Public Land - Kansas - Zac Lujano

·1 hr 7 min·5 clips

Kansas is proposing to ban out-of-state hunters from public land on weekends.

The episode is part of the podcast's public hunting series, featuring an interview with guest Zac Lujano, a fireman from Walton, Kansas. Hosts Jeff Stanfield and Andy Shaver open with Kansas hunting statistics, noting the state has 22,000 out-of-state hunters annually. Zac explains resident frustrations with overcrowded public lands, citing a friend who can't fish during duck season due to out-of-state hunter traffic. He mentions a Kansas proposal to limit out-of-state hunters to Monday through Thursday on public ground. Zac proposes that guides who obtain a guide license should forfeit their right to hunt public land for that year to prevent illegal 'buddy hunts' on public property. The hosts discuss Kansas's missed opportunity in the late 1990s to fund public lands through a sales tax, unlike Missouri. Jeff Stanfield argues that mild winters, flooded cornfields, and ice-eaters have altered duck migration, keeping birds in Kansas longer. Zac describes his public hunting strategy: avoiding early morning crowds, using a boat to access remote areas, and hunting mid-morning after other hunters have stirred ducks. He details busy scenes at Cheyenne Bottoms, with 30-50 trucks at boat ramps on opening days. The conversation shifts to decoy use, with Zac running up to 20 dozen decoys and preferring small hunting groups of 2-3 people. Jeff advises young hunters to keep journals to document hunts accurately, countering nostalgic memories. They share banded bird stories, noting a decline in neck-collared geese. Zac rates his recent season an 8/10, recalling 2015-2016 as a peak year due to early snow and flooded conditions. The episode concludes with brief talk on Kansas City Chiefs football before closing.

As heard by us

Kansas public hunting gets tangled in bait rules, feedlots, flooded corn, and weather that may be holding ducks around.

Kansas public hunting is framed here as a moving target, as Jeff Stanfield and Andy Shaver talk with Kansas fireman Zach Lohano from Walton about out-of-state hunters, feedlots, flooded corn, and the uneasy rules around waterfowl.

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Why you'd press play

You get Kansas public-land hunting, gray-area feedlot rules, and duck migration arguments with plenty of rough-edged banter.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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