As I sat perched in a tall cottonwood overlooking the hillside of c.r.p, the cool northwesterly breeze felt good on my face as I glassed the cover for antlers, man it’s great to be back in Kansas! I absolutely love hunting this type of habitat, and Kansas is loaded with it, one reason I look forward to my return trip every fall. This is my 5th season hunting the Sunflower state and it’s getting to be one of my favorite destinations for chasing monster bucks.
I’ve taken a couple respectable P&Y bucks in the last 4 years, but every year I’ve hunted with my good friend Kris Seymour, I’ve seen an absolute GIANT! As a matter of fact, 2 of the Kansas bruisers I’ve laid eyes on were very close to reaching the magical 200” mark! The first of the two, nicknamed “Clubber” because of his two massive club like drop tines, now hangs on someone else’s wall. The latter, and the buck I’ve chased for 4 seasons now, “Pig Giant” still roams the wooded draws and fields of prairie grass that encompass the part of northeast Kansas that I’m in as I write this column.
It’s been really hot so far with daily highs in the 80’s, combine that with a full moon and I’ve had 2 strikes against me already. The good thing about it though, next week should be the coolest week of the year so far here in Kansas and the “Red Moon” is coming back around. It’s actually given me a chance to get prepared, hanging stands and cameras in strategic locations. I hunt the same few hundred acres here every year, so I have a good idea where I need to be, and after some legwork and a little sweat, I’m ready to go!
With it being mid October, right smack dab in the middle of the “Lull”, the only thing to go on is food and there is a bumper crop of acorns! Even though there’s still standing beans and corn, I’m leaning towards concentrating on the mast crop. I’ve found a couple locations where the white oaks have dropped their bounty and the acorns have literally blanketed the ground! Combine that with a few shredded cedar trees nearby and a trail camera picture and that’s two strikes against the Pig Giant!