DIY Trip - SD or KS? Can't Decide

[IOWA_Tallgrass]

Huntin' the map...

Unless you have a great farm to hunt up by Mobridge, you don't need to travel that far north. Stay down below I-90. You could stay in Platte, Kimball or Plankinton. Those are all great areas to hunt. If you hunt public there isn't a whole lot in those areas, however. There is a 900 acre GPA north of Platte on Hwy 45 that is decent, but it may have lots of water in it this year.

Pretty much stuck hunting public lands, no connections in either state, nor have the funds to pay "trespass" fees; fully aware of that those realities will temper expectations...but I gotta go where there's public ground I can get on without shelling big bucks.

 

[WI ditch chicken]

Kansas

My brother and I went to Kansas for the first time last year. Wanted to do the same thing. We went for 4 days (2 travel 2 hunted) and had a blast! We spent about 300 bucks each. Stayed in motel brought our own food and grilled in the parking lot. Stayed in Smithcenter in NC Kansas will head a touch further when we go back in December.

Good luck!

Scott

 

[WI ditch chicken]

Pretty much stuck hunting public lands, no connections in either state, nor have the funds to pay "trespass" fees; fully aware of that those realities will temper expectations...but I gotta go where there's public ground I can get on without shelling big bucks.

We did all public in Kansas. Saw a bunch went in January. Our poor shooting was on full display.

 

[Dakotazeb]

I've hunted both this year and have seen more roosters in SD but am closer to KS and much more familiar with places to go in KS.
We stayed in Aberdeen and had great luck hunting some private land but if you go east of Aberdeen 20 miles there must be 10,000 acres of ground you can hunt. Well it might not be that much but if you look at the map there's a lot of it.
For the most part you need to use non-toxic shot on any public land in SD, KS has no such requirement on the WIHA land.
SD land is not that well posted, especially the school land, KS WIHA is all posted unless the locals or other slob hunters have taken it down.
I don't like the SD maps as well as the KS maps but that is just my preference.

Why not try both?:thumbsup:

SD does not require non-toxic shot on Walk-In Areas. And SD Walk-In Areas are all marked with signage. You are right about the school land, it is not marked in SD. However, I find that over 90% of school land is pasture with little cover for birds.

 

[KansasGsp]

I live in Kansas and hunt quite a bit of public land around Central Kansas with some private land in Western Kansas mixed in. I've been to South Dakota 4 times now to hunt staying in Mitchell and hunting public ground South of Mitchell all four years. There's something magical about hunting in South Dakota, but there's also something special about hunting in Western Kansas. You can't go wrong either way. We usually see more birds in South Dakota, but if you have a good dog, you're going to get into birds either way. We always hunt the end of October in South Dakota, kind of a way to get a jump of bird season, and last year was the first bad year we've had in South Dakota. But, none of the crops were cut and it was fairly warm up there. If I had to choose, I'd probably choose South Dakota public land over Kansas public ground on most years.

 

[kansasbrittany]

I live in Kansas and hunt quite a bit of public land around Central Kansas with some private land in Western Kansas mixed in. I've been to South Dakota 4 times now to hunt staying in Mitchell and hunting public ground South of Mitchell all four years. There's something magical about hunting in South Dakota, but there's also something special about hunting in Western Kansas. You can't go wrong either way. We usually see more birds in South Dakota, but if you have a good dog, you're going to get into birds either way. We always hunt the end of October in South Dakota, kind of a way to get a jump of bird season, and last year was the first bad year we've had in South Dakota. But, none of the crops were cut and it was fairly warm up there. If I had to choose, I'd probably choose South Dakota public land over Kansas public ground on most years.

Yep, if I had only one trip to take each year and didn't live in KS, I'd go to SD no question. Lots more birds and the public land that I saw is pretty good. I never took advantage of hunting road ditches but figure it could work pretty well for a couple guys and a bird dog. Try one this season and the other the next:cheers: