THE UNIVERSITY DARY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2006
KULTURE
7A
Landon Lukens, Medicine Lodge junior, plans to travel back to his home town next week to hunt for quail on the Lukens family land, roughly 12,000 acres of grass and farmland. Lukenes, who began hunting as soon as he was old enough to hold a shurgtun, purposely arranged his class schedule this semester to allow him extra travel time to return home for the opening of the quail season.
Bryan McGooyer/KANSAN
Brett Klepper, Great Bend senior, will travel home from Lawrence this weekend for the opening of pleasant season. Klepper grew up hunting with family and friends, and making the three-hour journey home for each season has become an important tradition for Klepper since moving away from Great Bend.
Students head home to hunt
Opening of hunting season is like holiday tradition for some
BY TYLER KLAUS
Brett Klepper will leave campus after work at 5 p.m. today to make the three-hour trip back to his hometown. It's not the common student trip home for a holiday or religious occasion; it's for a different kind of tradition.
Nov. 4 marks the opening day of pheasant season in Kansas and that means outdoor fun with friends and family for Klepper.
"We do it every year," Klepper, Great Bend senior, said. "It's the only time when we all really get together."
In each of the 21-year-old's past three years of college, he has gone home for opening day. He went back while he attended Butler County Community College during his first two years and then returned home from the University of Kansas the following year after he transferred to major in human biology.
Usually, he hunts with his father, uncle, brother and about seven other friends.
His father, Daryl, said he and his son wouldn't spend nearly as much time with each other if they didn't hunt together.
One member of their hunting group owns about 2,000 acres located 20 miles north and 10 miles west of Great Bend. Starting with the best patches at first
light, they normally hunt the majority of the fields on Saturday. On Sunday, they hunt Klepper's land, which is 10 or 12 miles east of Hoisington, near Claflin.
"I love hunting. It's fun to be around everybody and outdoors," Klepper said. "The hunting doesn't even have to be that good either."
With teamwork and the help of three dogs, the group bagged 20 pheasants last year. Pheasants, also known as ring-necks, are a colorful game bird that has been popular since they were stocked in Kansas in 1905. According to the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, pheasant production in the eastern part of Southwest Kansas was better than in the western part, but still below the long-term average. This means the hunting will not be as good as in past years, but still good.
"I love doing the small-town stuff that you can't do up here," Lukens said.
Landon Lukens, Medicine Lodge junior, hunts mostly for quail. The quail season opens a week after pheasant season. Lukens purposely did not schedule any classes on Fridays because he wanted an extra day to take the three-and-a-half hour trip home to bird hunt. He also hunts for coyotes during their year-round season. He mainly hunts for quail and coyotes because there are not many pheasants around his area. During the season, he goes home at least two weeks a month.
Last year, he hunted with his father and Nolan Pevehouse, an old family friend who sold him his first bird dog. Like Klepper, he started hunting as soon as he could hold a shotgun. The thing that attracted Lukens to the sport was his dogs.
"The best part is watching a good dog work." Lukens said. "I put a lot of work into my dogs in the summer, and I want to watch them hunt."
Aside from holidays, it is the only time he spends with his family.
"Well, it's most of our father-son time since he's left and gone to school." Ted Lukens, Lukens' father, said.
Seventy-five-year-old Pevhouse, Muskogee said hunting has had a big effect on his relationship with Lukens.
"It's so much better because of hunting. He's like one of my own."
According to the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, across Southcentral Kansas there will be "similar or moderately greater" numbers
The Lukens family owns about 12,000 acres of grass and farmland. It can be found roughly 10 to 30 miles north of Medicine Lodge and 30 miles north of the Oklahoma border. This group of hunters each shot their daily limit of eight quail last year on opening day.
of quail than last fall. That means that the hunting will be excellent again this year. Quail are a smaller game bird that have the same season as pheasants, but hunting starts a week later.
Lukens' father said the tradition sometimes affects the holiday family gatherings.
"Lots of times were late to Thanksgiving dinner because we've been out hunting," he said.
Whether it's for pheasant's, quail or coyotes, the hunting season is a tradition that brings together friends and family for fun in the outdoors.
Kansan correspondent Tyler Klaus can be contacted at editor@kansan. com.
Edited by Minay Ricketts
Ryan McGeeney/EANSAN
Brett Klepper, Great Bend senior, and Landon Lukons, Medicine Lodge junior, will be traveling to their respective home towns during the coming weekends to rejoin family and friends for the openings of two hunting seasons: Klepper for pheasant season, and Lukens for quail season.
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