Can anybody point me in the right direction for a less expensive private land pheasant hunt in South Dakota? I know it's not an on your own andventure but i don't have a dog and would like to go with my 2 sons as well as other family members.thanks
South Dakota pheasants
- Thread starter DAVIDKERR
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warmer
Well-known member
Check your PM.
Tksd
New member
I would encourage you to try and go on your own or talk to the guide to only have your group hunting when you are there. A lot of these preserves will max out their hunting group with blockers and walkers and a lot of BB's being sprayed around. I have never hunted at a preserve but have been invited to hunt with friends on private lands they manage for pheasants with large groups and it is not the same as getting out on your own with your own group. to me 6 people is the max i would hunt with. any more people than that there are too many guns and then you are forced to hunt with someone you do not know to be safe and responsible.
If you do go for a preserve try to get out early in the season as well because later in the year the wild bird population is pretty well thinned out an you are shooting farmed birds which if you watch on shows they are forced to kick to get up and they have to use pointers and not labs otherwise the labs would catch the birds. if you decide to go on your own shoot for November when pressure on public land will be less.
Take it from someone who lives in the heart South Dakota'a pheasant country who would never pay to slay for one reason only you do not have too. there are lots of birds everywhere you just may have to walk to the field instead of taking a school bus.
Go on your own! with or without a dog you will be more satisfied to hunt the public lands and leased private land hunting wild birds with your family and nobody else. Save the 200-500 gun fee on a preserve and put it towards gas and explore and you will find birds.
If you do go for a preserve try to get out early in the season as well because later in the year the wild bird population is pretty well thinned out an you are shooting farmed birds which if you watch on shows they are forced to kick to get up and they have to use pointers and not labs otherwise the labs would catch the birds. if you decide to go on your own shoot for November when pressure on public land will be less.
Take it from someone who lives in the heart South Dakota'a pheasant country who would never pay to slay for one reason only you do not have too. there are lots of birds everywhere you just may have to walk to the field instead of taking a school bus.
Go on your own! with or without a dog you will be more satisfied to hunt the public lands and leased private land hunting wild birds with your family and nobody else. Save the 200-500 gun fee on a preserve and put it towards gas and explore and you will find birds.
MTBirdhunter
Member
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2014
- Messages
- 109
Wild pheasant hunting is great, hopefully, you will get the bug along with your kids! Personally, I would avoid commercial operations, that is not what pheasant hunting is about. If you need a guide and dog, I would look for a smaller outfit, I have seen some that offer what is basically a bed and breakfast set up plus bird hunting, and I would NOT be set on SD. ND, Nebr., Iowa, Kansas, they also have pockets of good bird hunting. SD is so commercialized and that bothers me, I prefer hunting private ground, do not have to worry about running into slob hunters and the fact a lot of public ground is hammered. Good Hunting!
Muleyfanatic
Active member
Tksd
New member
I hunt public 95% of the time with the same results. you may need to take Randy's elk strategy and apply it to pheasants. get away from roads and look for out of the way places and you will find more birds and less hunters.
T Bone
Well-known member
I loved the days of hunting S.D. I focused on the oceans of prairie grass, with my good dogs.
We lived there for 6 years and never once paid a dime to hunt birds.
With so much public access why pay?
Now that I have a good dog again, I intend to get back up there for a few days.
We lived there for 6 years and never once paid a dime to hunt birds.
With so much public access why pay?
Now that I have a good dog again, I intend to get back up there for a few days.
I went through UGuide a couple years ago, you're basically renting a farm for your group and you're the only ones on the property. They only have one farm that has guide service though. We also hunted public land while we were there and found birds pretty easy, but we had dogs. If you decide to go the public land route take some non toxic shot as some public area require it.
http://www.uguidesdpheasants.com/
http://www.uguidesdpheasants.com/
This doesn't really help the OP, but this spring when I was scouting snow geese off Sand Lake NWR in SD, I took a quick walk through some public land just off the road, and I was blown away by the amount of pheasants that got up in a quick 200 yard jaunt, no dogs.
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