OK, Here it goes...I've been deer hunting in Texas for 20+ years. I have harvested some really nice ones at that (all low fence).I have a lease in the Hill Country that's "OK" good numbers, but we all know what the deer are like as far as size goes. I have another lease in young county (800 acres) that cost me nothing and my son and I are the only ones that hunt it. (He is 9 and has killed his 14th deer this year.) I have an opportunity to lease a place in Kansas with extremely good deer and I mean extremely ! Its roughly 1500 acres that I would have sole access to. My thoughts are...I can dump the Hill country lease and lease the place in Kansas for almost the exact same amount of money. No way I can afford both. I would only get to go there for about 10 days for rifle season. Sorry for the long post, but I'm really struggling on this. Woke up at 1:00 am this morning and never went back to sleep !Ya'lls thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Kansas is a long ways away.....

Yep, 9 hours. I pheasant hunt up there.

If you can only hunt 10 days, you might go up there in the worst possible time (weather, etc). Kansas' rifle season is AFTER the rut. I would not hunt there unless you bow hunted. I am lucky to have family land there and don't have to buy a seperate tag for each season.

I was born and raised there and I personally believe the best hunting in Kansas is usually before rifle season and then the last week of the season. With that said, Deer have to eat and if you can figure out their patterns, you can be very successful in the rifle season.

I did a lease by myself in Kansas last year and plan to do the same next year. Texas Whitetails don't even compare to Kansas. Unless you do high fence and that's no fun in my opinion.
100% do Kansas and drop the hill country lease.
You need to make sure you can draw a tag in that unit though. What unit is this Ks lease in? Secondly, it doesn't look like you will be able to hunt as much with your son if you do get the Ks lease, is that worth it to you?
If your son will be hunting too, you will need two tags for Ks and that could be tougher getting two out of state tags if its a highly sought after unit by in staters.
Also, the bag limits are difderent in Ks so you won't be able to kill more than 1 buck each.

My lease is 12 hrs from Houston

The other thing is getting a permit drawn or if in a an area with over the counter then it is better. Not sure the area you are in but I hunted Western Kansas for Mule Deer for the first time ever last season. It was a blast but the hunting pressure is pretty high during ML or rifle seasons by all. It could work out good for you if it pushes the deer to the place you have to hunt. I would definetly take a chance on it for a couple of years. They are also opening up some areas for crossbow also now there. The early ML is great if you get a permit drawn. If you need a buddy to go in I am available.

For me, it's worth the anticipation of a giant stepping out at any second. Now, my lease was all of bow season and I saw the rut. As pittstate said, you will miss the rut if your only going 10 days of gun

If I am trading the Hill country for Kansas then I would probably do it without hesitation. Especially since you would still have a place to hunt in Young County.

However if the lease was S Texas then it would be much more difficult.

I believe its unit 3 or 7, real close to the middle of the two. My son is a little young for the climate I think. He will be pheasant hunting this year and will be put to the test.I've personally seen the quality of deer,so thats not much of an issue. One buck would be fine with me. I still have the place in Texas and its a great place. I can be there in two hrs, but its no Kansas.

One last chime in by me as I just thought of something else and all of these same issues haunt me about whether to go up there again next year.
I want to go but Stands- stands- stands
That gets to be brutal hauling all of that stuff so far. Then you have to hang them.
Moving stands will overlap with your hunting time if you are only getting up there to hunt 10 days.

You better figure in all of the extra money for fuel and time spent on the road before you decide on Kansas IF that is a factor. Also time spent on the road could have been time spent hunting in Hill Country, but that once in a lifetime buck is probably not going to step out of the brush in the Hill Country, but really could in Kansas. Can you make up for the lost hunting time on the Young County lease since you will only be hunting in Kansas for 10 days?

I can hunt the young cnty place as often as I want, its more for the boy anyway. Heck, I havnt shot a deer in three years cause of the little turd. The good thing about the stand issue is, I have friends there, so no out of pocket expense on staying somewhere and I wont have to haul stands in and out.

To me this is a no brainer. I would drop the Hill Country lease like a bad habit. I wouldnt think twice about it. I am a huge MidWest fan. I hunt Pike County every year and this year I am giving it up to hunt KS. Dotn let this opportunity pass you and shall you decide to, then please get me set up with the owner bc I would be all over it.

Thanks for all the input, I'll keep ya posted.

Depends on the hill country lease for me. If it has the exotics then the amount and variety of game it offers is well worth staying there. Kansas is a whitetail only state, and turkey. But mainly you are getting it for strictly whitetail hunting. With that said i would pass on the kansas lease and give me the info. HAHA!

Last thing from me, You have to let 130" deer walk in order to grow 150" deer and let them walk to get 180" deer, etc. If your place has been hunted hard and everything shot, your chances of that "buck of a lifetime" are slim. Kansas is not a slam dunk big buck place. You still have to manage your place for them. If your place hasn't been hunted in several years, your chances grow tremendously. But, if this isn't the case, I would plan on leasing for 5 years to manage for the big one.

No brainer - Kansas... nothing else needs to be said.

Stands aren't an issue, bigger better deer, free place to stay, costs the same, chances of a buck of a lifetime- much much better.

This is easy.

I would have to agree.
One more thing… Is it possible for you to lease out a couple spots in Kansas and keep the hill country lease?

Your exactly right. Managed a place in Archer county for 9 years and did just that. Harvested 3 deer over 160 in the last 3 years and lost the place because of a windmill farm. Problem is, everyone has to be on board and make that a priority and not just a place to get drunk and get away from the wife. With that said, I don't care how good you manage a place here, from the deer I have seen, there's just no comparison. And when you walk down a creek bottom and see rubs on trees that are 6 and 8" in diameter. It's about all I can stand !!

Maybe something to think about. Problem is..the Hill country place is pretty much a joke because of the other people on there. Actually its just one guy, but the one bad apple is ruining the whole bunch if you know what I mean. And, It's about 5 minutes different time wise to the young county place.

You got my mouth watering talking about this.....I just called my lessor to talk about my renewal and the possibility of leasing his additional farms... Lol

Not here. Kansas.

Another vote for Kansas.