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I was the early 90s, poor ground and part of bankruptcy sale. We treated the locals as best we could when we came out. Brought smoked salmon, took their kids out hunting, took them out hunting when they didn't have gas money, etc. so we may have been getting an insider deal. Didn't matter as we...

My family was offered a quarter section in the early 90s for $15k ($30k in 2022 dollars). It was marginal for corn at the price/bushel common then, we would have to pay taxes and weed maintenance plus any hunting improvements. We could have rented it out to hunters but we weren't local so that...

The "few" landowners don't want to keep it all to themselves, you pay them with CREP dollars to keep it private in their hands and charge hunting access fees to everyone through your tax payments. You paid them $6M last year in this program. You pay them substantially more to put it in CRP and...

I really meant to post this in the Emergency Haying topic so apologies to the OP, Mr. G. Hour. But I still think it is apt for changing the way we manage hunting land and attract the new hunters to the sport. I do heartily encourage them to come out and hunt SD. There are birds all over with...

I also hunt all public ground so I agree it's a good time and well worth the trip. However it does not compare to even a minimally managed private ground so that's part of where I would disagree. Basic upgrades like a shelter belt or a strip of milo or an undrained slough- those would be heaven...

You keep calling it Public ground but it's Government ground and they are for sale to the highest bidder. That's not you Mr. Seasonal Hunter so you will always get the short end of the stick. You know what will never get mowed before hunting season- private preserves. I sure wish I had back my...

Nope, not CRP. It's brooding cover, predator removal and winter cover as far as bird number are concerned. Low grasses with lots of forbs is the consensus- First or second year growth of ten year CRP lease might qualify as good breeding habitat. A lot of the walk-ins are 10 acres or less are...

Wildlife doesn't suffer- they live in the shelterbelts and sloughs in the tough times. CRP is just where you find them during the day when you are out walking your dog. You can't see much of any public ground from 281 but you can see a lot of prime hay and alfalfa ground so it's not what I would...

I know that campgrounds in SD prime areas get booked up well into the season. In those cases, I recommend trying the local bar in the small towns near where you hunt and ask for a spot to park for a couple days in their back lot. You can often get access to a power outlet and use the bathrooms...

I'll do that after opener when I find out where they are again in large numbers this year. I do that every year if you look at my past posts. Exception is 2021 when I was out sick- avg non-resident bag success was down 13%- coincidence? I don't think so. Every area holds some birds year after...

Funny to me that you landed on those two spots. I scout and hunt exclusively so I get around to a lot of the east river. I turn around and head back north at about Wessington Springs to stay on the best grounds so Plankinton would be at the edge of what I would recommend. We often road hunt home...

You've got to find reliable sources on the ground for what areas had good survival rates and then accept you may need to travel when you get there to the public ground in that area. Far more important that what type of public ground you chose. Bird numbers vary greatly within 20mi due to hail...

You rang? I think this is the first day I opened up the site since covid laid me down hard and cancelled my trip last opener. What's the first thing I find but a thread that appears to be extolling my legendary reputation. And here I thought I was going to finally get the recognition I deserve...

However if you get into hilly land and big cattle operations they will have multiple sections in a single pasture and they are grazed flat for miles in every direction with a single mowed fence around them. That kind of country can stretch for many miles and that is a pheasant desert until you...

There's another good thread in this forum for a retiree that chose Chamberlain over Pierre. Housing was way higher in Pierre and you'd couldn't get anything reasonably priced anywhere near the river. Even in drought years there are always good bird numbers right up against the river. You'll find...

I may have heard of old-school, conscientious objectors to non-tox rules who used reloads in steel shot hulls.

Cattails are the premier winter shelter and the best factor for survival for any harsh winters. If the cattails are mature and tight, the birds are about the largest animal that can fit through. The snow lays on top like a teepee structure and insulates it. It can be nearly 40 degrees inside...

CREP is 10-15 year contracts so you would think those are immune to market and weather ups and downs and will get re-enrolled. Some are available to haying per contract terms at all times so it should be the same as any dry year for how they are managed. A lot of corn taken for silage is due to...

I've only ever seen 1-2 actually closed down and taken out that I can remember so that is a rare thing. Sure, it can be a judgement call at times but that really doesn't matter- I think it's a self-answering question since a good hunting road is an obvious public section line for the reasons...

I've started watching a lot of Youtube channels of midwest farmers to augment the edumacation I get during pheasant season. Watching Sonne Frames in Mt. Vernon (near Mitchell along I-90), they had carry over hay from last year. Conditions were so wet last year they put up excess hay/alfalfa in...