Kansas Mule deer

Team Kabob

Very Active Member
May 9, 2014
793
148
Wanting to see about how far west into Kansas the Mule deer are? My buddy and his dad pulled unit 2 & 5 for mule deer and I didn't. But I'm looking at buying a home in Kansas, so my permeant residence will change. Called one farmer I know but he only has whitetail and he is unit 4. Any way, my research has began to find areas to focus on for Archery Mule deer in Kansas.

Thanks
 

Hilltop

Veteran member
Feb 25, 2014
3,847
2,230
Eastern Nebraska
Mule deer are scattered all over the entire western 2/3 of Kansas. Some areas have more than other areas but their technical range is pretty much Salina west. I have friends in the Hays area that shoot mule deer often. It is a similar story here in Nebraska. We occasionally see one around here but the further you go west, the more you see. In central Nebraska where I hunt, the mule deer live in the hills primarily where on the rivers there are more whitetails. My experience in Kansas is similar so each farm/ranch may have more of one or the other species. A river bottom farmer may seldom see a mule deer but a ranch 10 miles away may have a pile of them...
 

tdcour

Veteran member
Feb 28, 2013
1,100
26
Central Kansas
I agree with hilltop. I just moved to the state a year ago, but I hunted out west last year a bit. Whitetail are throughout the entire state and mule deer, from what I have seen, are just east of Hays and west. I know their range is closer to hwy 81 or 135, but I haven't seen any there and haven't talked to anyone that has seen any recently. I hunted some in unit 2 and saw a few mulies, but it was pretty far from where I was staying, so I only went out there for about half a day. It looks more like rifle and antelope country for the most part. As for unit 5, I have some corn and soybean research plots in Pawnee county and have been driving there once a week for a year and have seen nothing but WT. I know there are some muleys around, but I haven't seen any. From what I have seen, if you want a mule deer, it is best to stay in the western 4 units with exceptions being unit 3 and 16. Again, this is just from one year living here so don't take it as the gospel truth. I'll be looking harder this year with my stick and string in the western areas, so hopefully I'll have better info after this year. If you don't mind me asking, where will you be moving to in Kansas?