Solo guy report

519vx

519vx

Member
Finally the dream comes true and I get to visit South Dakota. My posts are nothing more than my opinions and observations....that's it. I've never hunted South Dakota and I'm here with a just 3yr old golden who was taught to work close.

Driving in from worthington mn where I stayed last night I found myself almost lost in a good way. Beautiful endless country. Miles and miles between freeway exits. Many places that as I drove by at 75 mph I said "birds live there". It's a lot to take in for a wisconsin guy that does live in the country but works in the city.

I made the the stop at canelas and bought a few things I really needed and a few things I didn't, just because. I watched the roads for dead critters. Lots of dead Avon ladies (skunks) and possums. I saw 2 dead pheasants from the mn boarder all the way to platte. Not a good sign but not a deterrent either.

I hunted the platte area today. For some, I had a bad day given the huge pheasant fest flags and ads at cabelas. For me, I had a rock star, life memory day. Just me and my pup put up 8 hens, 3 roosters, and one more i wasn't sure of. Woo hoo! We only got one of the roosters but he topped off the day. I'm still smiling about that one bird. :)

Watching Sage work was fun today. She got real birdy on a fence line. I was watching her work and there was a big stone/boulder in the fenceline. I watched her run a circle around that rock chasing a hen til it flushed. Lol.!!

She got on a bird in a tall grass field. You flusher guys know the fun when your pup is so hot and so close to bird she is now looking for him moving her head back and forth! The scent was so strong she was trying to sight the bird. It popped but was a hen. She watched it go then strangely stopped and walked directly to me and up to me and stopped and just looked at me. She did her job why didn't I fire? Lol it was great.

We ended up flushing 8 hens 3 roosters and one unsure. That to me was spectacular for about 4 hours of hard hunting. We covered a LOT of ground and savored every minute. I have tired legs and a pup that's been asleep since we got back.

Many reading this in one way or another helped me or otherwise encouraged me inn any ways. For that and for every message or post I thank you. A very special and personal Thank You to SDJim and to Reddog, two just super guys and my two newest friends thanks to this website.

More tomorrow. Time to relax and reflect on a day I will never forget.
 
Sounds like a perfect day to me. There are some great guys on here for sure that I would love to share a field with someday. Glad you are having a great time, good luck to you and the pup on the rest of your trip.:cheers:
 
and that's what it is all about: the joy, the partnership, the little jolts of adrenaline, and the one, absolutely "right" time when the rooster goes up, lines out, and your shotgun is at shoulder, your eyes on the bird, and the shot drops your bird.

Nice work, nice day, GREAT memory.

Be safe.
 
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Even though I wasn't able to make it out....yet.. I felt like I was right there with ya anyway. Enjoy the rest of your trip.,.,. Looking forward to the next report...
 
519 you know the true meaning of hunting -- it is NOT about bag limits!!!! sounds like you had a very great time with your pup !!! enjoy your hunt, be careful you just might become a "Dog Nerd" LOL
 
Thanks for the report, Its good to know that there are still guys who just enjoy getting out with the dogs. I always tell people its worth it to just watch the dogs work, and a lot of people think I am crazy.
 
If I had to guess, 519vx watched the sun rise over the National Grasslands perched on a high hill somewhere, looking for:

DSCN0119.JPG
 
Day 2 report.

Reddog was right. Beautiful dawn all quiet except for the critters. Thought I saw a grouse flying but not sure. Very peaceful.

Today I hunted north of pierre all public grounds. Was a little disappointed with the hunting pressure on a pretty remote walk in area but it was ok there was plenty of ground for all. Met a real nice guy from South Carilina doing a solo hunt. Hunted that ground for a little over two hours and flushed six hens and a doe whitetail!!! The guy from SC fired once on what he said was a young rooster. It's still flying. :).

On to the next spot. In situations like this, I like taking the back roads. Today it paid off. Driving along I see a shelter belt not far off a section road. There was a small grove of about ten trees growing in the ditch boardered by a cut corn fuels and standing sunflowers. Looks like a good spot for a right of way walk. We get to the grove of ten teed and all heck breaks loose! Roosters explode everywhere catching me off guard. NINE all roosters best I could count all went up and in different directions. I finally pick one and shoot and it drops in the cut corn but takes off running. Sage is on it hard but it ducks her and vanishes. I call her back so I can get there. Put down the shotgun and head out and she is working hard to find him. She's running down a row and suddenly does the full spin. The bird had hid under a clump. She goes for it and the birds goes up about 2 feet wings spread and tries to spur her. Sage won. :).

We work up a little further and she gets birdy but the bird went into the sunflowers so I call her off. We go back to the truck take a couple pics of bird and start to leave. The combine then starts to do the sunflower field so we park and watch. What spectacle...must have seen a good dozen or more birds fly out from the combine. So very very cool!

Drive down the road maybe 1/2 mile and see four yes four roosters in the ditch but there is very little cover to hold them. I decide to keep driving and see what I can figure out. I get down to the next section road intersection. Going north the road is clean and good. South...it was all waist to chest high weeds. BINGO. A side note of thanks to Carptom who clued me to look for such things.

I park and get ready. We start and Sage is crazy hot. We are in about 50 feet and up goes a hen. Then an out of range rooster. Then an in range rooster and I got him!!! As I fire up goes another rooster!!! Sage fetches the bird and we go another couple hundred yards and up goes a hen. Then another out of range rooster. Another couple hundred yards and up goes another rooster. Bang and he folds up in the cut corn.

Sage didn't see him go down in the corn so I direct her there. She does a pretty good search but no reaction. I have her run it again and nothing. I defy my gun down and go over there as I had a pretty decent mark where it folded. Sage and I both walk it and nothing. Sage is disinterested in the area but I don't want to give up on a down bird. Finally I decide we've tried and I need to keep going.

We go about 25 feet and Sage's tail starts. For those that don't know Sage is a Golden Retriever and those dogs transmit their hunt through their tail. She spins and cuts back into the grass. Her ears are fully up and forward. When she does that it means bird is REALLY close. You guessed it she came up with the bird I hit and thought was list. TRUST YOUR DOG!!! She was not interested in the cut corn for a real good reason - bird wasn't there!

So we did it. Yesterday we scored our first wild South Dakota pheasant. Today Sage and I got to experience what many of you talk about with lots of bird sightings and were fortunate to take a limit of wild birds. Sage is asleep and I'm getting hungry. A celebration Ribeye at Cattlemans is in order tonight.

Good luck to all hunting wherever you may be.
 
Arrived in chamberlain today to start my solo hunt tomorrow. Like you I saw awesome cover all along the highway but it's mostly private. Im going to be on public as well so thanks for the promising reports.
 
Sorry for the lack of pictures. For whatever reason I can't upload the photos from my iPhone. Will try to post using a computer when I get home. I keep greeting error messages saying the upload failed. :(
 
519vx,
Really enjoying your adventure. Look forward to the pics when you get back. But that's one of the drawbacks of hunting alone.....no one to take you pic :( I've gotten pretty good at propping my camera up on a cooler or fencepost, and taking a self pic that way. Usually take two or three to make sure the pups, birds and I are all in the shot :D

I'll be out over Thanksgiving week in the same area with a buddy. We split our time between the grasslands for grouse and the thicker cover for pheasant. And like you, all public ground with a roadside ditch thrown in now and then.

PM me and I'll direct you to a public section that I've had great success over the years for a Pierre mixed bag.

:cheers:

Brett
 
Wow way to go--great report--of note: You seem to shoot good and you have a great dog---that's a really good combo. :thumbsup:
 
SDJIM said:
Wow way to go--great report--of note: You seem to shoot good and you have a great dog---that's a really good combo. :thumbsup:
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Lol...then why is it always me buying drinks on sporting clays night? In all seriousness, once in a while it just all comes together. So glad that I made this trip. What an adventure but trips like these are what you make of them. :thumbsup:
 
So we did it. Yesterday we scored our first wild South Dakota pheasant. Today Sage and I got to experience what many of you talk about with lots of bird sightings and were fortunate to take a limit of wild birds. Sage is asleep and I'm getting hungry. A celebration Ribeye at Cattlemans is in order tonight.
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YES!


Great write-up, wonderful results.

Nice. Very nice.

:thumbsup:
 
I am a solo hunter most times and had to cancel my grouse trip in early Octotober- thanks to yours and other solo hunter posts I have started to plan a road trip for a solo hunt (with dog of course) to SD!

Thanks for the inspiration-keep the updates coming!
 
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