returned from 2nd trip

B

benelli-banger

Well-known member
have now spent 11 days hunting in SD...some full days, some not, depending on birds...overall, happy with what I am experiencing...corn coming out finally...weather has been decent, rained all day saturday, dogs loved that, hunters not so much, but not too bad...shooting was iffy first few days, improved a lot since then...retrieval % a lot better as well as temps dropped and some precip has fallen...dog work has been quite good...the two females now have 25 days in since 9/5 in MT, ND, SD...in good shape...me, not so much, but many of the days have been in the 10-12 mile range in SD, and many were above that sharpy hunting in ND...that is the fun for me! Love that walking, even at the expense of the hunting, which is probably better done at a snails pace, but I can't stand going slow...averaging roughly my limit per day in all three states, so I am not sacrificing too much by walking faster than is necessary...my irish setter 801 "havoc's" are dynamite! back on wed...can't wait!
 
With all the SD report threads I dont know where to post this but, Im planning to head to SD the week after Tgiving but with all the lackluster reports I am second guessing it. Ive gone to MT the past 5 yrs so I dont really have areas that I can drop into knowing Ive had recent past success. Would be hunting only public land no private. Was planning on the Aberdeen-ish area. One guy one Springer and dont know what to do.
Make more sense to try to find a lone wild unicorn rooster around here? Sleep in my own bed at night? Save some money?
Need to make a decision in a week or so...
Decisions decisions...
 
UplandHntr said:
With all the SD report threads I dont know where to post this but, Im planning to head to SD the week after Tgiving but with all the lackluster reports I am second guessing it. Ive gone to MT the past 5 yrs so I dont really have areas that I can drop into knowing Ive had recent past success. Would be hunting only public land no private. Was planning on the Aberdeen-ish area. One guy one Springer and dont know what to do.
Make more sense to try to find a lone wild unicorn rooster around here? Sleep in my own bed at night? Save some money?
Need to make a decision in a week or so...
Decisions decisions...
Click to expand...

Don't really know much about the Aberdeen area, although I've heard good reports from up there. But....you're coming to hunt, right? Not just shoot 3 quick ones & sit around the rest of the day? A single guy & a decent dog (& you've definitely got the best kind) ;-) ought to have NO problem seeing some birds & probably shooting a limit each day on public land almost anywhere pheasants exist in this state if you have 1/2 a clue about how to hunt them (& it sounds like you probably do) & have the time. Go for it. Come spend your money here, shoot some birds & have a great time.
 
SD is SD. It's still probably the state producing the largest pheasant population every year. So, there's still a LOT of pheasant in SD.

However, it's spotty. Some places are pretty good and there's other places where the drought and a poor nesting/rearing season overall has made finding birds much more challenging than normal.

If you find an area that had a good Spring you'll probably be very happy with your results. If you work one of the drought stricken areas, you may be wondering where all the pheasants have gone.

We were in a pretty droughty area this year. Yeah, we shot some birds but not nearly as many as in previous years. Where it was once easy for everyone in the group to limit out, it was maybe 30-50% of the usual result. That's still a lot of birds though.

The concerning thing to us was that we did not flush or see anywhere near the usual number of hens. That does not bode well for that area next year.

So if I were you, I'd still go. Do the research as best you can and see if you can find the areas that had normal rainfall and a decent nesting season. And there's your challenge, right there.

Good luck!
 
UplandHntr said:
With all the SD report threads I dont know where to post this but, Im planning to head to SD the week after Tgiving but with all the lackluster reports I am second guessing it. Ive gone to MT the past 5 yrs so I dont really have areas that I can drop into knowing Ive had recent past success. Would be hunting only public land no private. Was planning on the Aberdeen-ish area. One guy one Springer and dont know what to do.
Make more sense to try to find a lone wild unicorn rooster around here? Sleep in my own bed at night? Save some money?
Need to make a decision in a week or so...
Decisions decisions...
Click to expand...

Upland,
I’m from Glenview. If it were me, I would stay home and scratch out a rooster nearby. 1 Guy, 1dog, good luck. Birds will flush / run wild. Our blockers shot 90% of birds and that was the 2nd weekend.
Public ground gets pounded. Your best hunting is last hour. A 12 hour drive from IL to wait for the “golden hour” is a long way to go.
I have been fortunate to hunt SD private land as well as public land and I would never hunt public land again. If you don’t care about bird numbers or shot opportunities then go. SD is a great State.
 
UplandHntr said:
With all the SD report threads I dont know where to post this but, Im planning to head to SD the week after Tgiving but with all the lackluster reports I am second guessing it. Ive gone to MT the past 5 yrs so I dont really have areas that I can drop into knowing Ive had recent past success. Would be hunting only public land no private. Was planning on the Aberdeen-ish area. One guy one Springer and dont know what to do.
Make more sense to try to find a lone wild unicorn rooster around here? Sleep in my own bed at night? Save some money?
Need to make a decision in a week or so...
Decisions decisions...
Click to expand...

Sent you a PM
 
UplandHntr.....Buzz & I this afternoon on a SD Waterfowl Production Area in the Salem/Spencer area adjacent to picked corn. 1 guy. 1 springer. 1 hour. 3 shells.
20 degrees & windy. 16 ga. Kent Bismuth, 1 oz. #5s.
Not always this easy, but it's just not that difficult either (usually).
Saw 2 other roosters that were just out of range & about 10 hens.
You'll be just fine.
View attachment 8669
 
I concur! Drove by several public areas today, only one had hunters, and that was North of Brookings...all the ones near my home area were vacant. There are birds, too...hunting has been excellent. I left today because I have a dog that has to be on the bench for at least ten days due to stitches and staples thanks to a barbed wire fence...it was damn cold and windy, too, so I decided to get out there Tuesday evening, and start my next hunt wednesday of this week, as it is supposed to be 50 degrees. Good Luck!
 
I hunted the Aberdeen area second weekend. Two days just my 1 yo lab and I, next two days with 2 more guys and 3 GSP. We walked a lot but shots limits all 4 days. Found birds in pockets and when we found them it was good hunting. We have hunted these public ground areas for 10+ years and this year saw better bird numbers and fewer hunters than the last 2 years.

Pheasant season only comes around once a year, hope you make the drive and have a great time.
 
Just got back from a 5 day trip. Hunted mainly between Aberdeen and Ipswich. Combination of walk in and private land. Just myself and my llewlyn setter. I was pleasantly surprised with the rebound of birds compared to last year, and was a little shocked at the lack of hunters. I got my limit each day. Was done by 2 pm every day with the exception of last Tuesday. Wind was gusting up to 35 mph, and the birds were really skitish. Shot my last bird at 4:45. Got soaked on Monday in the rain, but the hunting was incredible. Dog could really smell in the wet grass, and they were holding great. This was my 22nd consecutive year hunting in South Dakota, and this was by far the fewest number of hunters I've seen. Unlike last year, I did get into several nice groups of 25+ birds. I really didn't know what to expect, but you aren't going to find out sitting at home.

Really enjoyed seeing all the waterfowl as well. Tons of ducks, snows and cranes passing through. All in all a great trip. I love SD, and always get treated great. Enjoyed my annual trip to Chelsea Bar as well. Hole in the wall with great food and friendly staff.
 
ehudgens said:
Just got back from a 5 day trip. Hunted mainly between Aberdeen and Ipswich. Combination of walk in and private land. Just myself and my llewlyn setter. I was pleasantly surprised with the rebound of birds compared to last year, and was a little shocked at the lack of hunters. I got my limit each day. Was done by 2 pm every day with the exception of last Tuesday. Wind was gusting up to 35 mph, and the birds were really skitish. Shot my last bird at 4:45. Got soaked on Monday in the rain, but the hunting was incredible. Dog could really smell in the wet grass, and they were holding great. This was my 22nd consecutive year hunting in South Dakota, and this was by far the fewest number of hunters I've seen. Unlike last year, I did get into several nice groups of 25+ birds. I really didn't know what to expect, but you aren't going to find out sitting at home.

Really enjoyed seeing all the waterfowl as well. Tons of ducks, snows and cranes passing through. All in all a great trip. I love SD, and always get treated great. Enjoyed my annual trip to Chelsea Bar as well. Hole in the wall with great food and friendly staff.
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bravo!!!!!! nice report...
 
Just got back from 5 days in the NE side. Came home with my birds. Some days took 1 hour, some took all day. Dog work was great, but she was spent by the end. I never saw another upland hunter, but duck hunters were everywhere.

Sure beat the hell outta working. Hoping to make it back once or twice this year.
 
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mutthunt said:
Just got back from 5 days in the NE side. Came home with my birds. Some days took 1 hour, some took all day. Dog work was great, but she was spent by the end. I never saw another upland hunter, but duck hunters were everywhere.

Sure beat the hell outta working. Hoping to make it back once or twice this year.
Click to expand...

Nice looking dog! Congrats on the hunt.
 
Just got back from spending 7 days in SD, partly around Aberdeen and partly around Gettysburg. Way too much corn still in. I told my hunting buddy that came over from MN that we should wait another week because there would be more corn out this coming week than last week but he was concerned about weather. HA!! Weather THIS week looks great, last week was not great.

Good news, there are definitely a lot of birds, way more than last year. Getting on them was often a different story. Hunted a combination of public and private land, we got a good number of birds but only limited one day. The public pieces were pounded, clearly, but we still saw some birds.

I would love to go a week or so after Thanksgiving but I don't know if I'll be able to swing it. 18+ hours driving each way is tough duty, but I'm awfully tempted because I think December is really going to be good.
 
Good to hear, I'm headed out and will be hunting Friday morning. I'm glad to see your seeing good bird numbers with a lot of corn still standing.
 
mutthunt said:
Just got back from 5 days in the NE side. Came home with my birds. Some days took 1 hour, some took all day. Dog work was great, but she was spent by the end. I never saw another upland hunter, but duck hunters were everywhere.

Sure beat the hell outta working. Hoping to make it back once or twice this year.
Click to expand...

Love the look on your Dogs face! Glad you had success! SDviking
 
It really sounds great. In nonresident hunters are down 10% - 20% that just creates a more relaxing atmosphere and more opportunities for those that are out there.
 
Gave a buddy of mine a tip recently about where to go (generally) and he and a buddy hunted two spots today and got their 6 birds on the 2nd WPA they hunted. i just returned myself from being there the past 5 days...great hunt, lots of birds, corn coming down...no snow...decent temps, modest wind...fantastic!!!!
 
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