Wild vs planted pheasants, wow....

[BRoth82]

Around 1,000 - 1,200 or so and a mix of hens and roosters. I just do it to help him out.

 

[duckhunt]

I'm curious...what does Iowa have in terms of land for in state or out of state pheasant hunters? A buddy suggested I look at Iowa during one of my school breaks for pheasants, but I know nothing about it.

Look around on the Iowa DNR website. Under the hunting tab there is a hunting atlas that shows public land.

 

[Keep'er Movin]

Look around on the Iowa DNR website. Under the hunting tab there is a hunting atlas that shows public land.

Thanks...I'll take a look. Appreciate the tip.

 

[BrentD]

I'm curious...what does Iowa have in terms of land for in state or out of state pheasant hunters? A buddy suggested I look at Iowa during one of my school breaks for pheasants, but I know nothing about it.

We have a small amount of public land. VERY small, and an even smaller amount of walk-in land. After that, it is all private. Also, all private, posted or not, cannot be trespassed, unlike some other states, where you can trespass to hunt unless posted or told (verbally) otherwise.

 

[Wild Bill]

How many states are now releasing birds on public land for hunting? I have heard about South Dakota and Nebraska doing this. Wyoming has for a long time. I don't know about others. I THINK it is fairly limited in SD and NE, but I would like to know more from those with data.

I'm not exactly sure what goes on in SD, if its their actual G&F doing the stocking or if just private entities doing it all like the big lodges and shooting preserves. Def tons of pen-raised birds getting dumped in that state tho.

RJ was throwing that BS claim out a few weeks ago.
SD GFP 100% does not plant any birds in the state.
There are plenty of folks who will get chicks in the spring and raise them until they're grown enough to survive and then release them for the season on their own property. Obviously, there are plenty of preserves that release birds to keep their operations going.
Do some of those birds survive and venture out to be shot by everyday public land hunters? Sure, but very few, in my opinion. Those birds are dumb and typically very reluctant to leave the areas they were released, as the folks that spend the money to buy them and release them typically have some pretty good habitat for them as well.
Here is the 2024 Pheasant Management Plan for your viewing. Nothing about the state releasing birds.

https://gfp.sd.gov/UserDocs/Management_of_Pheasants_Final.pdf