Central S Dakota

C

Cielbleu

New member
Just got back from a trip in the Gettysburg area, and then down to Miller. Overall pretty disappointed. 4 hunters, 3 dogs, 4 days and bagged 16 roosters. We hunted only public land, which by the way is being hunted very hard on a daily basis. We didn't see many birds, not even hens. Just about all of the crops have been harvested so most of the country looks like a parking lot at midnight.
I won't be going back for quite a few years.
 
We just got back from Murdo SD area. Hunted private. Pay to play.

There were birds everywhere. Limited 4 days.

We saw 100's of birds.
 
I would have knocked some doors.

I went two years ago to Armour and met a couple of farmers at breakfast at the local diner. Chatted them up and both told us we could come over and hunt their places. We had done a pay hunt that day but went back to one guys the next day (he had 3k acres) and hunted all day, shot a limit and saw lot's of birds.
 
We had hunted a farm in previous years, but when we contacted him he had leased his entire place to a Pay to Play outfit. We knocked on several doors and got turned down 100%.
 
I would agree that knocking on doors in the Gettysburg area is only going to result in wasted gas money. We rarely see other hunters around the ranch we hunt in the area, but this last weekend there was a bus load of people at a nearby farm each day. It was kind of funny to see 16 people surround a small draw with limited cover, but I'm sure they got plenty of shooting. At $200/Gun/day guides have the resources to keep the door knocking hunters out of their spots.
 
How long before they are back to buying all the birds from MN bird farms?;)

The pay to play cant support the number of hunters that go through those places without buying pen raised birds, even on the good years....and this year isnt gonna turn out to be a great one. Little cover means less wild birds and more hunters looking at the "Lodges"...... by mid Nov. you will be shooting all pen raised! Might as well stay home and hunt those pen raised for $20 a bird at a game farm, instead of $250 (min) for 3... you can shoot 10 for that money!:thumbsup:
 
There is a difference with " pay to play" and paying for access. I have done the latter for many years and have hunted through december hunting wild-assed pheasants. When managed correctly with " rest periods" between hunts, like u-guide, there is no reason for planted birds. Now 16 guys every weekend for 3-4 days that is a different story all together. I know of a few places that exhaust the resource like that, that does not interest me at all.
 
I agree, but with the thin cover this year FEW places are gonna have birds left come late Nov, and the "Lodges" will be buying sooner rather than later. Last year they started buying them up from here in Nov, they cleaned a few places out by early Dec. I guess thats why they get $1,500 for a 3 day hunt (min).... they need you seeing lots of birds or they will never get you to pay that amount again.;)
Roosters dont grow on trees in down years with thin cover, it's only week 2 headed to weekend number 3 for non-res....:(

Cant wait to go again though!:D
 
My two buddys left early it was so bad! And i guarantee they know how to kill birds they said around pierre, gettysburg was covered up the worst they had ever seen it?? They also said they went to watertown said there waqs awesome looking cover feed close but no birds im glad i didnt go lol they just hit walk in spots if your hunting walk in around those areas good luck your gonna need it for public anyway
 
Dang, yeah the one time a year hunters really make me mad. Just wait till it gets cold and snowy theyll be gone haha
 
there is no way that SD is going to lose all of its WILD pheasants by late NOV. due to over hunting!!! anybody who says this is just ignorant to wild bird hunting period!!!

im from MN & last season was one of the worst pheasant seasons i have ever seen hunter pressure wise on ALL PUBLIC LANDs we hunted 1st wk there was a few birds after a month there was birds but they all were runners & new that FLY MEANS DIE so they ran we have way less overall cover here in western MN then they do in SDs great pheasant hunting regions & this season in MN in them same areas the WK-END warriors beat down every wk-end of the season there was plenty of wild rooster pheasants to be had by all!!!

same goes for SD with the nations highest pheasant population numbers unless there is bad winter weather!!! the HUNTERS can not kill every damn rooster pheasant on a peace of public land!!! they just move them birds to a less pressured area near by!!!

maybe all these guys having bad hunts have way to high of expectations of what public land SD pheasant hunting is all about??? or they get mad because its not as EZ as it sounded on T.V. & cut there hunt short???

also there seems to be a lot of i did good hunting in this town then you see 2-3 other guys post after that they went to that same area/town/region & the hunting sucked??? maybe you just hunted the same public land as the last guy that said he went to that town/area/region to hunt??? that tends to happen when you on-line scout you get somebody elses left-overs???

good dogs in good country & you should get a good hunt not the best hunt ever especially in SD after opener...

dont cry guys its simple SD PUBLIC LANDS have been get n beat n down for the last 11 days non stop by hunters from across the country & there dogs just let the birds settle back down & let the cold weather chase all the fair weather boys away & then give it a try...

i am happy i didnt head out for the SD opener thow didnt sound that great?
 
Hunted SW of Aberdeen. Pay to play. Bird numbers were ok but I would say down 25% from a year ago. Looking at the surrounding farms, public cover and bird numbers, I would never drive the 13 hours to hunt public. A waste of time IMO. I had to stop myself from shaking my head though when I was handing the farmer $3,600 for our group in cash! I did say Merry Christmas!

Bob
 
waste of time & money driving 13 hours + paying 3,600 $ for a OK pheasant hunt on private land PAY TO PLAY??? IMO...

many of us can save the 3,600 $ & have a OK pheasant hunt in SD on public lands you go the PAY TO PLAY route to get the GREAT SD pheasant hunt everybody dreams of & goes to SD for??? also if your going to PAY TO PLAY go wear the birds are in good numbers not the farthest east you can get in SD...

i shake my head also when i see/hear of 3,600 $ pheasant hunts... lol
 
small munsterlander owner said:
there is no way that SD is going to lose all of its WILD pheasants by late NOV. due to over hunting!!! anybody who says this is just ignorant to wild bird hunting period!!!
Click to expand...

1.2 to 1.5 millions roosters shot in SD each year. That leaves somewhere around 3 to 5 million roosters left behind at seasons end (give and take a million or two-lol)

I went through this with my group a few years ago. We did a late season hunt. Hundreds of hen flushes each day with only a couple roosters. This lasted a whole week. Everyone kept screaming that the roosters were all shot. I kept telling them there's no way this could be the case within this area.

Sure enough, the following week I was told the roosters where heavy in that same area (just as they are every year in the late season).

I don't know if anyone else notices this, but with late season hunts you'll have a day, two, or even three days where all your flushes are hens.:confused:

During such periods I've noticed that the roosters (roosters and hens separates into rooster and hen groups this time of year) will stay in the open fields feeding later into the evening vs. the hens. I can only contribute the rooster's larger body size as to way this happens. Simply put, they need more food to survive so they're staying out in the fields all day and into the later evening feeding.
 
Last edited:
with all the conversation before season, regarding public ground, i thought most folks would understand that was going to be a poor alternative. there are options, we did very well and paid no one...incidently the WIA's we saw were totally devoid of cover, an absolute joke for SDG&F to list/lease them as huntable cover.
 
hunter94 said:
with all the conversation before season, regarding public ground, i thought most folks would understand that was going to be a poor alternative. there are options, we did very well and paid no one...incidently the WIA's we saw were totally devoid of cover, an absolute joke for SDG&F to list/lease them as huntable cover.
Click to expand...

The leases are let and maps made long before they know what the conditions will be,they are obligated to pay.If they didn't take the risk,it doesn't leave you with any WIA opportunities.Besides I have been hunting some WIAs with excellent cover.You just have to be willing to do something besides complain,namely burn some gas and some shoe leather,also not being locked-in on the areas that typically have high pops and the hunters that go with it will serve you well.Look for wias on the fringes of phez habitat and you might do better.
 
ranchodeluxe said:
The leases are let and maps made long before they know what the conditions will be,they are obligated to pay.If they didn't take the risk,it doesn't leave you with any WIA opportunities.Besides I have been hunting some WIAs with excellent cover.You just have to be willing to do something besides complain,namely burn some gas and some shoe leather,also not being locked-in on the areas that typically have high pops and the hunters that go with it will serve you well.Look for wias on the fringes of phez habitat and you might do better.
Click to expand...

i looked at WIA's from Mobridge back to Aberdeen....many were pastures with no evidence of anything but constant heavy overgrazing......some had water, with a few leftover catails......regardless the intent, the majority of the ground wouldn't hide a field mouse........i guess the extra $1.1 million that will be extracted from NR hunters next year will provide more of the same, the school land is nortorious for looking this way as well...
 
hunter94 said:
i looked at WIA's from Mobridge back to Aberdeen....many were pastures with no evidence of anything but constant heavy overgrazing......some had water, with a few leftover catails......regardless the intent, the majority of the ground wouldn't hide a field mouse........i guess the extra $1.1 million that will be extracted from NR hunters next year will provide more of the same, the school land is nortorious for looking this way as well...
Click to expand...

Once again you must keep in mind that pheasants aren't the single-minded focus of GFP in leasing WIAs.This is done with multiple species in mind.Now i know someone will opine that the WIAs they saw would not hide field mice.These are some of the WIAs i have taken trophy deer from that some would pay thousands for.These are where your huns and sharptails are,as well.The school land is not managed for game,only to provide opportunities if there happens to be game.

I have limited easily every time out,so far, and have tried to drop some hints about where you can look in this drought-year.I don't like the way my state looks right now any more than the rest,nor do I agree with gov't and landowners not conserving when they should be.Just have to make the best of it.there's no shortage of birds....yet.

As far as overgrazing,maybe,but you can't graze what didn't grow and that's where most SD ranchers are sitting now
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top