Kansas Muzzleloader Deer Hunting
Kansas Muzzleloader Deer hunting season in September is a unique whitetail deer hunting experience for many new to the mid west. So much so we have captured on this page that which has been frequently brought to our attention by experienced deer hunters on their first Kansas September self guided deer hunt. These experiences are unique to the September season only and are offered only as idea builders.
One note about this early or pre rut Kansas deer season is that late summer scouting pays off as the trophy whitetail deer scouted in August remain where they are through the September muzzleloader deer season. For those that secure a Kansas muzzleloader deer tag we will have the exclusive use private Kansas lease land for more deer hunting on your own than anyone can hunt.
Kansas Muzzleloader Deer Hunters
A Kansas early deer season buck. Notice the clothing and the green ground cover.
John
Rex
Start deer hunting in Kansas during the 
September season, hunt again in early December. Go to Missouri for middle December muzzleloader deer season and then end the year in January in Iowa. Four separate muzzleloader deer seasons with 2 outside of the rut on predictable deer movement. That predictable buck is the real advantage of the muzzleloader seasons over that of archery and modern firearms deer season.
I was standing still in a creek bottom & he came through checking his rub line at 5 pm. Thanks, Greg
Plan A
Awake at 4AM, in deer stand by 5AM, hunting 12 hours of daylight, 8PM walk out after dark, drive back to the motel and refit for the next day getting to bed by 10PM. Awake at 4AM and start the deer hunt over again. As this is a dry month for Kansas those with primitive muzzleloaders should not need to reload. On rain days add another 40 minutes of muzzleloader maintenance.
By the third day of 6 hours a night sleep the deer hunter has now come under threat of falling asleep in deer stand during the Kansas' 90+ degree days. This muzzleloader deer season is one of the few occasions when the deer hunter begins to look forward to winter's cold.
The deer hunter after the first day realizes the futility of the sweat soaked scent control suit and it will be left in the truck and an extra bottle of water added to the pack for the remainder of the hunt. By 10AM, when the squirrels settle down to sleep, the sweat from the likely 90 degree sun causes sweat to soak socks inside rubber boots as well.
While it may appear we have overemphasized the warm weather of this early Kansas season that emphasis mirrors that of the deer hunters who contributed to this article. This includes one of the Association staff, John Wenzel, who also hunts the Kansas September muzzleloader season as well. His choice for this deer season is the weather and the bachelor buck activity. This season also leaves open the colder winter months for bird dog hunting.
Plan B
Awake at 4AM and get to the stand by 5AM. Hunting until 10AM when the day's heat puts the deer down. Move a stand and unroll a sleeping mat. Put the gun up and nap until 4PM, get into the new deer stand and hunt the evening until dark. Get back to the motel and asleep by 10PM. Wake at 4AM with enough sleep from the night and the noon time nap to be alert and safe to deer hunt again.
Plan C
During season deer scout and hunt.
On the first morning of the hunt prepared a tree stand and hunt until 10AM. At mid morning walk that property to determine the presence or not of trophy quality bachelor group bucks. If so find a stand to interdict their late morning and early evening movement. If not call in and reserve another property and scout/hunt it through the afternoon.
If that next lease has some bucks stick with it for the next day's reservation. If not reserve another property and scout/hunt it repeating this process until discovering one or more trophy whitetail deer or groups and stick with that lease until harvest.
Kansas Muzzleloader Deer Hunts
The early September Kansas muzzleloader deer season is unique from the rut phases and further distinguished by scent control.
Dress cool as a sweat soaked carbon scent control suit have limited utility. Cover scent rather than containment is more useful. Also, leaf cover is thick reducing available light in the woods more so than even during later archery season making fiber optic sights a valued item. Attracting scents, decoys and grunts or bleats have little value during a pre rut deer hunt.
Misquotes and ticks are generally done or well on the decline for the Kansas September muzzleloader deer hunting. Exceptions are during a cool summer while in the creek bottoms that have dried into standing pools of water. A common annoyance is the cicada. On bad years this bug will come in waves making enough noise to deafen out all other sounds.
What is described above is what many do it yourself muzzleloader deer hunters new to our Kansas September deer season have commented on as being most un-prepared for.
For the most part this early and distinctive Kansas muzzleloader deer season presents a deer hunting challenge some do well at and others find to be just spending time nature walking rather than deer hunting. The deer hunt plans offered above are intended to give the Kansas September muzzleloader hunter a jump start through ideas to consider. Should the first deer hunting tactics prove less than wanted having options may prove more productive, or at least enhance the quality of the deer hunt.
Another persective on Kansas muzzleloader deer season.
One Example
This aerial is of a square 1/2 mile of one deer lease. The "B" marks where we believe from recurring scouting the September bachelor group bucks, 4 on this farm, bedded and the "S" marks where we found a fresh scrape the end of the first week in September. One of the bucks was a true trophy while the others will make a better rack next season.
What is significant about this buck group and this terrain is how non-descript their movement, the overall terrain, the bedding site location and the various places we observed the bucks moving as a group. This exemplifies how the muzzleloader deer hunter is well advised to put aside preconceived ideas about whitetail deer behavior during the early Kansas September deer season.
We found them ambling along infrequently browsing, using a small number of trails, traveling in a circular pattern within the wood areas and at variable times.
Finding these bachelor groups requires the deer hunter to scout a lot of ground. Over four of six separate days of scouting we found the bucks within the wood line not more than 300 yards from their bedding area. For any of us finding any particular 300 yard area within the vast acreage of land we lease will require scouting every day all day long until the bucks are found. Something contrary to the deer stand hunting method the majority of hunters practice to include those with muzzleloader deer hunting experience during other times of the season.
The bachelor bucks. The two on the left have quality racks with the far left a trophy whitetail and shown enlarged at right. This group is of at least two age groups. The far left two deer have significant body weight compared to the right two bucks.
Muzzleloader deer season is a good example of when trophy deer are easy to see and tough to put in the truck.
Bachelor Group Bucks
Kansas muzzleloader deer hunting September season is a deer hunting opportunity not frequently found outside of Kansas and a chance for deer hunting the pre-rut bachelor group buck. A type of deer hunt not too often written about in deer hunting magazines or books for both reasons of its difficulty and lack of rut activity.
This Kansas deer season's challenges the do it yourself deer hunter with the gun of choice itself and this bachelor group buck avoiding doe areas, is lazy and conducts mock scrape activity. All of which can bring advantage to deer hunter not found during other hunting seasons or other states. Or, it may be a source of great deer hunting frustration. Overall, this early Kansas deer season gives one more deer hunting option in addition to all the other hunts we offer.
Avoiding contact with the small deer family and doe groups makes seeing any number of doe during this early Kansas muzzleloader deer season a bad sign. The bucks will bed, feed and move with other bucks. While avoiding doe areas may not accurately describe this deer behavior it is clear that the separation between the sexes is every bit as discrete as may be seen during any part of the entire year.
Bucks in bachelor groups appear to have a very small range of movement, largely centered on their bedding area. Deer movement at this time is made to feed and water and there is some general movement during late mornings seemingly based on boredom rather than any survival need. Water in mostly dry Kansas is a deer scouting and hunting key point.
Deer movement to feeding areas occurs well before nightfall with the long daylight hours appear to bring on an earlier desire to move. This limited daily deer movement necessitates scouting a larger amount of base acreage. However, even with these requirements Kansas early September muzzleloader deer hunting has the overwhelming advantage of habitual buck behavior. This deer behavior is such that interdiction after scouting is evident to even the casual observer/deer hunter.
Favored deer food sources include alfalfa and clover as well as acorns that fall in middle September. Soybeans will also get some attention during this period, but begins to wane when the acorns drop. However, it is the browse rather than graze the deer will feed on most.
This feed behavior is no small point about the September season. Deer will feed regularly and during the long daylight hours. Hunting between the feeding and bedding areas either in stand or on the ground does payoff far more so than during any rut hunts.
Mock scrape activity is by far the most interesting whitetail deer behavior seen during this early Kansas season with much of it also unique to daylight.
Rarely, are these September deer scrapes maintained through October and this does appear to be behavior without clear motivation except to the human mind as boredom relief. Observing such behavior during the Kansas September season with muzzleloader in hand simply adds to the deer hunting adventure of being in the field.
Kansas September muzzleloader deer season is most direct connection between deer scouting and hunting there does exist. Finding a group of two to four bucks moving together, locating their bedding, feeding areas and their water source allows for the summer scouting effort to pay off more than any other deer hunting season. The payoff is where deer are seen in August they are still there in September. Not until the first of the rubs begin to show at the very end of September do the bucks begin their wider area movement pattern typical of the rut.
The bucks found with velvet on their racks during summer scouting will very likely be in the same area in September having shed their velvet before muzzleloader deer season comes around. Finding a September scrape further reinforces the hunter has found the right area for a September muzzleloader deer hunting experience unique to Kansas compared to other states and the time of the year.
For those that cannot pre-season scout, a combination deer hunting and scouting trip is viable. What makes it this way is that this September deer season is where walking up the bucks is a primary means of getting within shot range as this buck has no motivation to move to the hunter. Contrasted to a peak rut deer hunt where the hunter is dependent upon a hot doe to move the bucks this September deer season is where the hunter expresses prime trophy whitetail deer finding skill. While this may seem an advantage to be able to maneuver in on a trophy whitetail the equalizer is the thick foliage cover and open sight only muzzleloaders.
Muzzleloader deer hunting is a minority deer hunt in the overall scheme of hunters even with the chances of being awarded a tag from our two draw states is higher than for modern gun deer tags. In the case of the Kansas muzzleloader deer tag the unique opportunity to hunt bachelor group bucks is frequently the draw for those that seek a more diverse experience within the deer hunting discipline.
Getting the muzzleloader deer tag will allow the hunter yet another option to refine his skills during a deer hunting season with a whitetail behavior pattern foreign to most deer hunters. With this one more deer hunting option the Association hunter is left to argue with himself as when and where to deer hunt given the range of muzzleloader seasons. The deer hunter's choice is not limited to just one state, one hunting season or one property. Within our organization we give the do it yourself deer hunter the opportunity to truly make his own deer hunting success.