Father son South Dakota trip

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Illinois Banger

New member
I am planning my first SD pheasant hunting trip for the 2012 season. My dad turns 60 this year and i want to treat him to some world class hunting.
I live in Illinois, have a trusty bird dog that I want to bring along and hunt with us.

I need some help as to where to go, public vs. private?

I know the more experienced guys can provide the best insight into what to expect when hinting on public property, vs private. I have heard lots of driving, crowded land, etc..

Thanks for reading, I do appreciate any feedback and comments..`
 
If you can afford to hunt private land then by all means its the way to go. There's places that will let the two of you hunt alone.. For a price. Welcome to the site!
 
Welcome, you may want to post this in the SD forum below. Then you will get responses suited to what you are looking for. As stated above alot will depend on timing, budget, and what you are looking for.
 
I've hunted private and public for 30 years. A bad year on public in SD will beat a good year in IL. If you decide on public the later you go the less hunters you will encounter. Birds will be more wary but you should be able to harvest a few each day. For the true SD hunting experience save up your $ and pay for private land. All the private land I've hunted in SD has been outstanding. The landowners are very nice and they manage their property for a great time. It can be a little costly. I've hunted $100 a day and $350 a day per gun. I've found the more expensive provide more luxurious accommodations and usually more guidance and supervision. The lesser expensive you'll probably need to find housing and will be eating out more.
 
I also turned 60 this year but my son didn't invite me on a SD hunting trip. But since my "son" is a labrador, I invited him to join me for 4 days around Mitchell around Nov. 1. It was his first wild bird trip as a 9 mo. old pup and we had a great time--except for his barbed wire stiches.

Check on-line with S. Dakota and you can have them mail you a hunting packet with maps and info. Check with the SD DOW about past pheasant harvests in counties. Some areas of SD are definitely better than others.

I grew up in Rockford and used to hunt with my Dad down near Byron when I was a kid. During college at U of I, I hunted with friends around Bloomington. At the time (early 70s) the Bloomington area was way better than Northern Illinois. I've heard that pheasant hunting in all of Illinois has really dropped off--like most of the other core midwest states surrounding it.

Send me a PM and we can exchange phone #s. I'd be happy to fill you in my 3 SD experiences in the past 3 years.

Tom
Denver
 
Lots of choices

Public land as stated if you go later will be less crowded but those birds are pretty smart and much of the Public ground needs a decent # of hunters to cover effectively. We have been going out for about a decade to a place in Wessington Springs - accomodations aren't the Ritz but hey, your hunting right??? We also went this year for the first time to a place in Hitchcock and both places were good hunting but sure not "shooting". This year was tough. We spend better place $350 (3 meals, NICE lodge and guided hunts) or $250 for lower end place (2 meals and, trailer and guided hunts) That is about what to expect if you bring a group..... If you want numbers and names let me know via PM...

Oh and just as an aside, if your dad is 60 and in good health public ground will be ok but there is some tough walking in some locales...
Great Idea to do with your dad I'm envious...
Steve
 
I made my first trip to S D last November and went with someone who had been there before. Go to the South Dakota build a hunting group page on this site or check out some of the guided packages, get to know a little bit about the area before you attempt to go solo on public. It is too far and possibly expensive to finance a possibly dissapointing experience.
Where in Illinois?
 
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