It’s a striking sight — the all metal hunting lodge that’s perched on a hillside two miles south of Sedan on the west side of Highway 99.

“Kansas Finest Outfitters” is now open to hunters who need a good place to stay, hunt and enjoy some good, home-cooked food.

Sam Moore has been in the outfitting business for the past 13 years, mostly in the state of Illinois, but he and his wife, Tammy, have turned their attention entirely to Kansas.

Chautauqua County, Kansas, specifically.

“You’ve got some of the best deer hunting in the country right here in Chautauqua and Elk counties,” he said while pointing to an array of stuffed deer heads and racks along a wall. “They may not be the biggest deer, but they sure grow big antlers in this part of the country.”

Moore has hunted throughout Kansas and believes there is something about the rocks, timber and native browse in these parts.

His wife, Tammy, will do all the cooking for hunting groups that soon will be arriving.

The lodge has a complete commercial kitchen with all the latest equipment. Large, leather sectional sofas are spread around the huge lodge room and a large-screen TV pulls in favorite sports channels for guests to watch.

There are eight guest rooms, each with individual bathrooms.

Sam and Tammy live in a new modular home located right behind the lodge.

“I’ve got a big followoing of hunters from all over the country,” Sam said, “just like Mark Jones does, and the other outfitters in this area. “We all attract hunters who will come to the Sedan area, spend time, enjoy themselves, spend money — and go back home where they will tell others about this place.”

A good part of Moore’s guests will be bow hunters. Bow season in Kansas starts in late September and runs through Dec. 31. A much shorter rifle season for deer will be open only for 12 days during December.

Two separate hunting television shows, “Bucks of Tocomate” and “Hank Parker’s Outdoor Magazine,” are scheduled to come to Sedan in the coming weeks to shoot video for their shows.

“When everybody comes in, it’s like a big family reunion,” Sam said, referring to all the hunters who he has outfitted and led over the years.

He points out that all his hunts are “fair chase,” meaning there are no high fences to contain the deer. “That makes it a real sport, and it’s that way all over this part of the country. It’s why hunters like to come here.”

Moore also said the Kansas Fish and Wildlife Department has done a good job of controlling the deer population and keeping an excellent buck-to-doe ratio. “I’d say it’s one of the best in the nation,” he said. “There are more big bucks here — and that’s what draws the true sportsmen.”

As he guides guests on their hunts, Moore scores the bucks before they are taken. “On our scoring system, they must rate at least 140 before we will take a buck — if they’re not big enough, we’ll let them go and allow them to grow older and bigger.”

At least four guides will work at “Kansas Finest Outfitters,” including Moore himself.

Sam Moore also holds the distinction of being a former major league baseball player, playing during the 1980s with the Houston Astros, then traded to the San Francisco Giants and finishing out his career in 1989 pitching for the Milwaukee Brewers.

He played seven full seasons in the majors as a righthand pitcher.

He maintains many friendships in the sports world and hopes to draw some of them to Sedan for some good hunting, making some new friends in the area and enjoying plenty of Tammy’s home-cooking at the lodge.