Kevin McConnell, Tonganoxie, has spoken with several area hunters.

He traveled to Chapman opening weekend. The warm, dry weather limited his success.

He and 14 other hunters got 15 roosters on opening day, and some of the men didn’t even have a shot at a Pheasant.

“We were hunting in short sleeves by 10 or 11 o’clock,” McConnell said.

Early in the day there was dew, and the dogs could pick up the scent of the birds. But the wind started to blow and dried out any leads the dogs had.

McConnell hunts several places every year.

The Chapman trip was to visit John Calovich, a row crop farmer who used to live in the Tonganoxie area.

“He lets us come out there and hunt,” McConnell said.

The advantage of hunting private property is that there are fewer hunters with whom to compete and McConnell and his hunting partners didn’t have to hunt the same ground repeatedly.

“A lot of people don’t have that much property to go over,” McConnell said.

Area sportsmen who hunted in the Smith Center area had more luck.

McConnell said one hunter he talked to claimed 50 birds between eight hunters who walked fields in northcentral Kansas.

The Tonganoxie area is hampered by smaller fields.

“There’s a few birds around, but it’s pretty sparse,” McConnell said.

He said the best hunting in the area would be for quail.