Latest Kansas City District Info

Assisted Deer Hunt

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 Hunt Details

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.

 Application

Hunting

 Tuttle Creek Lake Interactive Hunting Map 

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 is the only location where this is permitted. A daily fee is charged. (Range is currently closed for renovations) 

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.