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Assisted Deer Hunt

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Tuttle Creek Lake Area

Assisted Deer Hunt October 12th and 13th, 2019

Plans are underway for the 17th annual youth/handicap assisted deer hunt at Tuttle Creek Lake.

 

The assisted hunt will be held in October during the pre-rut antlerless deer rifle season. Kansas youth 12 through 16 years of age and Kansas residents. Or, residents of any age with a disability may participate in this hunt.

 

This deer hunt will be held on October 12th & 13th, 2019, during the Pre-Rut Antlerless rifle season. During the Pre-Rut Antlerless rifle season hunters may only harvest a doe/antlerless deer.

 

Hunters with their guides will sight-in rifles at the Fancy Creek Range near Randolph on Sunday, September 8th at 4:00 p.m. We will be providing a meal. Bring your rifle, ammo (a rifle and ammo will be provided if needed) and your appetite. During the sight-in, all participants will qualify for the hunt in marksmanship by demonstrating the ability to hit a "pie-sized" target, 2 out of 3 shots, at 50 yards. Don't worry, you will have plenty of time to warm up before qualifying.

 

On October 12th & 13th, to begin the hunt, hunters and guides will meet at 5:00 a.m. at the Tuttle Creek Lake Visitor Center (located at 5020 Tuttle Creek Blvd., Manhattan) for breakfast. After breakfast, all hunters and their guides will disperse to their hunting blinds. All hunters are paired with guide and a hunt location assigned well before the hunt.

 

Deer are processed for participants thanks to the generous donation of area lockers. GTB Custom Meats of Riley and Clay Center Locker provide basic processing of harvested deer and, arrangements are made for the deer to be transported to these lockers.

 

If you would like to participate in this hunt, please fill out an application and send it back no later than August, 25th. Shortly thereafter, all applicants will be notified of their status. Questions about this event please contact:

USACE Wyatt Cooper at 785-539-8511, ext. 3170, wyatt.m.cooper@usace.army.mil

KDWPT Ben Jedlicka at 785-256-3614 c, call or text, ben.jedlicka@ks.gov

 

The Friends of Fancy Creek Range provide NRA certified Range Safety Officers to staff the shooting range during the rifle sight-in. A meal is provided the hunters, guides, Range Safety Officers, and other volunteers after the safety presentation and rifle sight-in. Breakfast for all hunters, guides and volunteers each morning of the hunt.

 

This event is sponsored by contributions from businesses, organizations and individuals.

 

Riley County Fish and Game Assoc.                                                       Kansas City Chapter, Safari Club Int.

The Friends of Fancy Creek Range                                                                    Lloyd Johnson Outdoor Youth Fund

Tuttle Creek Lake Association                                                                            Cox Bros BBQ

Kansas Rifle Association                                                                                      Early Edition Restaurant

 

 

 

 

 

Each year the assisted hunt is held in October.  This year during the pre-rut antler-less rifle season October 12th and 13th. Kansas youth 12 through 16 years of age are eligible to participate in this hunt. And, Kansas residents with a certified disability are eligible to participate in the hunt.  We host over 15 hunters each year. 

We prioritize the youth applicants in an effort to expose new hunters each year to the sport of deer hunting.  It is also a priority to assist youth or hunters that may not hunt deer this year without our program. 

In addition to the 2 days of hunting in October, hunt participants are also attend a firearm & hunting safety presentation and rifle sight-in at the Fancy Creek Shooting Range. The Friends of Fancy Creek Range provide NRA certified Range Safety Officers to staff the shooting range during the rifle sight-in.  

Hunters and guides gather for introductions and a meal provided to hunters, guides, Range Safety Officers, and other volunteers at this safety presentation and rifle sight-in event.  This program provides a breakfast to all hunters and guides each morning of the hunt.

The Riley County Fish and Game Association, Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT), and the Corps of Engineers at Tuttle Creek Lake are sponsors of this event. There are several other groups, businesses, and organizations that contribute to this hunt such as the Friends of Fancy Creek Range, Kansas City Chapter of Safari Club International, Lloyd Johnson Outdoor Youth Fund, and Tuttle Creek Lake Association. GTB Custom Meats of Riley, Clay Center Locker, and the Alta Vista Locker all provide basic processing of harvested deer free of charge for the hunters. 

Participants are furnished a deer permit. Scholarship assistance to purchase a hunting license and deer permit are provided by the sponsoring agencies and associations.  

If participants do not have a rifle for the hunt, these items are provided to guides for the hunters use.  Some of these rifles are provided through KDWPT’s Pass It On Program. Others have been purchased for the hunt over the years with donations from the various sponsoring organizations. 

Each participant is paired with an experienced hunter who serves as volunteer guide. Other items provided for this hunt include accessible hunting blinds, hunting locations, hunter orange hats and vests..  Public land surrounding Tuttle Creek Lake, including park areas normally closed to hunting, as well as private land, thanks to participating and support of landowners, is utilized during the hunt.

 

Hunting

  

Nearly 18,000 acres of excellent diverse habitat await the hunter at Tuttle Creek Lake. The Corps of Engineers manages about 8,000 acres in the southern half of the project. The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism manages over 12,000 acres in the upper reaches.

Wildlife management plays an important part in the overall management of natural resources at Tuttle Creek Lake. Programs are devised to insure that the needs of wildlife: food, water, cover, and living space, are available in sufficient quantity and quality to sustain and encourage growth of wildlife populations. Many of these programs focus on enhancing upland game, but non-game species benefit as well.

Wildlife management techniques include planting food plots, seeding millet along exposed shorelines, conducting timber stand improvement, planting trees and shrubs, constructing brush piles, and erecting nesting boxes for bird life.

Mourning doves are attracted to burned-off wheat stubble and sunflower fields in early fall. Deer and turkey hunting is good in the woody draws and river bottoms.

Fox squirrels are abundant in timbered areas.

 

 Semi-open grasslands and weed strips along timber stands harbor bobwhite quail and ring-necked pheasants.

Hundreds of acres of developed marshes offer good duck hunting areas. As the season progresses and temperatures drop, hunt the stubble fields and creeks nearby. A 200 acre marsh located seven miles north of Olsburg, and a 39 acre marsh located two miles north of Randolph are good duck hunting areas. Click on the wetlands page for detailed information on Tuttle Creek Lake's marshes.

White-tailed deer abound at Tuttle Creek Lake. In fact, Guns and Gear Magazine named Tuttle Creek Lake as one of the top five white-tailed deer hunting locations in the nation.

Watch boundary lines that separate public hunting lands from private property. Much of Tuttle Creek Lake's public hunting areas are separated from the road by private land. Respect landowners' property; to hunt private property, you must have permission.

Nearly all public land at Tuttle Creek Lake is open to hunting. However, the parks and the entire area below the dam are closed to hunting year-round.

Hunters often ask where they can go to sight in a scope or target shoot at Tuttle Creek Lake. Due to concerns about lead shot, noise, litter, and safety, these activities are not permitted anywhere on public property. The Fancy Creek State Park shooting range (open 10 am - 4 pm on the first and third full weekends, and the fourth Thursday of every month) is the only location where this is permitted. A $10 daily fee is charged.

The Corps of Engineers, Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism, and local interest groups offer youth and disabled deer and turkey hunts.

Camping, off-road vehicle and ATV use, horseback riding, target shooting and firewood gathering are prohibited in the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism wildlife area.