Grand osage wildlife area youth deer hunt

Grand Osage Wildlife Area hosted 8 youth deer hunters this weekend.  This is a Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) “special hunt” and special it was! Every year, KDWPT releases a list of special hunts that any hunter- youth, men, women, your grandparents can apply for. If awarded the hunt, access to special grounds will be the reward.

Special hunts are part of the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism's "Recruitment, Retention and Reactivation" efforts - also known as R3. These hunts are conducted on department lands, including state parks, wildlife areas, and refuges. The hunts also occur on Walk-in Hunting Access areas (WIHA), national wildlife refuges, city and county properties, and other locations. These hunts limit the number of participants to ensure a quality experience or to achieve specific management goals, such as herd reduction.

For the Fall 2019 / Winter 2020 season, there are currently 383 Special Hunts offered with 689 total permits (some hunts offer more than 1 permit).

Hunts are located on 19 wildlife areas, 6 state parks, 4 private county lands, 4 state fishing lakes, 4 city and county parks, 1 national wildlife refuge and 1 Corps of Engineers reservoir.

There are 164 Deer Hunts, 120 Waterfowl, 32 Whitetail Antlerless, 54 Upland, 6 Dove, 4 Fall Turkey and 3 Furbearer.

These young hunters also got to partake in some great fishing down in Parsons! The young men from Bluestem High school caught 43 bass, most between 2 and 3 pounds. We can’t think of a better way to pass some time! The youth that participated in this special hunt are from Bluestem Jr/Sr High and Maize South High shooting sports teams and and Mayberry Middle School.

Outdoor Mentors is proud of their partnership with KDWPT and we are excited about offering more special hunt opportunities to our shooting sports teams.

Next Up: A youth waterfowl hunt at Cheyenne Bottoms!

Happy Hunting!