There are some really nice muleys in Western Kansas, but we don't have a huge amount of public land.

Unfortunately, it is next to impossible for a non-resident to hunt a mule deer buck in Kansas.  (unless you are a landowner)

From the KDWP website:

"A nonresident who successfully draws an Archery or Muzzleloader either-sex deer permit in Unit 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 16, 17, or 18 may also apply for one of a limited number of Mule Deer Stamps for an additional fee of $102.50, submitted at time of application; if drawn, the applicant’s archery or muzzleloader whitetail permit converts to an either-species/either-sex archery or muzzleloader permit. Preference points do not count toward this stamp. If unsuccessful in the Mule Deer Stamp draw, the hunter will receive a $101 refund and be issued the whitetail permit."

In reality, there are very few mule deer (buck) stamps available for non-resident.  Getting a mule deer doe tag is not too difficult on the years that they offer them.  You can check the draw stats online.

It's a bit bizarre to me because I live on the state border and commonly hunt deer in both states (Colorado & Kansas).  In the two Kansas units that I hunt--for whitetails--there are probably 10 mule deer for every whitetail.  Plus they just cross back and forth over the border all day long.

That's the bad news.  The good news is there is over a million acres of "walk-in-hunting" in Kansas which is private land the state leases for public hunters.  I usually do very well there.

Good luck.  I think you have until April 30th to apply as a non-res.

the only public ground i would recommend in kansas would be the cimmaron national grasslands. the rest is all reservoir lands. we do not have very much public land in kansas and it's super difficult to get permission in the age of deer-leases.

it might be pretty difficult to get the permit in kansas as well. i would take the chance and go to nebraska since you have a connection there. the drinking situation you can handle by making sure you don't drink with him. drive yourself or get a rental car, that way you can get to your hunting area on your own, maybe with the help of GPS.

find some public areas near where you're going too incase your buddy really falls through. your chances on public grounds in each state is probably equal, so i'd lean towards the state with the tag you know you can get.