Mid Season Speculation Anyone?

UGUIDE

UGUIDE

Active member
We're at about the midpoint of the season. This year points of similarities to 2009 where the crop harvest dramatically impacted early season hunting results.

In 2009, the best hunting was the 2nd half of the season.

Will that be the case this year or have we seen the best hunting already, like last year?
 
Chris:

What is your take on late season results? I don't see many negative messages now, as we did earlier...Am anxious to read what other hunters are experiencing.
 
jonnyB said:
Chris:

What is your take on late season results? I don't see many negative messages now, as we did earlier...Am anxious to read what other hunters are experiencing.
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Well. We don't have any yet:)

Last week the flowers were only 50% down and still 20% of corn still in. That's a lot of crop to hold birds and the more pressure on them the more the remaining crops will hold during shooting hours.

I don't see any reason why the 2nd half of season should not out do the first half.

When all crops are off and the highs are 32 then we will see.
 
i think after this wk-end of deer gun opener east river the birds will get real real wild??? i wanted to go back B4 the deer hunters hit the area & scare all the birds to hell... after they see a few deer drives go through there hide outs they get out of dodge at the 1st sounds of hunters come late season after deer hunting at least in MN you see a bird after gun deer opener in pheasant country that bird turns into a road runner/escape artist!!!

late season should always be way more difficult less roosters more hens public lands beat up hard birds has seen every way to be approached by hunters ETC. all that said there is less hunters less crops cattails froze up & u get into huge flocks of birds so if you shoot well u can be done fast??? if you mess up your chance you may have to walk alot more cover to get into birds being that they flock up so hard in late season... i fear the dreaded cluster flush of pheasants in late season 1 flush & they all flush & they dont even know why??? they just know we got to get out of here now!!!

hope the late season treats us all well this year good luck guys...
 
smo, why do you think the birds in SD will get wilder after the deer season? There have been, and will be, more pheasant hunters pushing those fields than deer hunters. Most deer hunters out here don't get out and push CRP and sloughs. They would rather sit in a deer blind or their vehicle and shoot a deer. Kind of why I gave up deer hunting out here years ago. Birds always get wilder later in the season. That's just the way it is. The young birds that have survived have simply gotten more educated. Deer hunters have little to no effect on the pheasants.
 
guess i just based my experience on what goes down a stones throw away in MN with deer drives & pushes & road hunters ETC. in pheasant country if they dont do that in SD thats good i highly doubt it after talking to locals at the bar & cafe but we all were wrong everybody in SD sits in stands & waits no deer drives or pushes in SD??? come on zeb get off my back man...

i think wear i hunted will have deer hunter activity just due to the sheer numbers of deer i seen & deer sign people are not blind they can see deer rubs scrapes & beds ETC. i was hunting a area with corn & sugar beats planted for a food plot maybe them beats were for the pheasants??? people will be deer hunting my areas so i wont be pheasant hunting them its that simple...

i see a major difference in the pheasant weary-ness in MN after deer hunting in western MN at least maybe like i said them pheasants in SD can tell the difference from deer & pheasant hunters??? in MN they dont care they see hunters deer or not & there out of there & over onto private or public lands wear there not being disturbed daily or every 3-4 days for 9 days strait...
 
I don't think it has anything to do with deer season, just the fact that every day that goes by, takes us later into the season. I'm sitting on a couch in aurora county right now on 320 acres of prime pheasant ground that has not been hunted yet this year. We will deer hunt it this weekend and all of thanksgiving weekend and then hunt pheasants on it after that. Been doing that for 3 years now, and I can tell you that come dec 5, the birds are just as wild as any in the state. Do not compare South Dakota deer hunting to mn. They value their white tails more than their birds.. I'm pretty sure there's way more bird hunters on public ground than deer hunters. I'm not saying they won't drive deer occasionally, but typically it's more of a "prod" them to move.
 
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small munsterlander owner said:
guess i just based my experience on what goes down a stones throw away in MN with deer drives & pushes & road hunters ETC. in pheasant country if they dont do that in SD thats good i highly doubt it after talking to locals at the bar & cafe but we all were wrong everybody in SD sits in stands & waits no deer drives or pushes in SD??? come on zeb get off my back man...

i think wear i hunted will have deer hunter activity just due to the sheer numbers of deer i seen & deer sign people are not blind they can see deer rubs scrapes & beds ETC. i was hunting a area with corn & sugar beats planted for a food plot maybe them beats were for the pheasants??? people will be deer hunting my areas so i wont be pheasant hunting them its that simple...

i see a major difference in the pheasant weary-ness in MN after deer hunting in western MN at least maybe like i said them pheasants in SD can tell the difference from deer & pheasant hunters??? in MN they dont care they see hunters deer or not & there out of there & over onto private or public lands wear there not being disturbed daily or every 3-4 days for 9 days strait...
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what gives you the idea i'm on your back? i'm just stating the facts i've been a sd resident for 35 years and have never seen big drives by deer hunters maybe there are in some areas actually when i'm out pheasant hunting during the deer season i rarely see a deer hunter believe what you want all i can do is state what i have seen in the past 35 years
 
Dakotazeb said:
smo, why do you think the birds in SD will get wilder after the deer season? There have been, and will be, more pheasant hunters pushing those fields than deer hunters. Most deer hunters out here don't get out and push CRP and sloughs. They would rather sit in a deer blind or their vehicle and shoot a deer. Kind of why I gave up deer hunting out here years ago. Birds always get wilder later in the season. That's just the way it is. The young birds that have survived have simply gotten more educated. Deer hunters have little to no effect on the pheasants.
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Good arguement Zeb. I agree 100%.

One reason you don't see deer drives in SS is NO PARTY HUNTING!

SMO seems to be looking to blame birds getting wild on the deer hunters. The other bad guys.......

Birds in SD get wild from one thing. Predators of which one is a pheasant hunter.
 
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u guys are both u guide & zeb 100% correct i was somehow blaming deer hunters for weary wild pheasants that have been chased since oct 19 or so by hunters...

i said after the birds see a WK-END of deer hunting they will be really wild & then stated late season should always be more difficult to harvest birds... after a few wks of being left along birds will get back to there routine but if constantly moved out of a area they will try to move else wear if habitat allows...

u guide is trying to act like im calling deer hunters bad guys i guess you think i think the other bad guys are??? PAY TO PLAY operations??? or guys releasing birds on public lands???

both you guys nit pick my comments from opinion wording to spelling & grammar maybe that is wear i get the idea you are on my back zeb or it was your wording???

ill try to avoid threads you guys post on & no need to answer any more of my dumb ass comments i no nothing of pheasants or pheasants hunting especially in SD same goes for deer in SD...
 
The party hunting thing would be a factor as far as deer drives.
MT for example. no party hunting. You know? when I think about it, I have never heard of a deer drive in MT. I have hunted deer there for 40 years.

Doesn't mean it won't happen, Lone deer hunters going to and from stands will certainly spook pheasants.
Another point MN has 500,000 deer hunters. SD what? I guess 100,000.
Could google it i Guess.:confused:
 
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I'm a good guesser, I guess. :confused: :cheers:

State wide during 2012. Residents and non residents, 112,008 SD deer licenses sold.
 
To me the pheasants using standing crops thing is overated. It happens and is certainly a factor to consider but I still kill plenty of roosters next to standing crops. If the cover on a parcel is good and the conditions and timing are favorable an un-cut corn field nearby won't keep me from hunting.

In these situations I have more trouble with educated runners who flush wild than any thing else and when they flush wild they are just as likely to fly into good cover somewhere else than into the standing corn.

The hit & miss hunting this season is about lower than "normal" pheasant numbers relative to past years and reduced overall opportunities. Getting a limit is much more dependant on choosing to hunt the right place at the right time and about shooting well than the current status of the crop harvest. Having said that it doesn't make the time in the field any less enjoyable.
 
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Had a deer hunter this morning come by and tell me that the ditch adjacent to one of my habitat projects was full of pheasants this morning ---about 50 plus he said----odd as we hunted it last Saturday with 3 guys and two pretty good labs and got up 1 rooster and 3or4 hens :confused:

Well late season could be pretty good :D
 
got a better idea, may munsterlander should just stay in his home state and not stick his nose in the SD forum....It seemed the conflict in here was gone but here it is again.:mad:
 
Do SoDak deer hunters actually walk public land for pheasants ?


Most do not.


Many (most) drive around looking for pheasant hunters and post (I mean park) at points where deer may bolt out. Once a deer is pushed out they do get out of the truck to shoot ... which is not true (nor illegal) for fox and coyote.

So no, SoDak deer hunters do not mess up pheasant patterns and/or behavior.
 
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