Kansas Deer Units: Permits, Season Dates, and Regulations

Kansas splits the state into 19 numbered deer hunting units, and the unit you’re in decides which permits are valid, which species you can take, and how many antlerless tags you can stack. Whitetails live in every unit. Mule deer are legal only in units 1, 2, 17, and 18 in the west. Unit 10A, covering Fort Leavenworth, is open only to active and retired military. Everything else — season dates, equipment, tagging, penalties — sits on top of that unit framework.¹²

How the 19 Units Are Drawn and What They Control

The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks draws unit boundaries along county lines and geographic features like river drainages and habitat types. Maps are published on the KDWP website and updated when boundaries change, so pull the current map before you buy a permit or scout.¹

The unit you hunt controls three things. First, species: mule deer harvest is confined to units 1, 2, 17, and 18, and taking one requires an either-species permit. Nonresidents also have to draw a separate Mule Deer Stamp during the April application window, which converts a nonresident white-tailed archery or muzzleloader permit into an either-species permit for those four units.² Second, permit validity: some permits are statewide, but muzzleloader and firearms either-species permits are sold as east-group (units 3, 4, 5, 7, 16) or west-group (units 1, 2, 17, 18), and you have to pick one. Third, antlerless opportunity, which narrows sharply as you add tags (see below).³

Permits for Each Unit

Before any deer permit, you need a base hunting license. A resident annual license is $27.50, dropping to $15 for seniors 65 to 74. Multi-year resident youth licenses (ages 16 to 20) run $42.50. A nonresident annual license is $127.50. Residents under 16 don’t need one.⁴

Resident Permits

Residents buy deer permits over the counter from August 5 through December 31. The core options:

Any-season white-tailed permit, $42.50. Valid statewide in any season with whatever equipment that season allows. Covers buck, doe, or fawn.
Archery either-species permit. Statewide during archery season, whitetail or mule deer.
Muzzleloader either-species permit. East group or west group during muzzleloader and regular firearms seasons, muzzleloader equipment only.
Firearms either-species permit. East group or west group during regular firearms season, any legal equipment.

Resident big game permits other than elk are capped by statute at $100.³

Nonresident Permits

Nonresidents can’t walk in and buy. You apply during the April 1 to 24 drawing window, and your card is charged only if you’re drawn. A nonresident white-tailed permit is $477.50, which includes a $27.50 nonrefundable application fee. If you want to hunt mule deer in units 1, 2, 17, or 18, apply for the Mule Deer Stamp during that same window. Applications go through GoOutdoorsKS or by phone at 1-833-587-2164.⁵

Hunt-Own-Land Permits

If you own or actively farm at least 80 acres of Kansas farm or ranch land, a Hunt-Own-Land permit lets you skip the general drawing and hunt whitetail or mule deer on your property during archery, muzzleloader, and firearms seasons with the equipment legal for that season. Tenants qualify if they can show a substantial financial stake in the operation or serve as a bona fide manager; KDWP may ask for farm service records or a written lease. Family members living with the landowner or tenant qualify for the resident version. One trap: land held in a trust, LLC, or similar entity does not qualify, because the entity owns the land rather than the individual. Nonresident landowners can also get a Hunt-Own-Land permit under K.S.A. 32-937, subject to the same rules.⁵⁶

Antlerless Permits by Unit Tier

You get one antlered deer a year unless you also hold a Commissioner Big Game permit. Beyond that buck, you can buy up to ten Whitetail Antlerless-Only (WAO) permits, but each additional permit is valid in fewer units:

First WAO permit: all units except 1, 2, 17, and 18.
Permits 2 through 5: units 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, and 10A.
Permits 6 through 10: units 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 19 only, and only on private land plus specific wildlife areas and Walk-in Hunting Areas inside those units.

The tiers concentrate antlerless harvest where whitetail populations are highest and agricultural damage is a concern.²

2026–2027 Season Dates

Youth and Disability Season: September 5–13, 2026
Early Muzzleloader Season: September 14–27, 2026
Archery Season: September 14–December 31, 2026
Pre-Rut Firearm Whitetail Antlerless Season: October 10–12, 2026 (hunter orange required; any permit allowing antlerless whitetail harvest is valid)
Extended Pre-Rut Firearm Antlerless Season: October 13–18, 2026 (Unit 12 only)
Regular Firearms Season: December 2–13, 2026

Regular firearms season lines up with the tail end of the rut. Archery runs more than three months and overlaps the other seasons. Legal shooting hours are half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset.²

Legal Equipment

During firearms season, legal equipment includes centerfire rifles and handguns that are not fully automatic. Ammunition must be expanding or hard-cast solid lead: soft point, hollow point, and tumble-on-impact bullets all qualify. Shotguns of any gauge with slugs are legal.⁷

Archery equipment includes longbows, recurves, compounds, and crossbows. Broadheads must be wide enough that they cannot pass through a ring three-quarters of an inch in diameter when fully expanded. No electronic device that controls arrow flight can be attached to the bow or arrow.⁷

Optical scopes and sights are legal if they project no visible light toward the target. Scopes that electronically amplify visible light or detect infrared or thermal energy are prohibited, and chemical-dispensing devices for taking big game are illegal.⁸

Hunter orange is required during all firearms seasons, including the pre-rut antlerless season. Archery hunters during the archery-only window are exempt.²

Tagging Your Deer

Kansas uses electronic tagging through the GoOutdoorsKS app or website. When you submit your E-Tag, you enter the harvest date, time, species, age, weapon used, unit, and county, then upload a photo. You’ll get a confirmation number. If the deer goes to a processor or taxidermist, write that number down and keep it with the animal. Keep the permit or tag with the meat through processing and transport.⁹

Chronic Wasting Disease and Carcass Movement

Chronic Wasting Disease has been detected in several Kansas counties. KDWP asks hunters to leave carcasses in the county where the deer was taken. Bone out the meat at or near the kill site when you can, and avoid transporting a whole carcass out of counties known to have CWD.¹⁰

If you have to move a whole carcass, debone it at your processing location and take the leftover carcass, spinal column, and head to your county landfill. CWD prions concentrate in brain, spinal, and lymph tissue, so keeping those materials out of the general waste stream matters.¹⁰

Public Land, Check-In, and Baiting

KDWP wildlife areas, Walk-in Hunting Areas (WIHA), and Integrated Walk-in Hunting Areas (iWIHA) are open to deer hunters without a separate access permit, but you have to check in and check out electronically through GoOutdoorsKS using the same account you use for licenses. Some wildlife areas add restrictions on vehicles, camping, or equipment beyond the statewide rules, so review the property page before you drive out.¹¹

Baiting is prohibited on all KDWP-managed lands, WIHA, and iWIHA. Bait means any grain, fruit, vegetable, nut, hay, salt, feed, or mineral capable of attracting wildlife. Liquid scents and sprays don’t count.¹²

Penalties for Deer Hunting Violations

Big game violations are misdemeanors under K.S.A. 32-1032, and the penalties climb with each conviction:

First or second conviction: fine of $500 to $1,000, up to six months in county jail, or both. The court may revoke your hunting license and forfeit privileges for one year.
Third conviction: mandatory forfeiture of hunting privileges for five years.
Fourth conviction: fine of at least $1,000, minimum 60 days in county jail, classified as a Class A nonperson misdemeanor.

Unlawful intentional taking of a trophy big game animal carries a mandatory additional fine of at least $5,000, layered on top of the misdemeanor penalty rather than charged separately. Typical violations that trigger these penalties include hunting without a valid permit, exceeding bag limits, taking deer in a closed season, and hunting with prohibited equipment.¹³

1
Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. Kansas Deer Management Maps
2
Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. Deer – Big Game Information
3
Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. Deer Permits and Tags
4
Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. General – Applications and Fees
5
Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. Hunting Applications and Fees
6
Justia. Kansas Statutes 32-937 – Big Game Permits
7
Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. Legal Equipment
8
Legal Information Institute. Kansas Administrative Regulations 115-4-4 – Big Game; Legal Equipment and Taking Methods
9
Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. E-Tagging
10
Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)
11
Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. Public Land and iWIHA Check-in and Check-out
12
Legal Information Institute. Kansas Administrative Regulations 115-8-23 – Bait; Hunting
13
Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Statutes 32-1032 – Big Game and Wild Turkey Violations; Criminal Penalties