Kan. Admin. Regs. § 115-5-1 - Furbearers and coyotes; legal equipment, taking methods, and general provisions

(a) Hunting equipment permitted during furbearer hunting seasons and during coyote hunting seasons shall consist of the following:

(1) Firearms, except fully automatic firearms;

(2) archery equipment;

(3) crossbows; and

(4) optical scopes or sights that project no visible light toward the target and do not electronically amplify visible or infrared light, except as specified in this regulation.

(b) Trapping equipment permitted during furbearer and coyote trapping seasons shall consist of the following:

(1) Smooth-jawed foothold traps, except that all types of foothold traps may be used in water sets;

(2) body-gripping traps;

(3) box traps;

(4) cage traps;

(5) colony traps;

(6) snares; and

(7) deadfalls.

(c) The following general provisions shall apply to the taking of furbearers and coyotes:

(1) Calls may be used in the taking of furbearers and coyotes.

(2) Handheld, battery-powered flashlights, hat lamps, and handheld lanterns may be used while trapping furbearers or coyotes or while running furbearers.

(3) Any .22 or .17 caliber rimfire rifle or handgun may be used to take trapped furbearers or trapped coyotes when using a light to check traps.

(4) Any .22 or .17 caliber rimfire rifle or handgun may be used while using a handheld, battery-powered flashlight, hat lamp, handheld lantern, or laser sight to take furbearers treed with the aid of dogs.

(5) Lures, baits, and decoys may be used in the taking of furbearers and coyotes.

(6) The use of horses and mules shall be permitted while hunting, trapping, or running furbearers and coyotes.

(7) The use of motor vehicles for taking coyotes shall be permitted while hunting coyotes, except as provided in subsection (d).

(8) The use of radios in land or water vehicles shall be permitted for the taking of coyotes.

(9) The use of dogs for hunting and during running seasons shall be permitted.

(10) Each body-gripping trap with an inside jawspread of eight inches or greater, when measured across the jaws at a 90-degree angle, shall be used only in a water set.

(11) Only landowners or tenants of land immediately adjacent to the right-of-way of a public road, or their immediate family members or authorized agents, may set slide-locking wire or snare-type cable traps as dryland sets within five feet of a fence bordering a public road or within 50 feet of the outside edge of the surface of a public road. Only these landowners or tenants, or their immediate family members or authorized agents, may possess the fur, pelt, skin, or carcass of any furbearer or coyote removed from these devices located within these specified limits.

(12) A person shall not have in possession any equipment specified in subsection (a) while pursuing or chasing furbearers with hounds during the running season.

(13) All trapping devices included in subsection (b) shall be tagged with either the users name and address or the users department-issued identification number and shall be tended and inspected at least once every calendar day.

(14) Each foothold trap that has an outside jawspread greater than seven inches, when measured across the jaws at a 90-degree angle, shall be used only in a water set.

(d) From January 1 through March 31, the following provisions shall apply to the hunting of coyotes:

(1) Artificial light, scopes and equipment that amplify visible light, and thermal-imaging scopes and thermal-imaging equipment may be used for hunting.

(2) The use of vehicles when hunting with the equipment specified in paragraph (d)(1) shall be prohibited.

(3) The use of the equipment specified in paragraph (d)(1) shall not be authorized on department lands and waters.

(4) Each person using the equipment specified in paragraph (d)(1) in the manner prescribed in this subsection shall first obtain a permit from the department.

Notes

Kan. Admin. Regs. § 115-5-1

Authorized by and implementing K.S.A. 32-807 and 32-1003; effective March 19, 1990; amended Nov. 15, 1993; amended July 19, 2002; amended Feb. 18, 2005; amended Sept. 4, 2009; amended July 22, 2011; amended July 26, 2013; amended May 31, 2019; amended Sept. 18, 2020; amended by Kansas Register Volume 41, No. 49; effective 12/23/2022.