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Planning first out of state hunt

I got a 6x14 ft trailer I’ve thought about converting the front portion into a camp to do some out of state hunting but leave enough room for a 4-wheeler to be loaded up on the back. I’ve been thinking about doing a Missouri hunt for the past 2 years now just can’t make myself commit to it yet.
I wanted to go last year but it didn't pan out. My plan was to get in the draw for Kansas this year but I missed the draw due to not being able to find any hunting buddies that could fork out the 600 for the tag on the last day available to draw. But I've got Missouri lined up for this year, and Kansas will hopefully be back on the radar for next year.
 
I wanted to go last year but it didn't pan out. My plan was to get in the draw for Kansas this year but I missed the draw due to not being able to find any hunting buddies that could fork out the 600 for the tag on the last day available to draw. But I've got Missouri lined up for this year, and Kansas will hopefully be back on the radar for next year.
What made you decide on south Missouri for your hunt? Just curious
 
What made you decide on south Missouri for your hunt? Just curious
My dad has been up there years ago with a friend of his. His buddy has family in the area and he goes every year so I guess that's what initially made me consider it. It does have a relatively inexpensive OTC tag so that helped. Also it's not a crazy drive from SETX. And as far as choosing southern Missouri, lots of public land. Mark Twain National Forest is approximately 60,000 acres I believe according to OnX. Plus its the area that my dad's friend goes to every year and he will be up there when I go to help me get my bearings in the area.
 
What about like a wood heater for a tent have you ever tried those out? That would make it a hell of a lot better.

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I’m a Florida boy, I only felt 9 degrees once before in late season ohio muzzleloader, and I was not camping! But yeah, we bring a small electric heater, brings it up about 20 degrees in the tent. 30 up to 50 is pretty decent. 10 up to 30 is still freezing, lol. But I use a zero degree(false advertising) sleeping bag and then taco myself in the heated blanket. I mostly felt warm except for the extremely cold night. Down to the low 30s high 20s is no problem. Just get dressed fast in the morning. And the nightly run from the showers is always fun. It’s an adventure man, but Midwest hunting beats the **** out of Florida, and prob Texas too if you ain’t on a badass ranch


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I did this on a DIY 9 day Missouri bow hunt last year in middle November, I am not a wealthy person so I had to be cautious on the money I spent since tags are like $300ish. I have a 2014 subaru outback with the seats folded down I fit two coolers and two big tubs along with my bow case.

For the camping portion:
I didn't sleep in my car each night because there is no insulation, but it does block the wind so I went back and forth between that and the tent. I slept in it a couple nights to try it out and it works well either way, I am 6' and had plenty of room. Other nights I used a coleman sundome tent 4 person https://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Sundome-Tent/dp/B004J2GUOU?th=1&psc=1 and it worked pretty well, but it has great ventilation which sucks in the winter so I stuffed blankets near the windows. I used a small propane tent heater (and bought a CO detector at walmart just incase), make sure you put a pan or something underneath the heater for condensation. To sleep on I used an inflatable mattress from amazon (can't find the link, it was like 6" thick and inflatable) and I bought a nice north face sleeping bag good down to -20 and was comfortable each night. For food I used a my RTIC cooler with dry ice and had a freeze dried meals, bacon, eggs, protein packs, yogurt etc in there along with a rapid boil backpack stove from amazon https://www.amazon.com/Odoland-Cook...ing-goods&sprefix=backpac,sporting,190&sr=1-3 for coffee. I also brought a coleman camping stove for evening meals. https://www.amazon.com/Coleman-2000...goods&sprefix=coleman+cam,sporting,287&sr=1-1 Bring a few water jugs, I brought two 7 gallon and it was plenty. I bought a few led lanterns from amazon for the late nights of reading but ended up sitting in my car with the heat on charging my phone and reading/facetime etc (ensure to rev it a few times so carbon doesn't build up over 9 days of sitting if you don't drive). Overall I was comfortable each day and night at camp and going to do it again this year.

Scouting:
Start now and watch youtube. lots of it. take notes. Get on onx and find some spots that you think might be good based on pinch points, funnels etc. and find scouting info on the internet. I never scouted anything just showed up, found fresh sign, setup, tagged out. I didn't hunt mark twain forest but PM and we can discuss where I went, all sight unseen.

Gear:
I brought more gear than I needed for camp and will scale down this year. But, spend the $$ on a warm set of clothes. I did not do this and it was horrible at times. I used some first lite gear that was for hunting down here in Florida, then layered it. I wore thermals, mens wick ls crew, mens kiln hoody, mens sawtooth hybrid vest, mossy oak jacket and I was so %$&*& cold when I stood still it was unreal. I just bought the solitude insulated jacket and first lite balaclava and that will be a game changer (thanks POTUS for the stimulus). On the bottoms I wore thermals and mens guide lite pants, same deal so cold. Finally for boots, I completely disregarded the weather like an idiot and wore a pair of non-insulated redhead boots with two pair of wool socks. This was stupid af and I had to stop hunting because I thought I had frost bite even with a million sets of hand warmers. So I bought a pair of insulated 1000g lacrosse boots so that I can actually stand on my platform and not go back to camp. Bottom line, spend the $ on the good cold weather gear because you can always take stuff off but at some point you might be so cold you have to bail.

Final thoughts:
Bring more arrows than you think you need, I fell first day in like some drainage thing and thought I was going in the river so I used my bow to break my fall which ended up snapping every arrow in my quiver. Get a good pair of binos, I used these https://www.amazon.com/Bushnell-Fal...ts&qid=1588466874&sprefix=bino,aps,185&sr=8-5 and they were great and affordable, but forgot a dang chest holder for them. If you use a camel back don't let water get into the hose because it will freeze almost right away, take a sip then blow it back into the bladder. Finally, make sure your vehicles battery has good CCA, mine was fine and I upgraded to a duralast platinum before I left and am glad I did, I never saw anyone for 9 days so a dead battery would have been terrible. Im sure im forgetting alot of stuff but ill add to it if I remember
 
I’m a Florida boy, I only felt 9 degrees once before in late season ohio muzzleloader, and I was not camping! But yeah, we bring a small electric heater, brings it up about 20 degrees in the tent. 30 up to 50 is pretty decent. 10 up to 30 is still freezing, lol. But I use a zero degree(false advertising) sleeping bag and then taco myself in the heated blanket. I mostly felt warm except for the extremely cold night. Down to the low 30s high 20s is no problem. Just get dressed fast in the morning. And the nightly run from the showers is always fun. It’s an adventure man, but Midwest hunting beats the **** out of Florida, and prob Texas too if you ain’t on a badass ranch


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No bad ass ranch here. I don't get into the paying big money for deer that are pen raised. But thanks for the info!


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Found this and thought it might be cool for people to compare the amount of public land to hunt.


Funny thing is I grew up in MO and never hunted public there always private. Move to Kansas a few years ago and hunt 2/3 public land.

MO available hunting land = 2,525,000 acres.

Kansas = 420,000
 
No bad ass ranch here. I don't get into the paying big money for deer that are pen raised. But thanks for the info!


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Same here bro, I like the reward of doing it the harder way, and I’m cheap, lol. Wasn’t implying anything, just know that exist out in Texas(and otherwise). Anyways, you’re gonna have a good time buddy. Shoot a pm if you need to. I’m always down to talk hunting. I’m no pro but been doing Midwest OOS camping for 5 years so got a bit of an idea of what’s going on. Enjoy your trip bud.


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I did this on a DIY 9 day Missouri bow hunt last year in middle November, I am not a wealthy person so I had to be cautious on the money I spent since tags are like $300ish. I have a 2014 subaru outback with the seats folded down I fit two coolers and two big tubs along with my bow case.

For the camping portion:
I didn't sleep in my car each night because there is no insulation, but it does block the wind so I went back and forth between that and the tent. I slept in it a couple nights to try it out and it works well either way, I am 6' and had plenty of room. Other nights I used a coleman sundome tent 4 person https://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Sundome-Tent/dp/B004J2GUOU?th=1&psc=1 and it worked pretty well, but it has great ventilation which sucks in the winter so I stuffed blankets near the windows. I used a small propane tent heater (and bought a CO detector at walmart just incase), make sure you put a pan or something underneath the heater for condensation. To sleep on I used an inflatable mattress from amazon (can't find the link, it was like 6" thick and inflatable) and I bought a nice north face sleeping bag good down to -20 and was comfortable each night. For food I used a my RTIC cooler with dry ice and had a freeze dried meals, bacon, eggs, protein packs, yogurt etc in there along with a rapid boil backpack stove from amazon https://www.amazon.com/Odoland-Cook...ing-goods&sprefix=backpac,sporting,190&sr=1-3 for coffee. I also brought a coleman camping stove for evening meals. https://www.amazon.com/Coleman-2000...goods&sprefix=coleman+cam,sporting,287&sr=1-1 Bring a few water jugs, I brought two 7 gallon and it was plenty. I bought a few led lanterns from amazon for the late nights of reading but ended up sitting in my car with the heat on charging my phone and reading/facetime etc (ensure to rev it a few times so carbon doesn't build up over 9 days of sitting if you don't drive). Overall I was comfortable each day and night at camp and going to do it again this year.

Scouting:
Start now and watch youtube. lots of it. take notes. Get on onx and find some spots that you think might be good based on pinch points, funnels etc. and find scouting info on the internet. I never scouted anything just showed up, found fresh sign, setup, tagged out. I didn't hunt mark twain forest but PM and we can discuss where I went, all sight unseen.

Gear:
I brought more gear than I needed for camp and will scale down this year. But, spend the $$ on a warm set of clothes. I did not do this and it was horrible at times. I used some first lite gear that was for hunting down here in Florida, then layered it. I wore thermals, mens wick ls crew, mens kiln hoody, mens sawtooth hybrid vest, mossy oak jacket and I was so %$&*& cold when I stood still it was unreal. I just bought the solitude insulated jacket and first lite balaclava and that will be a game changer (thanks POTUS for the stimulus). On the bottoms I wore thermals and mens guide lite pants, same deal so cold. Finally for boots, I completely disregarded the weather like an idiot and wore a pair of non-insulated redhead boots with two pair of wool socks. This was stupid af and I had to stop hunting because I thought I had frost bite even with a million sets of hand warmers. So I bought a pair of insulated 1000g lacrosse boots so that I can actually stand on my platform and not go back to camp. Bottom line, spend the $ on the good cold weather gear because you can always take stuff off but at some point you might be so cold you have to bail.

Final thoughts:
Bring more arrows than you think you need, I fell first day in like some drainage thing and thought I was going in the river so I used my bow to break my fall which ended up snapping every arrow in my quiver. Get a good pair of binos, I used these https://www.amazon.com/Bushnell-Fal...ts&qid=1588466874&sprefix=bino,aps,185&sr=8-5 and they were great and affordable, but forgot a dang chest holder for them. If you use a camel back don't let water get into the hose because it will freeze almost right away, take a sip then blow it back into the bladder. Finally, make sure your vehicles battery has good CCA, mine was fine and I upgraded to a duralast platinum before I left and am glad I did, I never saw anyone for 9 days so a dead battery would have been terrible. Im sure im forgetting alot of stuff but ill add to it if I remember
Dude,.... Yes. That's what I needed to hear. I was debating on taking what I have for cold weather gear, but not gonna lie I'm far under prepared on cold weather gear just haven't admitted it to myself, I tend to always think I'm prepared for cold weather until cold weather hits then I realize I better grab the Mr. Buddy and hop in the box blind. I'm on the downhill slide weight Wise right now so I'm gonna wait until closer to season to order clothing but I need to start picking up other stuff sooner than later.

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Found this and thought it might be cool for people to compare the amount of public land to hunt.


Funny thing is I grew up in MO and never hunted public there always private. Move to Kansas a few years ago and hunt 2/3 public land.

MO available hunting land = 2,525,000 acres.

Kansas = 420,000
What part of Kansas are you in? A guy I work with goes up there every year, has been for nearly 20 years now and loves it. He's around Yates Center but I've been looking at public ground a little further to the South to plan an upcoming hunt. Seems to be pretty abundant down there. Spread out, but abundant.

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Dude,.... Yes. That's what I needed to hear. I was debating on taking what I have for cold weather gear, but not gonna lie I'm far under prepared on cold weather gear just haven't admitted it to myself, I tend to always think I'm prepared for cold weather until cold weather hits then I realize I better grab the Mr. Buddy and hop in the box blind. I'm on the downhill slide weight Wise right now so I'm gonna wait until closer to season to order clothing but I need to start picking up other stuff sooner than later.

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I buy stuff throughout the season so its not one giant expense, usually a couple small things per month
 
Just outside of Wichita KS. I’m only about an hour from Yates. There are some big boys running around. Does he lease land? Or public?
 
Just outside of Wichita KS. I’m only about an hour from Yates. There are some big boys running around. Does he lease land? Or public?
He leases. Been leasing from different people in the same town for nearly 20 years. I know another guy from work that I believe bought some property up there in Wichita.

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He leases. Been leasing from different people in the same town for nearly 20 years. I know another guy from work that I believe bought some property up there in Wichita.

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It’s definitely a lease haven here in Kansas. I’m not blessed to afford that luxury. I take what I get around here.

Another reason looking at throwing in some OOS hunting to mix things up.
 
Me and my brother hunt out of state every year on public land and do very well... but I would recommend looking for a cabin or hotel with a place to shower. Mature bucks have amazing sniffers ... especially on public land where they have been hunted by every Amish person and others very hard. Most cabins cost $50 a night, and if you are going all the way to Missouri , I would do my best to be successful. Just my opinion... good luck and post some pics in the fall.
 
How is the public land around there?

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Heavily pressured especially rifle. I don’t step foot on public during rifle. Most public is surrounding lakes and the tracts aren’t huge. A few places I used to go not too far from Yates they started clearing trees for crops and bird hunting. Not saying it’s impossible to find deer but they don’t have to go far when pressured to escape to private.
 
Heavily pressured especially rifle. I don’t step foot on public during rifle. Most public is surrounding lakes and the tracts aren’t huge. A few places I used to go not too far from Yates they started clearing trees for crops and bird hunting. Not saying it’s impossible to find deer but they don’t have to go far when pressured to escape to private.
I believe it man. I'm considering rerouting my adventure to just across the Kansas line in MO but not sure exactly. Gotta keep doing research but that would ultimately put me closer to where I want to be in Kansas so maybe I could take a day off of hunting or on the way home go through Kansas and take a look at some of the public ground I wanted to check out.
 
I love to sleep in a hammock (pad needed if cold), but I also built a foldable bed for my 4runner. If going with a group, we each will do our own thing for sleeping. I did buy a large EZ Up with sides and convert it to the 'lounging' area. Sit and talk, cook and eat, etc. I put a large heavy ply tarp on ground and it's fairly comfy, dry, and clean ...especially nice to have in the event of bad weather.

If you go with a tent (sleeping on ground), don't skimp on a good bed mat ...or cot depending on tent size.

I honestly prefer sleeping on my 4runner bed now as it's less to pack and keep up with.
 
I live in SOMO and let me tell you if you're gonna try and plan for one weather type and not prepare for everything mother nature can throw at you then you will probably end up miserable.. The weather changes here very rapidly, I have seen temps in the single digits and also in the high 60's.. Rain and snow, and tornados. Make sure to have good rain gear and base layers. As for camping during all this I tent camp the entire rifle season here in MO we use a 16'x16' tent with a wood stove, so I don't think I will be much help in that category lol
 
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