Sabbatical Road Trip Help

NEBirder

New member
I have the good fortune to have a sabbatical this fall from my teaching position at Concordia University in Nebraska. I hunt SD every year during late season Dec/Jan, but want to hunt ND this fall. I'm a geography professor, so part of the fun for me is just exploring western/central ND since I've never been in that area. I'm 52, in good shape, and have a wonderful British Lab. I'm a do-it-yourself hunter, so I don't do reserves/paid hunts, although I would pay a trespass fee if necessary (I never have). I'm flexible on dates, but thinking either late October or early December. Questions: When would be the best time? Is there anyone on this forum who would want to hunt with me or show me around? Really, any advice or help is appreciated. God Bless.
 
I usually hunt ND in Dec. It is usually cold and the water is hard. I have found it is easier to get around and across places you would never get to in Oct. But I have been shut out of some great hunting in DEc. because of the snow. It depends if you can handle the temps and road problems, or the warm weather but difficulty with water. This year might be a different story, everything might be dry!
 
Thanks. Yes, I much prefer late season in NE and SD, so am leaning towards coming up in December.
 
I have the good fortune to have a sabbatical this fall from my teaching position at Concordia University in Nebraska. I hunt SD every year during late season Dec/Jan, but want to hunt ND this fall. I'm a geography professor, so part of the fun for me is just exploring western/central ND since I've never been in that area. I'm 52, in good shape, and have a wonderful British Lab. I'm a do-it-yourself hunter, so I don't do reserves/paid hunts, although I would pay a trespass fee if necessary (I never have). I'm flexible on dates, but thinking either late October or early December. Questions: When would be the best time? Is there anyone on this forum who would want to hunt with me or show me around? Really, any advice or help is appreciated. God Bless.
Well, you get points right off the bat for hunting with a lab. Shoot me a PM...
 
I have the good fortune to have a sabbatical this fall from my teaching position at Concordia University in Nebraska. I hunt SD every year during late season Dec/Jan, but want to hunt ND this fall. I'm a geography professor, so part of the fun for me is just exploring western/central ND since I've never been in that area. I'm 52, in good shape, and have a wonderful British Lab. I'm a do-it-yourself hunter, so I don't do reserves/paid hunts, although I would pay a trespass fee if necessary (I never have). I'm flexible on dates, but thinking either late October or early December. Questions: When would be the best time? Is there anyone on this forum who would want to hunt with me or show me around? Really, any advice or help is appreciated. God Bless.
Hey NEBirder,

I hunted many years ago in SD and always remember how hard it was to get permission hunting on private land, unless you were willing to pay big $$. Then I found ND and never looked back to the SD days. This is my advise. I have found that if you wait until first week of December you will learn that ND deer hunt season is over with, so landowners are very decent about giving permission to hunt birds. I hunt SE ND, west of Fargo. I do have two labs that can endure some deep snow and thick cover. Also by that time of year the "fair weather" hunters are gone. I hunt WPA'S and any cat tail cover I can find and let your dog do its thing. I am 56 yrs old and still put in decent walks every year and for me the last 15 yrs or so in ND have been very good! I stopped hunting early season years ago because its just not worth the hot days you get, the crop still maybe up, and too many people! I am still truly amazed when I'm out hunting that time of year I never, ever see any other hunters. And I always never really have any problems getting my share of shooting in! So as far as I'm concerned for me, pheasant season doesn't start until December 1st.
God Bless you , and good luck!
 
Hey NEBirder,

I hunted many years ago in SD and always remember how hard it was to get permission hunting on private land, unless you were willing to pay big $$. Then I found ND and never looked back to the SD days. This is my advise. I have found that if you wait until first week of December you will learn that ND deer hunt season is over with, so landowners are very decent about giving permission to hunt birds. I hunt SE ND, west of Fargo. I do have two labs that can endure some deep snow and thick cover. Also by that time of year the "fair weather" hunters are gone. I hunt WPA'S and any cat tail cover I can find and let your dog do its thing. I am 56 yrs old and still put in decent walks every year and for me the last 15 yrs or so in ND have been very good! I stopped hunting early season years ago because its just not worth the hot days you get, the crop still maybe up, and too many people! I am still truly amazed when I'm out hunting that time of year I never, ever see any other hunters. And I always never really have any problems getting my share of shooting in! So as far as I'm concerned for me, pheasant season doesn't start until December 1st.
God Bless you , and good luck!
I'm with you, I don't start pheasant hunting until December in NE and then go to SD late Dec, but most often January. Never see anyone! My plan is to go to ND this year in December and see what I can find. Good luck to you and good hunting.
 
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