South Dakota Pheasants

SCOUT5

I've missed the last 3 years but I'm headed out there this year.   I usually go after the first week is over.  My buddy has a lot of family come in for opening week and they hunt all the old family farms.  Usually there will be 15+ hunters for the occasion and I like to wait until they clear out.   But this year some folks aren't coming due to the virus.  He wants me to come out for opening weekend which is the 17th.  I'd still rather wait a week but he has asked me to come on out so I will.

For years I've hunted with an Ithaca 37.   But I have some O/U and semi-auto guns I haven't bird hunted with and I think I'll give them a try.   If cranes are in we may get a chance at those so I'm going to take the Mossberg 935 with 3 1/2" chamber along just in case.    I've shot them with 3" shells but extra shot and range will not hurt my efforts.   May get some duck hunting in but all the out of state tags available are three day private property tags so we'll see if that opportunity presents itself.   

What ever happens I'm sure we'll shoot some pheasants, a few grouse and maybe some Hungarian partridge, eat good food and share some fine company.   I like the folks out there.  

toad67

I will be heading to N/D with a few buddies about the same time, to do the same thing.....

nononsense

It was the opportunity to be with family that I looked forward to when pheasants were still available in Illinois. A dozen small farms with corn fields and ponds. Brisk Saturday morning hunts, Saturday afternoon fishing, Saturday evening wild bird and fish suppers. Lots of noise and laughter while everyone tried to converse, catch up and get some food all at the same time. How we got all those people into my grandmother's small farm house I'll never know but we managed somehow. Marvelous memories!

Best.

SCOUT5

Some years we get some walleye fishing in.  Just simple bank fishing casting lures or jigs on a lake south of where my friend lives.   His family will have a big cook out/fry up on Sunday evening.  I've been there before it's good to see a large family do things like this especially when they have generational roots to the area.  I have a big family and we get together but we do not have a tradition like this, I'm honored to be invited to share it with them.

JasonV

I live in SD. Bird numbers seem to be fair. I am ready to go!
The pay hunting places are hurting this year due to covid cancelations.

hoosier

I've  got a Cousin JD, on the old family farm in Blunt, SD. He does run a Hunting Service.  only 6,000 acres.

I have not been out in Years, 10+. All this i making me  wanting to  go.  Hum, opening day is just on Oct 19th.

kimi

That must be a blast! Good luck!

JimmyJack

Went out there for over 40 years.  Liked East central area best,  friendly people and you had to hunt the birds.  Went west of the river by Wnner ?  a couple of times and it was the opposite  Wouldnt even let us use our own dogs,  you didnt hunt, you just shot, and the people werent as friendly.  Hunted on one farm where Jerry Jones and his buddies were coming the next week.   They wouldnt let us hunt in his area.  What a lot of people dont realize is that some of these places raise or purchase birds to keep their hunters happy. 

NeoBlackdog

Flying Clay Disk said:

Another time at a different place we were hunting and the wind was just whippin'.  It was snowing and the wind must have been blowing about 45-50mph.  Birds were just running through the corn stalks and we were getting skunked.  When the birds did flush if you didn't hit them when they were a foot off the ground they were a mile away in no time because of the wind.  And I rarely ever shoot low unless I know exactly where every dog is, and even then I will hesitate.  So we were having no luck at all.  Finally we just said screw it and were headed back to the truck, so we just let the dogs run.  My dog, Shelby, got way up in front of us and got into some pheasants.  She flushed one and as it came up she leaped and grabbed it right out of the air!  She got two pheasants that way on the same day.  I guess she figured if we sucked so bad at it she was gonna' have to go do it herself!  Gawd I miss that dog!

I had a similar experience on Ladd Marsh.  The wind was blowin' hard and we were hunting straight into it.  I was wearing a pair of goggles to keep the wind blown debris out of my eyes (probably couldn't have hit a bird had I shot at one) when a rooster popped up about 20' in front and directly between us.  He hopped pretty much straight up and the wind tipped him over backwards and shot him right between us!  My buddies dog made a valiant attempt to ump up and grab the bird but missed  it.  Mr. Rooster did a perfect Immelmann and sped off faster than I ever saw a pheasant move.   Looked like he was doin' 100 mph!  We just looked at each other, laughed, and decided to call it a day. 
Love me some roasted pheasant.

JasonV

us55840 I hear you. I won't pay hunt for birds. It is $800 per gun per day around here.

Those pen raised birds are stupid and you can swat them out of the air with 9 shot or a tennis raquet. A couple years ago we stopped on the road by a pay to hunt place and ran down a couple birds on foot out in the field just for fun.

SCOUT5

Public land,  school property, core land along the river,  road ditches, section lines, walk in areas,  public access areas there is plenty of public hunting in South Dakota.   I'm fortunate to have a friend who lives there and also has permission to hunt quite a few private farms.    Gettysburg in Potter County is where he lives,

shootuadeal

https://forums.gunbroker.com/discussion/comment/11217980#Comment_11217980

Where you headed.

Ricci.Wright

What is the bag limit on pheasant in Kansas?? 

toad67

shootuadeal said:

https://forums.gunbroker.com/discussion/comment/11217980#Comment_11217980

Where you headed.

I believe we're going to Williston, it's my first time going .