Is South Dakota just hype?

Hutcho said:
Very cool! Me and some buddies did Nebraska a couple years ago for sharpies, that was a rough one! But learned a lot! Huns are for sure on the list. Looks like SD is gonna be a for sure thing soon....
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We saw a lot of huns around Miller.
 
Golden Hour said:
I tend to agree with your assessment on the bulk of the pheasants. The Big Sioux drainage is where I do the vast majority of my pheasant hunting. It's alright, but as you said, I don't see a whole lot of variation from one year to the next where I hunt. The exception being the devastating winter of 96-97.

When numbers were at their third peak in the early 2000's, I remember going to Redfield on Sunday of the opener and the big thing was how fast your group could limit. And this type of thinking was pretty common in a lot of the traditional hot spots. This might be anecdotal, but it has always seemed the James River drainage and Missouri River drainage were a step above my stomping grounds. Again, it could just be the experience I had and nothing empirical.

All that to say, I really dig seeing big numbers of pheasants, but am happy to jump on a WPA and chase the handful of birds that are on that ground at a given point of time. Peaks, valleys, hot, cold, happy wife, angry wife, whatever. Sage and I will go do our thing and constantly be wishing for more.
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I'm going to put my duck dog up against Sage this year.
 
I am going to ask the same question "is it worth the hype?", but with a little perspective.
I am planning to hunt SD public land the first week of December, just my dad, my dog, and myself (no firm decision on location yet). I chase roosters in MI, on mostly public land. I do decent every year, shot 10 roosters last season, 9 on public.(Hunted 15 days) My goal every hunt is to see a pheasant, and my dog and I have no issue with walking (sometimes running) all day to flush a wily public land pheasant. My best day on public land last season was flushing 4 roosters and 11 hens, got 1 rooster. (Thats multiple pieces of ground, with 5+ hours spent afield)
So with that in mind, Is South Dakota worth the hype? We are making the trip no matter what, as its more about hanging out with my dad, but still interested to hear some responses!
 
tomfive5 said:
I am going to ask the same question "is it worth the hype?", but with a little perspective.
I am planning to hunt SD public land the first week of December, just my dad, my dog, and myself (no firm decision on location yet). I chase roosters in MI, on mostly public land. I do decent every year, shot 10 roosters last season, 9 on public.(Hunted 15 days) My goal every hunt is to see a pheasant, and my dog and I have no issue with walking (sometimes running) all day to flush a wily public land pheasant. My best day on public land last season was flushing 4 roosters and 11 hens, got 1 rooster. (Thats multiple pieces of ground, with 5+ hours spent afield)
So with that in mind, Is South Dakota worth the hype? We are making the trip no matter what, as its more about hanging out with my dad, but still interested to hear some responses!
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Sure…you’ll love it…you’ve set a low bar..enjoy!
 
Golden Hour said:
That's really too bad. One of the things I find particularly enjoyable is working hard to hunt fewer birds. The hot barrels and big flushes are great, but at the end of the day, my dog and I chasing the handful of pheasants on a piece of public ground, working the lay of the land to pin that bird in a chokepoint where the ravine ends, flushing him within gun range and making a quick shot is what makes pheasant hunting such a fulfilling endeavor.
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I have some excellent private ranches I hunt on, and I will leave a 6 pack of PBR, but in not paying these guys to hunt.I am against pay hunting.
 
tomfive5 said:
I am going to ask the same question "is it worth the hype?", but with a little perspective.
I am planning to hunt SD public land the first week of December, just my dad, my dog, and myself (no firm decision on location yet). I chase roosters in MI, on mostly public land. I do decent every year, shot 10 roosters last season, 9 on public.(Hunted 15 days) My goal every hunt is to see a pheasant, and my dog and I have no issue with walking (sometimes running) all day to flush a wily public land pheasant. My best day on public land last season was flushing 4 roosters and 11 hens, got 1 rooster. (Thats multiple pieces of ground, with 5+ hours spent afield)
So with that in mind, Is South Dakota worth the hype? We are making the trip no matter what, as its more about hanging out with my dad, but still interested to hear some responses!
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You guys are going to have a blast!… looking forward to the pictures!
 
tomfive5 said:
I am going to ask the same question "is it worth the hype?", but with a little perspective.
I am planning to hunt SD public land the first week of December, just my dad, my dog, and myself (no firm decision on location yet). I chase roosters in MI, on mostly public land. I do decent every year, shot 10 roosters last season, 9 on public.(Hunted 15 days) My goal every hunt is to see a pheasant, and my dog and I have no issue with walking (sometimes running) all day to flush a wily public land pheasant. My best day on public land last season was flushing 4 roosters and 11 hens, got 1 rooster. (Thats multiple pieces of ground, with 5+ hours spent afield)
So with that in mind, Is South Dakota worth the hype? We are making the trip no matter what, as its more about hanging out with my dad, but still interested to hear some responses!
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All I can add is spend the time between now and then getting in shape. Dad ,dog,and you.

I am sure you will have a great time !
 
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