Fall speculation

A

Alaskan swamp collies

Well-known member
To the nitty gritty. Back when I was a working stiff I had to schedule my fall hunts in July, now I’m way more flexible. So what is the general thoughts. I know I used to look at SD roadside counts, but even those when they happened were too late to get motel rooms. So I look at the drought monitor and other accompanying data. Drought in NW ND and eastern MT. Flooding in eastern SD. Nebraska and Kansas got rain, is it timely or were they so dry it will take a couple years to come back. Is this the year I brave ticks and go for ruffed grouse? Or chase chukars? Thoughts?
 
Conditions in Kansas were decent, but it would take several years of that for Kansas to approach SD. Last year SD had more birds than the parts of Kansas I hunt, even with last year's floods in SD. I didn't think the parts of SD I hunt had floods this year.
 
Chestle said:
Has any state beat the SD pheasant harvest count in the last 50 years? Don't think so.

Go as often as you can, whenever you can, stay as long as you can.

See...it's pretty simple. :)
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50, crap, maybe 100 years.....someone research this, it could be interesting.
 
SD has always been champ. Highest harvest total was in 1945 with 3.9 million birds. IA looks to be the second closest but IA only started harvest surveys in 1958, so we can’t compare it to SD’s peak. IA’s peak was in 1963 with 1.94 million birds. SD’s second highest harvest was 1961 with 3.5 million so still very far ahead.

In 2024, SD was 1.3 million and IA was 460k. 2024 was a record year for SD in the past decade and IA had the second best year over the past decade. Probably not a bad year to be in the pheasant field this fall ;)
 
Alaskan swamp collies said:
To the nitty gritty. Back when I was a working stiff I had to schedule my fall hunts in July, now I’m way more flexible. So what is the general thoughts. I know I used to look at SD roadside counts, but even those when they happened were too late to get motel rooms. So I look at the drought monitor and other accompanying data. Drought in NW ND and eastern MT. Flooding in eastern SD. Nebraska and Kansas got rain, is it timely or were they so dry it will take a couple years to come back. Is this the year I brave ticks and go for ruffed grouse? Or chase chukars? Thoughts?
Click to expand...
I'd chase chukars. Roosters in SD are too easy. ;)
 
The flooding in SE SD has been in the last couple weeks and it’s been minimal.
I would look at eastern iowa or western illinois after the last deracho came through a few days ago. I think a lot of our chics were deposited there
 
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