Mule deer and whitetail deer thrive in this unit, which borders Nebraska and is north of Interstate 70 between WaKeeney and Russell.

This is a good place for big whitetails and mule deer.

Most land is flat farmland, but there are some hilly places, marshes, creek and river bottoms and a few bluffs. Phillips and Rooks counties are enclosed, and parts of seven other counties (Smith, Osborne, Russell, Ellis, Trego, Graham and Norton) have land in the unit. Prairie Dog Creek, a tributary of the Republican River, meanders through the northern part of the unit, while the north and south forks of the Solomon River run through the middle and the Saline River runs through the south end --many tributaries run into each of these. There are many scattered ponds and small lakes throughout this area. The largest reservoirs are Kirwin Reservoir southeast of Phillipsburg, Lake Stockton southwest of Stockton and Webster Reservoir west of Stockton.

Most land is divided into square and rectangular farm fields that are planted in crops, including milo, safflower, wheat, barley, alfalfa, soybeans and corn. There aren’t many circular crop fields as there are in bordering Units 1 and 4. Plum thickets, cedars, post oak, blackjack oak, walnuts, sycamores and poplars provide cover along with cottonwoods, birches and lots of brush growing along rivers and creeks. Marshy areas have cattails, willows and bulrushes.

Camping is not allowed in walk-in hunting areas, but there are rental cabins and campsites at Webster State Park and four campgrounds at Lake Stockton, also called Rooks State Fishing Lake. Prairie Dog State Park near Norton offers public campsites. There are motels located in several towns such as: Sleep Inn & Suites in Norton, Best Western, Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn in Hays, Ingleboro Mansion B&B in Smith Center, and Econo Lodge in WaKeeney.

Through the state’s walk-in hunting program, public hunters may hunt at no fee on many private parcels listed in the Fall Hunting Atlas, which also includes details on state and federal hunting areas. Private fee hunting areas in Graham, Ellis, Russell, Trego and Smith counties are listed here. Some private fee areas might allow deer hunting but are designed primarily for upland bird hunters. Webster Wildlife Area provides more than 8,000 acres of public land open to hunting around roughly 1,500-acre Webster Reservoir. Archery deer hunting is allowed on Kirwin National Wildlife Refuge, but bowhunters must have a refuge permit.