Pheasant Hunting Forecast 2025 – Kansas

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Pheasants Beat a Generally Wet Summer; Should be a Good Hunt

Some things change. Some things stay the same.

When it comes to Pheasants Forever’s annual pheasant hunting forecast, the change always seems to focus on the weather and how it affected pheasants where we pheasant hunters like to hunt, or might want to go hunt.

This year, a generally wet weather pattern seemed like it could have derailed pheasant nesting success and bird numbers in much of the core pheasant range.

But it was “anything but” as you’ll see in the state-by-state rundowns. It looks like it is going to be a very good year for rooster hunting. Take a browse and start planning your hunts.

Speaking of which, that’s something that always stays the same:

Big bird numbers, small bird numbers … we hunt.

There is one other constant: The never-ending need for habitat. For pheasants, of course, but also all the other wildlife that benefits from good pheasant habitat — and more of it — on the landscape.

That, and public access, is the Pheasants Forever mission. Join. Renew. Increase your support.

And have a great hunt this fall. The birds are there.

Sunflower State is Set for a Good Pheasant Season

Kansas is one of the most diverse upland destinations in the country. Over the last half decade, these vast opportunities have been tempered by prolonged drought. Those conditions started to turn around in 2024, and further improvement this spring and summer have hunters across the state excited for the coming season.

“From what I’m seeing and hearing across the state, it’s looking like we are going to be shaping up pretty well,” says Tyler Rafter, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s Kansas state coordinator. “There was initially worry that some of the intense rainfalls and storms could have harmed nesting and brood success. But second nesting attempts seem to have overcome that hurdle.”

All signs point to a quality season ahead according to Rafter, who says reports from across the state are all trending positive.

“I’m getting anecdotal reports from people around the state that they are seeing more pheasant and quail broods than in previous years, and still finding ample new nests,” he says. “I believe the additional rainfall was a net positive, and the increase in plant and arthropod productivity and production is going to lead to a strong showing for the upcoming season.”

Weather and Habitat Conditions

Parts of the pheasant range experienced historic levels of flooding this spring and early summer. While parts of Kansas did get hit with heavy rainfall, particularly around Wichita and parts eastern Kansas, most of the state was in good shape heading into the core nesting season.

“We were predicted to be hotter and dryer this year, but that cycle swung a little further west than normal, so we were actually well above average in several of our regions on rainfall this year,” says Jeff Prendergast, the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) small game specialist. “That started early enough in the spring to have a positive impact on nesting for the most part.”

Rain can be a mixed bag for pheasants during the peak hatch, especially when there are also cool temperatures. Some areas did see this combination in the first two weeks of June, but Prendergast says the rainfall was still a net positive for birds.

“That likely had some impact on chick survival,” he says. “Anecdotally we are seeing more broods than in the past, but they tend to be smaller. Which suggests we did have some chick survival issues.”

Quality conditions continued throughout the summer, with well-timed rains across much of the state. This puts habitat in good shape heading into fall, and late summer rains typically bode well for the long-term health of habitat.

But Prendergast says that while weather can drastically impact conditions on existing ground, long-term habitat loss puts a ceiling on bird numbers.

“Our populations will cycle up and down with conditions, but the amount of habitat we have sets the bar for how high or low those numbers will go,” he says. “And those bars have shifted down over time as we’ve lost CRP and continue to shift more toward row crop agriculture and away from our small grains. So I expect a good year, and things are moving in a positive direction — but it’s not going to produce the same number of birds that good weather did 20 years ago.”

Keep your eye on the KDWP Upland Bird Page for the state’s 2025 upland forecast.

Top Spots

The western half of Kansas typically produces the most robust populations of wild pheasants. Statewide fall survey data is not yet available, so field staff are relying heavily on numbers from the spring survey, as well as anecdotal reports.

Prendergast says good holdover in the west from last year helped kickstart birds this spring, and that success was buoyed by good conditions.

“Our breeding populations were fairly strong, at least in the western and south-central parts of the state,” he says. “The drought didn’t break as early in the north-central, so we didn’t see quite as high production there in our spring surveys.”

The rule of thumb when it comes to Kansas upland bird production is “in dry years the east is better, in wet years the west.” Given the rainfall over the course of this spring and summer, that should set western Kansas up to be more productive in 2025.

“Our populations in the east may have been impacted by heavy rains and localized flash flooding,” Prendergast says. “South-central and southwestern Kansas were both good last year and should maintain that positive trajectory. As for the Northwest, I struggle to speak to that region without having hard data. It saw big improvements last year, but precipitation was also below average for the first half of the summer.”

Keep an eye on Kansas.

Regional Reports

Northwest

I’m not out traveling as much at this time of year, but I have seen a few more birds this year than I have in the past. I think we’re going to see an increase. In talking with other people, whether it was during the wheat harvest, or now that some folks are doing some habitat management between the wheat and corn harvest, people are seeing more pheasants than they have in the last few years.

Southwest

There weren’t a lot of large winter storm events this year, so conditions have been better, and that was reflected in the spring pheasant survey. Recently I’ve talked to several hunters and Pheasants Forever volunteers in my area, and a lot of them are very excited. They’re in high spirits, and have been seeing a lot more birds.

Central

We got some pretty hardcore snow this winter, which added a little moisture, and into spring we got a lot more rain than normal. That helped everything grow, so I think we’re doing okay for water. The cover is good, and the grass is in great shape.

Season Details

The Kansas pheasant season runs November 8 to January 31, 2026. The daily bag limit is 4 roosters, with a possession limit of 16.

Kansas’ youth pheasant season is November 1-2.