight-point buck that was just kicking off a ninth tine. The deer had the gray face and dark forehead of a mature buck.

“This guy has been hitting the bait right at first light every morning,” said Collins. “I think I’ll put you in that blind tomorrow.”

“Sound good to me,” I replied, knowing I really didn’t have much say in the matter. Trust your guide, as they always say, and when it comes to whitetail hunts, that means sitting where you’re told.

A Slight Delay

Hunting over bait is standard (and legal) practice in Kansas, so I wasn’t surprised to see the dark outline of a feeder about 100 yards in front of my box blind the next morning. As the sun crept closer to breaking the horizon, a few does came and went from the bait station, nibbling away at the kernels of gold scattered around before trotting back into the surrounding woodlands. The blind sat in the far corner of a large field, overlooking a small finger of timber pointing toward a deep, woody draw.

Shooting light arrived, enhanced by a skiff of snow remaining from a recent Thanksgiving storm. A clear November sunrise followed 30 minutes later without any sign of the buck that had otherwise been such a regular visitor to the bait. When this happens, I typically run down the checklist of all the ways I could have screwed up the hunt. Did the buck see me move in the blind? Had I made too much noise getting set up in the dark? Had a fickle wind carried my scent the wrong direction?

It was only when I caught some movement to my right that I was reminded deer, even dependable ones, are on their own timetable. Glancing through my binoculars, I could just make out four legs stepping slowly below the browse line. One doe had gone that way early, so I assumed she was returning for another kernel of corn. The legs disappeared briefly, then suddenly a buck appeared in the woods just past the feeder, as if teleported to that very spot.

Not bothering to count points or measure inches in my head, I quickly confirmed the buck was mature – square body, sagging belly, a large frame with the kind of mass that comes with age. The rifle was balanced on a sandbag in the blind’s window and I slowly leaned forward, snugging the stock tightly into my shoulder. By this time the buck had worked around the feeder and now stood quartering-to, front legs splayed and nose to the ground so it could vacuum up whatever feed the does had left behind.

Thumbing the hammer back, I took several deep breaths and tried to steady the reticle.

Even if whitetail don’t rank as high as ducks on my fun-meter, a mature buck still gets my heart pumping and the green dot of the Trijicon scope bounced on the pocket where the deer’s shoulder met its chest. The gun, wearing a suppressor, recoiled just enough to kick me out of the sight picture. When I got back in the scope, the buck was trotting to my left before stopping to look back toward the feeder.

Of the many benefits that come with shooting a suppressed rifle, one that doesn’t get mentioned often enough is the animal’s reaction. Unlike the big boom of an unmuffled rifle, a silencer emits a sound more akin to a crack that doesn’t seem to spook animals as much. Instead, they’re often curious, or at the least, confused. I’ve seen it often enough to know a suppressed shot often allows for a fast follow-up as the animal doesn’t sprint out of view, evidenced by this particular buck’s casual stroll. As he slowly walked away, I had time to send a second bullet into its shoulder before the deer disappeared into the deep draw skirting the end of the field.

Even with two holes in him, the buck managed to make it farther than expected. After waiting for Micah and a second guide to arrive, we followed an ample bloodtrail across the snow to where we found the deer in a nearby woodlot. Although I hadn’t confirmed it before shooting, this was the buck Micah had predicted would be on the bait that morning, ensuring I had followed orders and done my part in the client-guide relationship.

Fowl Weather

Now that I had gotten the deer out of the way, it was time to hunt some ducks. Or so I thought. With other clients in camp, Micah and his guide crew stayed busy shuttling other hunters around, dragging out dead deer and ensuring everyone had the best chance to punch their tag on a big Kansas whitetail. For a day or two, I stayed patient and busy, until finally two guides, who also would rather be waterfowling, were freed to set up for ducks.

While the first day or two of the deer hunt were clear and cold, this particular morning was positively ducky, in that the weather had turned to freezing rain and gusting winds. We tossed a mix of duck and goose decoys off the point of a nearby pond, stashed a couple of A-frames in the brush and waited for the first flight to arrive. The breeze played havoc with our set, pushing the decoying birds out of the pocket, but there were enough opportunities to keep us busy throughout the morning. Good calling followed by so-so shooting led to some tough dog work, but the retrievers showed their skills were better than ours and the Labs soon brought all the birds to hand to make up a limit.

Catching a limit of crappies would have rounded out my Kansas McNab, but unfortunately, duty called and I had to leave the lodge early the next morning. Work didn’t keep the rest of the group off the water, and I hadn’t even crossed the state line when my phone lit up with photos of fish lined up on the dock. I wondered if Micah had some time the following spring for a scouting trip that just might coincide with the crappie spawn.

Long Live Lever Guns

Lever-action rifles are having a moment, with a host of new manufacturers getting in on the action. One company has been in the game longer than most. Henry is well-known for their many iterations of the lever gun, from flashy Golden Boy rimfires to blued Big Boys in a host of calibers. I hunted with the Henry Lever-Action X model, chambered in Remington’s new straight-wall .360 Buckhammer and topped with a Trijicon Accupoint 1-6x24 riflescope. The X model may not carry the walnut stock and blued steel of a classic lever-action, but it is built to work, with a synthetic stock featuring integrated Pic-rail and M-LOK options. The 21-inch barrel is threaded 5/8-24, which accommodated my Banish 46 suppressor from Silencer Central. $1,124 | henryusa.com

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