Prairie Grouse

Munster927

Munster927

Well-known member
Hey South Dakota folks, curious some opinions on where a good general area is for a prairie grouse hunting. Mostly interested in sharpies and chickens. Huns are a bonus but not my main target. I've looked at the distribution maps and some other data and it looks like just west of the River along the 90 corridor is a pretty good target. I know the Pierre Grasslands are always mentioned but seems like it might be more pressured than finding some walk ins in a different area.

Anyone local or those that hunt the state for prairie birds able to confirm/deny that the distribution maps are pretty accurate when looking at places to target?
 
I did that last summer, I decided to hunt prairie grouse the day before pheasant opener…just hunted one spot, I drove about 2 hours west of my pheasant area…dropped some smoked fish for the warden at the sheriff’s office in a small town…hunted for a few hours, nobody else out there hunting that I saw…very memorable hunt, contacted both sharpies and chickens…got both. Me and my labs and my Parker Repro 28
gauge. Hope to do the same this year. I’ll spend lots of time this month hunting sharpies and Huns elsewhere, probably 13-15 days of hunting. But I loved the hunt I did the day before SD pheasant opener! I know guys that come up to SD from Arkansas that went out to the Pierre area with a guide and did pretty well on both sharpies and chickens the day before pheasant opener, they hunted private land, but it told me that it was very doable.
 
dawgs14 said:
I do it west river the day before pheasant opener. Take snake boots and have dogs inoculated for prairie rattlers.
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How much does the snake inoc cost, how long is it good for and where do you have to go to get it? TIA
 
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Al Bonkers said:
How much does the snake inoc cost, how long is it good for and where do you have to go to get it? TIA
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At the vet, one primary shot then boosted quarterly, not overly expensive. I’m in snake country and my vet says lots of places do the yearly without the boosters and it’s a waste of time and money if not boosted properly. I’ve seen dogs bit with and without it, they all lived.
 
I think the more important thing to find out is what vets carry anti venom in your hunting area… if it happens drive past the ones who don’t keep it in stock
 
Quailnerd said:
At the vet, one primary shot then boosted quarterly, not overly expensive. I’m in snake country and my vet says lots of places do the yearly without the boosters and it’s a waste of time and money if not boosted properly. I’ve seen dogs bit with and without it, they all lived.
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Is that quarterly for life, or do you start over every year?
 
Life if you stay on schedule, I did this wrong for years with my old vet thinking they were covered. He sees dogs bitten weekly here, I’m just passing on what he has told me
 
I understand, thanks for passing it on. My grand-daughter took my shorthair for a hike a few weeks ago and came home with a video of knucklehead circling a prairie rattler in the trail and acting like he was thinking of pouncing on it. Scared the heck out of me!

 
Quailnerd said:
At the vet, one primary shot then boosted quarterly, not overly expensive. I’m in snake country and my vet says lots of places do the yearly without the boosters and it’s a waste of time and money if not boosted properly. I’ve seen dogs bit with and without it, they all lived.
Click to expand...
I hunt New Mexico quail. My vet down there, that probably deals with more snake bites than any other vet I know, told me that even though the snake vaccine was developed from a specific venom (I believe diamond back?) he had found that a vaccinated dog takes far less antivenom to recover. He felt it reduced the treatment costs by 2/3. I just had my pup "boostered". Cost $29. I have heard that the antivenom is extremely expensive, so if what he says is true, makes sense to have your dog vaccinated. Both vets (SD and NM) that I use recommend an annual booster.
 
Al Bonkers said:
I understand, thanks for passing it on. My grand-daughter took my shorthair for a hike a few weeks ago and came home with a video of knucklehead circling a prairie rattler in the trail and acting like he was thinking of pouncing on it. Scared the heck out of me!

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My dogs that have been through snake avoidance recoil from a wiggling worm, much less a coiled, real snake. That doesn't mean they won't over-run a snake and get hit. My vet up here had one of his bird dogs do that last year.
 
Powderhorn Jim said:
I hunt New Mexico quail. My vet down there, that probably deals with more snake bites than any other vet I know, told me that even though the snake vaccine was developed from a specific venom (I believe diamond back?) he had found that a vaccinated dog takes far less antivenom to recover. He felt it reduced the treatment costs by 2/3. I just had my pup "boostered". Cost $29. I have heard that the antivenom is extremely expensive, so if what he says is true, makes sense to have your dog vaccinated. Both vets (SD and NM) that I use recommend an annual booster.
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You bet man I’m a buyer and will continue to be, the hope is they will have less of reaction and heal faster.
 
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