Advice needed for Kansas muzzleloader hunt

So I'm new to muzzleloaders and coming up on the 14th I'll be up on northwest Kansas with a whitetail tag. I'm shooting an inline and my question is whether or not I should use a scope or open sights? Any advise or imo's would be great.

Absolutely use a scope. That's wide open country and your shots are likely to be long. Heck, I'd even use a scope in East Texas.

I am hunting Units 1 and 2 again this year. Very open country. WT numbers were down due to drought for a couple of years and I was told numbers are up(but lot of young deer). Rained more this year than last year(5" total last year and 14"+ this year) so far but no rain in last 45-60 days.
This is what the "cover" in pasture land looks like. Lot of CRP land in some areas. Weeds and grass are very tall this year I was told. Throw in pivots of corn and tons of dryland milo and it is a fun hunt. Deer moved very early and very late last year. By late/early I mean 30 minutes at best of good hunting time in the evenings and an hour in the mornings.

Thanks kry. Getting it zeroed in today.

Thanks for the advise stx. I'm also in units 1 and 2. I've never hunted that part of the country but always wanted to. I put in for a mule deer but ended up with a whitetail tag. Good luck to you!

I got a Mule Deer permit the first two years I put in with zero success. Saw plenty but nothing I wanted. Last two years have been Whitetail only now. Saw a couple of shooter Mule Deer last year. Lot of farm land in that area that is under pivot, but a lot of dryland also. I was told the rains hit just right in June causing the weeds to really take off in the crops. So the deer are not leaving the crops this year like they have in the past couple of years. The friend I am hunting with has not seen very many bucks so far this year. Not looking good for the first week for me.
Are you hunting with someone or self-guided?

A friend of my dads is a guide up there (justin kleint). He went last year for a mule deer and was successful. He ended up shooting a 175 and says they saw bigger but couldn't get shots on them. I've heard there are good whitetail too but they take some time and persistence to find. Hopefully the cold front coming in will help get them moving.

Good luck! Late grain harvest makes it very tough this time of the year. Mule Deer seem to be more in the milo this time of the year vs whitetail more in the corn. Not a lot of beans in this area. Whitetails numbers are way down in that area with the drought though. They are rebounding, just not a lot of mature bucks. Not near the deer density that you will see farther east also.