Looking for expert opinions

C

Chris S

New member
OK, I’ve been hunting pheasant only the last 14 years unfortunately I only am able to get out about one weekend a year so I don’t claim to be no expert. I have a large group of friends that we are going to South Dakota for the first time this year . I’m just looking for a friendly discussion here as from your experience at what times of day should you be looking where? . For instance, at 10 AM, what type of cover should you be Hunting and where are the birds headed at that time of day? Just looking for a friendly discussion on a subject we all are here because we enjoy. Not here asking for anybody’s hunting spots.
 
That's a question that has 1000 answers and none of them are wrong. All depends on, hunting pressure, crop harvest, weather, late or early season. Best thing do is start driving around at first light and locate birds in area that you can hunt and hunt the areas that look they would hold a bird. It might ditch along the field, patch of cattails or 1/2 acre weed patch, that hunters don't want to waste their time on.
 
Redmoose said:
That's a question that has 1000 answers and none of them are wrong. All depends on, hunting pressure, crop harvest, weather, late or early season. Best thing do is start driving around at first light and locate birds in area that you can hunt and hunt the areas that look they would hold a bird. It might ditch along the field, patch of cattails or 1/2 acre weed patch, that hunters don't want to waste their time on.
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Suggest you read Pheasants of the Mind by Datus C .Proper It will get you into the way pheasants act. The book should be readily available Amazon or Ebay
 
The correct answer is 'it depends'... I think you could do pretty well with a few key things:

1. Get the book Modern Pheasant Hunting and read it. It's not that long and only $5 (used) on Amazon. Will answer all the questions above and many you do not know to ask yet.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0811732274/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
2. Use the paper or online hunting atlas or (better) get OnX. Cross off all school ground (trust lands) - 95% of those are not where you want to be.
3. Hunt the parts of the state where pheasant are more abundant. Here is a loose depiction that will get you in the right direction.
https://aberdeeninsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Screenshot-2023-09-29-at-1.36.09-PM.jpg
4. Hunt with decent dog(s)
 
Redmoose said:
That's a question that has 1000 answers and none of them are wrong. All depends on, hunting pressure, crop harvest, weather, late or early season. Best thing do is start driving around at first light and locate birds in area that you can hunt and hunt the areas that look they would hold a bird. It might ditch along the field, patch of cattails or 1/2 acre weed patch, that hunters don't want to waste their time on.
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Lot of "it depends', as Moose said, to even try to answer your question.
  • Time of year - opening weekend or January.
  • Weather - snow or 90 degrees, wind, wet or dry
  • How big is the group
  • Crops in or out
  • Like Moose, I like grown up ditches with not much cover nearby. Like in a picked corn field or cut hay field.
From a time-of-day standpoint, sometimes at the end of the day, birds leave corn fields and head for a place to spend the night. So next a cut or standing corn late in the day or really that's true anytime.
Mid-day, I like smaller areas where you can push to pinch point in the cover.
Cattails always a good place.
Tree strips, especially if weather is bad/snow.
 
As stated above, lots of if ands and buts. Rule of thumb early morning and the golden hour, heavier cover for roosting, I've seen roosters fly in way after shooting hours! Then most but not all will move to feed. They like to walk but will fly there. Feed can mean middle of a corn field to cover bordering grain to (during snow) picking corn from cow poo! Good luck and let us know how it goes.
 
I'd go to a spot where there weren't other hunters, first and foremost. 1) out of respect, and 2) I have no desire to hunt ground already hunted and/or being hunted by others.
 
A5 Sweet 16 said:
How big is your group?
Going to try to hunt public ground, or do you have something else arranged?
What time of year do you plan to go?
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There’s gonna be about 12 or 16 of us and we’re going to be on public. Plan on going second weekend of November to ensure that all corn is out. I’m from Kansas and have haunted here my entire entire life and wanted to see what South Dakota was about.
 
Chris S said:
There’s gonna be about 12 or 16 of us and we’re going to be on public. Plan on going second weekend of November to ensure that all corn is out. I’m from Kansas and have haunted here my entire entire life and wanted to see what South Dakota was about.
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Hmmm. Not that you CAN'T hunt public with that big a group, but that early in the season, most public is much better suited to small groups. 2-3 guys. 4 tops. Do it however you want, but I strongly suggest you spend some time split apart, smaller groups doing your own thing, as long as each group has at least 1 or 2 decent dogs. Have fun! And check your PM's.
 
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Last year was my first year up there and most of the public was suited for 4 to 5 or so if you were spread out walking. I’m sure there are bigger areas. I think maybe a bigger issue is public land birds being spooky and many running way out or flying by the time a group that size is coordinated at the truck. In general most of the SD public we hunted were smaller parcels than the Kansas WIHA I’ve hunted. At least that was my observation.
 
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Chris S said:
I’m curious what makes South Dakota different than Iowa and Kansas is there just not large sections of crp or large fields on public?
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It depends what part of the state your in. There are big fields, but at least in my part of the state, they're kind of few & far between. And there are basically no food plots in the areas I hunt. But let's say you find a big one. It still doesn't take long to hunt with a big group. Then you have to find another one. And another one.... And usually, pheasants aren't just sprinkled evenly throughout the big areas, such that everyone gets a little shooting. By & large, they relate to much smaller chunks of the whole at different times of day, under different conditions (crops, weather, pressure, etc.). To each his own, but my opinion is that under most conditions, splitting up into much smaller groups is a much more efficient, flexible way to hunt. Rather than line everyone up (along the road or somewhere near the parking area) & basically be forced to head one direction (or 2 if you're lucky), you can hunt the best spots the way they deserve to be hunted. One car with a couple/few guys can park wherever you want & hunt to/from any number of directions & adapt much more easily. Everyone is more likely to get some opportunity that way. And if camaraderie is what you're after, you can't bond with 12 people at once anyway. Might as well split up. Vary the groups each day. Ideally, in small groups, you'd have 1 dog per person. If not, anyone without a dog should hunt VERY close to someone with a dog, unless he/she truly doesn't care to get a shot. Caveat: this all comes from a guy who much prefers to hunt alone with his dog.
 
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