Anybody got any news on grouse reports in SD? Gonna try to go next week but haven't heard any reports lately. Also has anybody ever grouse hunted up in Hecla/Britton area? That would be about same drive for me as Ft Pierre. Heard there used to be good numbers of grouse up there. Thanks,
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Grouse Reports?
- Thread starter PcolaGSP
- Start date
Headin west
Member
Saw some mega flocks there last year over the pheasant opener, we were out duck hunting and saw them flying out to feed I assume early in the morning. If you go let me know how the ducks are looking, have a feeling my combo hunt this year is going to turn into a lot more duck hunting based on the pheasant counts.
Saw some mega flocks there last year over the pheasant opener, we were out duck hunting and saw them flying out to feed I assume early in the morning. If you go let me know how the ducks are looking, have a feeling my combo hunt this year is going to turn into a lot more duck hunting based on the pheasant counts.
I assume you have a South Dakota waterfowl license? They can be hard to get!
Headin west
Member
Yes I do. Been drawn the last couple years in a row.
Headin west
Member
I like pintails. Flooded ag fields after a big rain are always dynamite. Hopefully you find some grouse.
Downtown Bang!
Member
Anybody got any news on grouse reports in SD? Gonna try to go next week but haven't heard any reports lately. Also has anybody ever grouse hunted up in Hecla/Britton area? That would be about same drive for me as Ft Pierre. Heard there used to be good numbers of grouse up there. Thanks,
My lab and I took a some Sharpie's both east & west of that area in the mid to late 2000's. Often in Walk-in areas with thinner CRP grass near pasture. Most of those Walk-in areas have gone under the plow now.
I never had much luck running in to Sharpies right close to Hecla/Britton because most of the public access cover there was associated with wetlands and pretty thick. The thicker CRP grass would hold some flocked up birds late season but they were very tough to approach. Straggler flushes were the best I could get in those situations.
I never felt the Sharpie numbers were good enough to target the Grouse specifically. Only time I did that is if I limited on Roosters early and felt the dog could handle some extra wear and tear. Otherwise Sharpies were a bonus bird only.
small munsterlander owner
Banned
thats just crazy to think that SD along with KS NE ND or a few other states that also have pheasants & prairie grouse that there isnt enuff prairie grouse to target on a specific hunt just for prairie grouse??? there is huge national grasslands with ample prairie grouse numbers to be had by guys willing to walk the PRAIRIES if you were in SD & didnt think the prairie grouse numbers were huntable then you were just in the wrong part of the state or not in prairie grass habitat pure & simple there is loads of prairie grouse in SD NE to be had sharpies in MT ND MN & chickens in KS just got to hunt the prairie grouse habitat for prairie grouse & pheasant habitat for pheasant if you want both on the same walk you will only get lucky every once in awhile at best got to target the species you want to harvest plain & simple...
i seen loads of sharpies & a few chickens east of the MO river near the NE border find sun flowers or soy beans or lots of grass hoppers prairie grouse love them all corn least of all but they will hit corn if thats all thats around & the bugs are dead... prairie grouse are simple to figure out once u locate a area they like to be be it food water breeding loafing areas dont mess things up if you have em figured out like wear they eat & sleep then get em wear they loaf... they will fly high like ducks in the early morning hours & late evening hours they fly from food to roost daily so they can be figured out pretty simple if you scout them a little b4 the hunt or each evening... i get to the prairies early & just sit & watch what & wear the birds want to be then hunt them there...
just figure out wear you know there prairie grouse range is strong EZ to do then hunt the prairie grass habitat there in that area & im sure you will see prairie grouse in SD... there not as hard to hunt as many people make em out to be... popcorn flushes are the norm 1 flush then 3-6 then nothing your all empty from shooting at the 1st covey flush then like 10-15 more birds flush in range & you have a empty gun its happened to me lots!!! i now shoot once or twice then start to reload wait n on the next birds to flush... we used to hunt MN prairie chickens in late oct. when birds were really flocked up 20-30 bird flocks EZ you do bust alot of birds out of range that due to them living in prairie grass they can see you coming its that simple... use terrain to ur advantage & when u bust a bird or 2 in the prairie get to wear they flushed ASAP dont dick around!!! plan on there being more get n ready to flush it happens alot when prairie grouse country... also after u bust birds walk in a circle & make bigger & bigger circle in that area lots of times there will be birds in that general area hang n out also...
prairie grouse see other grouse land some place & they all start loading up there so keep that in mind also...
just got back from a MN prairie chicken hunt had a great hunt my young dog got on 4+ solid points & we were able to take 3 birds over a point she held when they flushed i shot them & she retrieved them to hand i could not be any more happy wth my young dog!!! the olde english bulldogge did good also she was the flusher she also runs to the downed birds but just drools on em not retrieve to hand lol
i seen loads of sharpies & a few chickens east of the MO river near the NE border find sun flowers or soy beans or lots of grass hoppers prairie grouse love them all corn least of all but they will hit corn if thats all thats around & the bugs are dead... prairie grouse are simple to figure out once u locate a area they like to be be it food water breeding loafing areas dont mess things up if you have em figured out like wear they eat & sleep then get em wear they loaf... they will fly high like ducks in the early morning hours & late evening hours they fly from food to roost daily so they can be figured out pretty simple if you scout them a little b4 the hunt or each evening... i get to the prairies early & just sit & watch what & wear the birds want to be then hunt them there...
just figure out wear you know there prairie grouse range is strong EZ to do then hunt the prairie grass habitat there in that area & im sure you will see prairie grouse in SD... there not as hard to hunt as many people make em out to be... popcorn flushes are the norm 1 flush then 3-6 then nothing your all empty from shooting at the 1st covey flush then like 10-15 more birds flush in range & you have a empty gun its happened to me lots!!! i now shoot once or twice then start to reload wait n on the next birds to flush... we used to hunt MN prairie chickens in late oct. when birds were really flocked up 20-30 bird flocks EZ you do bust alot of birds out of range that due to them living in prairie grass they can see you coming its that simple... use terrain to ur advantage & when u bust a bird or 2 in the prairie get to wear they flushed ASAP dont dick around!!! plan on there being more get n ready to flush it happens alot when prairie grouse country... also after u bust birds walk in a circle & make bigger & bigger circle in that area lots of times there will be birds in that general area hang n out also...
prairie grouse see other grouse land some place & they all start loading up there so keep that in mind also...
just got back from a MN prairie chicken hunt had a great hunt my young dog got on 4+ solid points & we were able to take 3 birds over a point she held when they flushed i shot them & she retrieved them to hand i could not be any more happy wth my young dog!!! the olde english bulldogge did good also she was the flusher she also runs to the downed birds but just drools on em not retrieve to hand lol
Downtown Bang!
Member
thats just crazy to think that SD along with KS NE ND or a few other states that also have pheasants & prairie grouse that there isnt enuff prairie grouse to target on a specific hunt just for prairie grouse??? there is huge national grasslands with ample prairie grouse numbers to be had by guys willing to walk the PRAIRIES if you were in SD & didnt think the prairie grouse numbers were huntable then you were just in the wrong part of the state or not in prairie grass habitat pure & simple there is loads of prairie grouse in SD NE to be had sharpies in MT ND MN & chickens in KS just got to hunt the prairie grouse habitat for prairie grouse & pheasant habitat for pheasant if you want both on the same walk you will only get lucky every once in awhile at best got to target the species you want to harvest plain & simple...
i seen loads of sharpies & a few chickens east of the MO river near the NE border find sun flowers or soy beans or lots of grass hoppers prairie grouse love them all corn least of all but they will hit corn if thats all thats around & the bugs are dead... prairie grouse are simple to figure out once u locate a area they like to be be it food water breeding loafing areas dont mess things up if you have em figured out like wear they eat & sleep then get em wear they loaf... they will fly high like ducks in the early morning hours & late evening hours they fly from food to roost daily so they can be figured out pretty simple if you scout them a little b4 the hunt or each evening... i get to the prairies early & just sit & watch what & wear the birds want to be then hunt them there...
just figure out wear you know there prairie grouse range is strong EZ to do then hunt the prairie grass habitat there in that area & im sure you will see prairie grouse in SD... there not as hard to hunt as many people make em out to be... popcorn flushes are the norm 1 flush then 3-6 then nothing your all empty from shooting at the 1st covey flush then like 10-15 more birds flush in range & you have a empty gun its happened to me lots!!! i now shoot once or twice then start to reload wait n on the next birds to flush... we used to hunt MN prairie chickens in late oct. when birds were really flocked up 20-30 bird flocks EZ you do bust alot of birds out of range that due to them living in prairie grass they can see you coming its that simple... use terrain to ur advantage & when u bust a bird or 2 in the prairie get to wear they flushed ASAP dont dick around!!! plan on there being more get n ready to flush it happens alot when prairie grouse country... also after u bust birds walk in a circle & make bigger & bigger circle in that area lots of times there will be birds in that general area hang n out also...
prairie grouse see other grouse land some place & they all start loading up there so keep that in mind also...
just got back from a MN prairie chicken hunt had a great hunt my young dog got on 4+ solid points & we were able to take 3 birds over a point she held when they flushed i shot them & she retrieved them to hand i could not be any more happy wth my young dog!!! the olde english bulldogge did good also she was the flusher she also runs to the downed birds but just drools on em not retrieve to hand lol
Tone sure has changed around here.
The OP's question was specific to the Britton/Hecla area and I answered as such. Available public access land in that area has been heavily weighted to waterfowl & pheasant habitat. That is the case even moreso now with CREP acreage replacing CRP acreage in the Walk-in program.
Pre-2010 there was some decent CRP acres in the Walk-in program that held some Sharpies but as I said above many of them have gone under the plow as CRP contracts have expired. Those parcels also saw a good amount of pressure often times because the cover was easy and/or because it was better suited for pointing dogs.
If you can get on private land your mileage may vary.
I have also seen what looked to be decent Sharpie cover on public land west of Leola and out towards Eureka but honestly never hunted it much because it was generally bigger parcels that put a lot of wear & tear on my lab.
Maybe the best approach for this area in 2013 is to scout out some good looking grouse spots while pheasant hunting and then re-visit them in 2014 shortly after prairie grouse opener. The problem with that stategy is that the pheasant hunting on public land has been pretty poor the last couple of years.
Thanks for info guys. I hunted last 4 days in Pierre area, and grouse numbers were way down in areas we hunted last year. Everyone I spoke with (hunters, dog trainers, farmers) said they were seeing very few this year. Hunted about 3 hours each morning. Shot 1 sharpie and 3 chickens in 4 days. 2 guys and 3 dogs. Hunted WIA's and Federal land this did not have any closed signs. Could have limited out every day on phez. Saw good numbers of pheasants every day even though we were targeting grouse cover. Seems to be more phez toward Pierre than in NE SD. Not as many as last season but more than I've seen lately.
Headin west
Member
Thanks for the report. I also found DBangs info to be spot on.