Looking for expert opinions
- Thread starter Chris S
- Start date
Golden Hour
Well-known member
At 10am, I'm typically just getting back from duck hunting. I understand that a lot of guys who travel to SD come here to hunt and getting out at the opening bell is what they are going to do. I'd suggest taking a break mid afternoon to give you and the dogs a breather, so you'll all be ready to go hard that last hour of the day when pheasants are moving back into their roosting cover for the evening.
I will also echo the sentiments of the other guys here that 12 to 16 people is way too big to be hunting as a party. If you were hunting grainfields, then that number is okay. A large, grassy tract is going to be big different. Again, I understand that pheasant hunting is a social activity for some, but Waterfowl Production Areas and other parcels of public land are not conducive to big parties. There aren't going to be that many pheasants out in the grass to make a huge push successful. You could very well find some birds, but you'll also be making a lot of noise with that many guys and dogs and I'm going to be honest, most parcels of public land aren't going to hold that many birds to keep a dozen guys entertained. Small groups, 2-4 people, working the edge of cattails, fence lines, ravines, and the like is going to bring a more successful and enjoyable hunt.
Whenever I have guys tell me they are making their first trip to SD, I try to encourage them to do at least 5 years. It takes time to figure out the pheasants and build up one's knowledge of the terrain, habitat, time of day, time of year, type of weather, that affects how they behave. I have no doubt you and your buddies will shoot some birds. Like a pheasant dog, the more experience you have, the more successful you will be.
Lastly, don't be afraid to explore and enjoy the sunsets.
Bob Peters
Well-known member
I been down this road, for the last 3 years. You'll find some large grass fields you can hunt with a large group. Here's one issue I see, everyone else that wants to hunt with a battalion of buddies will hit the same areas. So you can have a good shoot if it's opening day, or if the crops came out within a couple days of you hunting. Otherwise you have educated birds that already been through the whole song and dance. Inevitably there's a commotion trying to get the regiment ready. Doors slamming, yacking(seems almost inevitable with 16 guys), etc. Most of the birds have already ran west to Custer County, or at the least are on high alert.
Another point to reiterate, from what I've seen hunting in larger groups equals less shooting per hunter. When a bird finally gets up you're watching someone 5 people down the line blasting away. Or if the bird gets up right in the middle, then it's like the anti-aircraft guns in Berlin lighting' up when a B-52 formation flew overhead. That rooster has good odds of getting swiss-cheesed.
Another observation, it can be confusing to the dogs. Don't get me wrong, they're still gonna hunt up birds. But often they'll run down the line as they see another orange hat to check in, sometimes they all end up on one side, etc. Then you've got guys, and it only takes one, who walks too fast and is somewhere in the middle. A bird gets up then, you can't shoot, no safe line of fire. I've also seen the dogs working scent, and the line moves too fast so you're almost passing the dog as he tries to unravel a scent trail.
Here's my advice, if you're dead set on hunting all together, find a spot to do it first thing in the morning, but definitely have a plan in place to split the group.
Bring a little grill and plan a field lunch, plus back at your lodging at night you'll have plenty of time to tell old war stories and cut up on each other.
Another point to reiterate, from what I've seen hunting in larger groups equals less shooting per hunter. When a bird finally gets up you're watching someone 5 people down the line blasting away. Or if the bird gets up right in the middle, then it's like the anti-aircraft guns in Berlin lighting' up when a B-52 formation flew overhead. That rooster has good odds of getting swiss-cheesed.
Another observation, it can be confusing to the dogs. Don't get me wrong, they're still gonna hunt up birds. But often they'll run down the line as they see another orange hat to check in, sometimes they all end up on one side, etc. Then you've got guys, and it only takes one, who walks too fast and is somewhere in the middle. A bird gets up then, you can't shoot, no safe line of fire. I've also seen the dogs working scent, and the line moves too fast so you're almost passing the dog as he tries to unravel a scent trail.
Here's my advice, if you're dead set on hunting all together, find a spot to do it first thing in the morning, but definitely have a plan in place to split the group.
Bring a little grill and plan a field lunch, plus back at your lodging at night you'll have plenty of time to tell old war stories and cut up on each other.
All makes sense! So unfortunately between me and a couple buddies our dogs have died an it will be a year before his is old enough. So my thoughts were pack in tighter since we don’t have dogs . An even if we are loud we would have plenty of blockers . Half of the guys dads sometimes never even get out of the truck to block they just watch from the truck
dawgs14
Active member
With that many: 1. have a plan before getting to your spots. 2. make sure everyone wears safety glasses. 3. before leaving your lodging, make sure everyone knows to not slam doors at the field and keep chatter to a low whisper. 4. It's not a bad idea for maybe 3 or 4 in the group to have a walkie-talkie.
Is the walk-in Hunting up there big enough to support 10 walkers and 4 blockers others are suggesting it’s only big enough for four people I think it’s also key to know that we don’t have dogs and we will be between Mitchell and Huron
carptom1
Well-known member
Even without dogs a road hunter could do quite well hunting ditches and small spots. It is perfect for a couple old guys to spend a day. Hunting in SD is not like Kansas. Growing up I spent many opening days in western Kansas hunting the vast fields of stubble and weeds. Not that you won’t find large patches like that in sd but as stated above most of your time will be spent trying to locate them. Most of the huge fields are choked with cattails and 1000 guys won’t be enough. Split up in 4-5 guy teams and do a combo of minimum maintenance roads and public. You will cover more ground and be more productive.
I'm sure you could make it work here and there. But a lot of the properties don't go to the other end of the section. I assume the guys blocking would have to walk around to the other end ahead of you guys.... Go online and look at their maps for your area. That'll give you an idea of how big the areas are. Also a lot seem to have sloughs in them and I would think this year most have water in them? They were pretty dry last year in the cattails.