| species | general Size | trophy potential |
|---|---|---|
| Whitetail Deer | 130"-150" | 150"+ |
High
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Bordering Oklahoma near Sedan, this unit produces many whitetail bucks on hundreds of square miles of mixed woods, tallgrass prairie hills and flats, and many fields and pastures.
There are several public hunting areas in this unit and lots of walk-in leases open to the public
Chautauqua County is in this unit as well as parts of Montgomery, Woodson, Wilson, Greenwood, Elk and Cowley counties. The chief waterways are Fall River (dammed to make Fall River Lake), Verdigris River (dammed to form Toronto Lake), Elk River (dammed to fork Elk City Lake) and Owl Creek (dammed to create Yates City Reservoir)
A large variety of forbs, brush, wild grasses and trees thrive here. Common trees include elms, oaks, cedars, redbud and dogwoods. A common grass in wild areas is bluestem, which has several varieties. Other grasses include grama, sideoats, mutton grass, buffalo grass and Kentucky bluegrass.
Fall River State Park has three rental cabins near Fall River Lake. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operates campgrounds at Elk City Lake. Cross Timbers State Park has four rental cabins that sleep six adults each, as well as RV and primitive tent campsites. Hunters are welcome at Woodson Lake, which has RV and tent campsites. Some hunter-friendly inns include Crooked Creek Lodge in Moline, Sportsman Inn in Neodesha and Bluestem Lodge in Eureka.
Fall River Wildlife Area offers public hunting along six miles of Otter Creek and 14 miles of Fall River and includes 2,300 acres of riparian timberland. The Toronto Wildlife Area is 4,700 acres of land and water open to hunting and holds whitetail deer. Woodson State Fishing Lake and Wildlife Area consists of 2,885 acres, including the 180-acre lake. Copan Lake Wildlife Area is a smaller public area with limited deer hunting. Through the state’s walk-in hunting program, public hunters may hunt at no fee on several private parcels listed in the Fall Hunting Atlas, which also includes details on state and federal hunting areas. Controlled shooting areas (state-licensed private fee hunting areas) can also be found on the KS Outdoors website; hunters might be able to pay to hunt deer in some of these areas. More than 12,000 acres of land is managed as part of the Elk City Wildlife Area next to Elk City Reservoir. Hunters must use archery equipment or shotguns and may not hunt in a refuge area or Elk City State Park.