Where were the deer? Crossing our fingers for better luck this weekend

Chance Swaim, Michael Stavola
·4 min read
2

My hunt this week didn’t go well, in that I, for the first time where I hunt, didn’t see a single deer.

But I have some days off in the coming weeks and the forecasted colder weather should be a blessing.

So, instead of talking about my nothing of a hunt, I will talk about my neighbors and their successes.

I was driving by on my way to work last week and noticed Josh Church washing off a nice buck rack. I didn’t know his name before this day, but stopped to congratulate him. My wife and I had only waved to him and his spouse when we walked by their house or vice versa.

I also knew his daughter was the alpha child on the block. It was obvious by the way she rode this electric dirt bike around. She cruised way faster than the other children do on it and with a swagger as she would lean back with her legs extended forward.

Once, I also walked by and noticed the neighborhood kids had a water balloon fight. I asked who won and she confidently pointed to herself and shook her head up and down.

I believed her.

And, I learned in the conversation with my neighbor, 10-year-old Makayla Church also shot a sweet velvet buck earlier this year during youth season.

It was her first deer. And he was a stud that they are getting mounted.

The buck I thought was Josh Church’s was actually his boss’s buck that he was doing a skull mount for. He then showed me his buck that he shot with a recurve earlier this year.

My neighbor, Josh Church, shot this buck Oct. 9 with a recurve on private land in Harvey County.
My neighbor, Josh Church, shot this buck Oct. 9 with a recurve on private land in Harvey County.

Both he and his daughter shot theirs on private land in Harvey County.

My neighbor, Josh Church, showed me the rack from the buck he shot (left) with a recurve this season and the one his boss recently shot. Church is doing a skull mount for his boss.
My neighbor, Josh Church, showed me the rack from the buck he shot (left) with a recurve this season and the one his boss recently shot. Church is doing a skull mount for his boss.

He invited me in and showed me his years of bucks, a pronghorn and wild birds that he has mounted on the wall in his basement.

It’s always exciting to me to meet fellow hunters. We automatically have a shared passion.

Maybe, in Kansas, since most people hunt on private land, we don’t look at each other like competition but fellow enthusiasts who wish the best for each other.

Or maybe that is just my perception.

I’m guessing a lot of people have already been successful and others will in the coming days. We’d love to share the photos of your bucks. If you’d like to share with us, email us at mstavola@wichitaeagle.com or cswaim@wichitaeagle.com.

— Michael Stavola

Swaim: The best is just ahead

The calendar said November. But the deer didn’t care.

Last weekend, I saw zero deer. I counted about 70 a month ago from the same treestand.

I expect much better results this weekend. The colder weather should help.

Saturday starts the best week of the year for many hunters. Pheasant and quail seasons open this weekend, and upland hunters should push some deer to bowhunters. The whitetail rut should be in full swing. Duck season will finally be open across the entire state, with the southeast zone opening on Saturday.

I’ll be doing a lot of hunting over the next week – for deer, for ducks and geese, for pheasants and quail. The hottest rut activity in my area (south-central Kansas) has historically been between Nov. 10 and Nov. 20, with very slow days mixed in with some of the best hunts of my life.

Dense fog this week made for good duck hunting, as green-winged teal zipped in and out of sight.
Dense fog this week made for good duck hunting, as green-winged teal zipped in and out of sight.

I forget that deer don’t live on human schedules. Every year, I get so amped up for the rut that I assume every day in November will be a constant parade of trophy bucks 20 yards from my stand. That’s not how it works. I have to keep reminding myself to be patient.

Chance Swaim bagged two green-winged teal this week while hunting in the dense fog.
Chance Swaim bagged two green-winged teal this week while hunting in the dense fog.

I did have some luck hunting ducks earlier this week in the dense fog, shooting two green-winged teal and letting a whole lot more pass without a shot. I’m not seeing any big ducks yet.

— Chance Swaim

Open seasons

Early or mid-season

Woodcock — Oct. 14 - Nov. 27

Dove (mourning and whitewing) — Sept. 1 - Nov. 29

Snipe — Sept. 1 - Dec. 16

Sandhill crane, west zone — Oct. 21 - Dec. 17

Sandhill crane, Central Zone — Nov. 8 - Jan. 4, 2024

Archery deer — Sept. 11 - Dec. 31

Ducks, High Plains Unit, first segment — Oct. 7 - Dec. 31

Ducks, Low Plains Early Zone, first segment — Oct. 7 - Dec. 31

Ducks, Low Plains Late Zone, first segment — Oct. 28 - Dec. 31

White-fronted geese — Oct. 28 - Dec. 31

Greater prairie chicken — Sept. 15 - Jan. 31, 2024

Dark geese (All species but snow, Ross’s and white-fronted) — Nov. 1 - Feb. 11, 2024

Light geese (snow and Ross’s) — Nov. 1 - Feb. 11, 2024

Squirrel — June 1 - Feb. 29, 2024

Rabbit, exotic dove and coyote seasons are open year-round.

Closing soon

Rail — Sept. 1 - Nov. 9 (Thursday)

Opening soon

Pheasant and quail — Nov. 11 (Saturday) - Jan. 31, 2024

Ducks, Low Plains Southeast— Nov. 11 (Saturday) - Jan. 7, 2024

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