Pheasant Hunting in Minnehaha County?

A

adosch

New member
I've lived in Baltic, SD for almost 5 years now and instead of going back to the Miller/Wessington/Wolsey area that I grew up in to go hunting, I'd like to lessen my drive and try and find a few birds closer to home. I do see handfuls of pheasants around in the rural areas, and I do see hunters out

I know the pheasant count is pretty poor in Minnehaha county, but I do see them around. I've checked out the designated WIA/CHAPS hunting areas north and east of Dell Rapids and they are 'OK' but it's pretty sparse and not ideal in most spots. I'm leaning towards just getting out and talking to a few of the rural residents that I see the most pheasants around and getting permission. Maybe that's the way to go up here?

I was looking to get a consensus from other hunters from Minnehaha county or have done pheasant hunting in Minnehaha, what's the best places to go that aren't a ridiculous drive from Baltic, SD? With-in 30 minutes I think it ok.

Thanks,

Adam
 
When I saw minnehaha county and pheasant hunting in the same sentence I ........well I was intrigued. Years ago there used to be pheasants in the county, and their still are a few but you will not see the numbers. You would be better off driving north or west from your home rather than south and east. Unfortunately I can't point you to a specific area in minnehaha.....just way too much pressure.
 
No, that's fine. The input is very much appreciated. I didn't really want to venture any farther than Flandreau to the north or Montrose to the west. So I guess just limiting myself to Minnehaha county is a bit... restrictive.

I might just suffice to asking some landowners. Like I said, I do see small groups of pheasants, it's just never in the public walk-in's (of course) :)
 
We used to ask the landowner to the south of the Buffalo Ridge Ghost Town just on the south side of I-90 and West of I-29. We shot a few birds there until the he let the cattle come in. That was great, since we only had to drive 10 minutes. Yeah, we would usually kick up around 5-10 birds per walk. Which I thought was great. This was back in 2003-2004 when I did.

Also, one of my buddies has a good chunk of land in CRP over in Tea right across from Trophies Forever Taxidermy and that's produced a lot of roosters for us. However, he won't let anyone hunt that but family/friends. I haven't done much more hunting other than that around Minnehaha County.
 
Yeah, private is your best bet....at least until the initial hunting pressure wears off. Then you may be able to kick some up on the public areas.
 
Well, I'm not going to give you my exact spots I hunt, but I've had hunts that I've been very satisfied with along the borders of Minnehaha County, McCook and Turner Counties. A couple of places are private that I've obtained permission, but most are public shooting areas. There great when I want to get out for just a few hours. I usually don't limit, but I get opportunities that make it worth wild.

The other issue, I'm watching more where the crops are now and where birds might be after the weather turns. The real fun begins after the hard freeze so you can get out on the sloughs and not get wet.

One thing I've found farmers that do like to hunt, but don't have a dog. When I ask to hunt, I've invited them along. Kind a sticky issue when you don't know their hunting skills, but same holds true with what they know about you. So far, it's worked out for me.
 
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