Where to go- last week of December 2014

bauerline

bauerline

Well-known member
I took a look at next year's school calendar and it looks like I'll have some time to travel for a bird hunt. I can leave Dec. 26 and have about 7 or 8 days to be gone. But the question is where to go? I never traveled out of state so I'm looking for ideas. Quail in the southwest? ND or SD for pheasants? Not looking for a spot but just some options to consider. Weather will probably be something to think about. I had to cancel my first attempt in SD due to snow. Thanks in advance.
 
bauerline said:
I took a look at next year's school calendar and it looks like I'll have some time to travel for a bird hunt. I can leave Dec. 26 and have about 7 or 8 days to be gone. But the question is where to go? I never traveled out of state so I'm looking for ideas. Quail in the southwest? ND or SD for pheasants? Not looking for a spot but just some options to consider. Weather will probably be something to think about. I had to cancel my first attempt in SD due to snow. Thanks in advance.
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spend your time on s. dakota, that will take a lot of the if's out of the equation. don't go the first couple of weeks.. learn the area

cheers
 
I know getting reservations closer to the time you leave may be a problem, but for me it is way to early to answer that question. Too much population development is ahead of you for anyone to tell you one place will be more productive than the other. If you have to set it now, go where you have always wanted to and haven't been able to. Go where you want to experience the country no matter what the birds are.
 
Good advice, Prairie Drifter. I always thought it would be nice to hunt quail and pheasant in KS and I think I'm leaning in that direction. Just need to zero in on a location. I would lean more towards the quail areas with a chance to get a little pheasant action. I'm just starting to look at the Ft. Riley area.
 
You have a better chance of getting a reservation here than in the more popular SD pheasant capitals. However, we are at near the bottom of the barrell of our bird populations right now coming out of 3 years of drought and we've had 12-16 inches of snow on for over a week now with very low night-time temperatures. That could put a damper on our carryover numbers and their condition going into nesting. For a lot of us the numbers aren't the make it or break it deal. However it is nice for the dogs if they get to have some action several times per day! It's something to watch if you decide to wait and see as the production season evolves.
 
If I had a week at the end of december it would be SD. December hunting in SD can be nothing short of fantastic. The bird numbers in kansas will be bad again next year. Hotels won't be a problem in dec in sd. Only thing that could hurt you would be weather. But I would take cold, snow and birds anyday.
 
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