SD OPENING WEEK ?'s

victordlt43

victordlt43

New member
Hey guys,

how's everyone doing?

Ok I got some questions about SD Aberdeen area opening week:

1.How good are public lands on opening day and week?

2.Speaking to a guy out here in California that has hunted SD, says he wont take his dogs there anymore says: more boots on the ground works better then dogs and that birds flush early out of gun range. Is this true?

I'm just trying to get a feel for things cause there is only 9 months and about 15 days left til opener :)

Any information would be great.

thanks Victor :cheers::cheers:
 
Hi Victor,

I live in Aberdeen and my advice would be not to come the opening weekend or the opening week. Especially if you plan to hunt public land. I would suggest waiting until the first part of November. You will find fewer hunters and have a more enjoyable hunt in my opinion. Public land can be hit and miss, but then that is true of most hunting. I hunt public land a lot and I canhave great luck on parcel one day and then go back there a week later and it's not so good. But overall, public land can still be very productive. but one thing that is an absolute MUST is a good dog. I have no idea what your friend is talking about. I don't care when you hunt out here, opening day or late season, you are way ahead if you have a good dog.

DZ
 
DZ,

How's it going? The guy I talked to was just a member at the hunt club I belong to and there is no way I would make this trip with out my English Pointer Jay! I already have my reservations and my week off from work granted to me so i'm locked in Oct.

Is there that many hunters to land ratio?Are public lands well posted and easy to get on?

What about getting permission from land owners? I hear that's the ticket,and what does that take if that's true.
Thanks DZ
 
There are probably more hunters in the fields the first week of the season than any other time. So the public lands get hit hard. And you can forget about getting on private land that first week, ain't going to happen. That is why I strongly recommend coming later in the season. If you can change your vacation dates I'd think about doing it.
 
i have hunted aberdeen area in mid december for several years and have never had a problem getting into birds. It always amazes me the number of roosters left there in december. Many more than any other state on opening day. I still will see quite a few hunters in december, but i agree if you don't live there you probably do not want to be a part of the opening day madness. P.S. I would not hunt birds without a dog.
 
The opening few weeks are more like target shooting than hunting, you see that many birds. Later season you actually get to enjoy at least 4-5 hours of hunting to get your limit instead of 45 minutes to an hour. If I was coming from a distance and wanted to really let the dog enjoy working for a few days I would come later in the season.
 
Victor,

I live in Illinois and hunt a little West of Aberdeen every year . I believe what your friend was saying is it is very rare for your dog to "lock up" on a rooster. Don't get me wrong, it happens but usually our dogs are most useful in finding cripples and retrieving.
We can get much closer to the birds without a dog and being very quiet.
I enjoy watching my dog work and pointing a few hens and making retrieves.
I would definately bring your dog just don't expect the birds to hold at all especially later in the year. Also, beware of the barbwire. Every year we have to head to town for stitches.
Good Luck,
Bob
 
Hockeybob said:
We can get much closer to the birds without a dog and being very quiet.
I enjoy watching my dog work and pointing a few hens and making retrieves.
I would definately bring your dog just don't expect the birds to hold at all especially later in the year.Good Luck,
Bob
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Bob, I live in this area and hunt pheasants a lot with 2 Brittanys. I have to respectfully disagree with your statements. You might be able to get closer to the birds without a dog (I have my doubts), but how many do you walk by without a dog? And to tell this person not to expect birds to hold at all, especially later in the year, is absolute rubbish. If this is your expereince your are hunting with the wrong dogs. My dogs find, point and hold roosters throughout the entire season. From my experience I don't think roosters hold any better, or run any more, regardless if it's the opening weekend or late in the season. I think you are leading this poor fellow down the wrong path.
Victor, bring your dog and have fun. My guess is that your dog will point plenty of roosters regardless of the time of the season. Take it from someone that hunts NE South Dakota several times a week throughout the season with probably 75% of that hunting taking place on public land.
 
how are you quiet walking through cattails or heavy cover? Hell you could be casper the friendly ghost and the birds will know you are there. I do know that yelling at dogs, or closing gun actions will kill you. The birds begin to associate that with getting shot at. I hunted near Aberdeen on all public land the last couple of years in mid december, and witnessed plenty of points on wild roosters. Hell one time we were looking for a downed bird for 20 minutes and a couple of late roosters came out. I love late season because it becomes a test of will and planning. good luck
 
thanks Guys.....

its all great info I will be there opening week and perhaps a few more times during the season being from California I am use to big crowds lol My dog is no rookie he came from Outback Gundog kennel in KANSAS and Kirby sold me a great bird dog although he lives in california now he gets hunted alot and he is solid on wild birds and pen raised birds loves to point and if they are runners or cripples they might as well give up he's gonna get you!!! loves to retrieve for me and drops the bird about 2 feet from me and is ready for more, I will have to run him with a vest in the off season just so he gets use to it for those barb wire moments that make me kringe when I see him get near to when he's running maybe we can share some Pheasant talk while i'm there with some of you guys over a cold drink :cheers:. SEE PICS BELOW THAT WAS FROM CLOSING SUNDAY UPLAND GAME 1/30/11 OH AND HENS ARE LEGAL ON PRIVATE HUNT PRESERVES......

Thanks Victor
 
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hi Jim,

no reason just where i made my reservations cause the super 8 there made a ton of donations to Pheasants forever and that was good enough for me to book there but i'll travel the whole state while i'm there chasing tail.......

thanks Victor
 
Dad and I hunted in SD in 2008 and this past season.

In 2008 we killed 18 roosters in 4 days. This past season we killed 24 roosters in 4 days. Every single bird was killed over one of our two German Wirehairs on solid points. Couple of birds even held long enough for the other dog to "back" the point. We hunted road ditches, WIA, and Private lands.

75% of the fun for me is watching the dogs. I would not go w/o a dog.

Couple of tips for what it's worth from an out-of-stater:

1. Be VERY quiet. My dad and I typically use hand signals. We do not use beeper collars or whistles. Pretend you are hunting grouse. No more than 2 guys per one dog.

2. Hunt into the wind any chance you can.

3. Have a good dog - the dog must not get too far ahead. The birds will hold if not pushed, but they won't hold that long. Even with a good dog you will likely lose a couple of birds, but our dogs have saved many for us by catching runners.

4. Don't go opening week.
 
jsdriggs said:
I will have to run him with a vest in the off season just so he gets use to it for those barb wire moments


Victor, I know barbed wire can cause some problems but am not really with you on the hunting vest for your dog. I tried one once with my old lab and it really seemed to more of a hinderence than a help. Chafed the fur right off her front legs (bad fit). What takes time, and in my humble opinion is more effective in the long run is letting the dogs learn about barbed wire. You should see an old pro birddog slip through one after years of experience- they know. It's kind of like watching an old veteran get through cactus. I don't know how, but they don't step on any.
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Your right on about experience on the barbed wire. My dog goes fences all the time and never gets cut up. He got cut once when he was about six months old and thought he was an olympic high jumper and tried to clear a 4 strand fence. He always goes under now!
 
Victor,

I just can't stress enough that you need to re-condier coming out here opening weekend. Since you have never been here before you have no idea as to the number of hunters in the field the opening day and the following week. I would guess, that for the most part, the only non-residents that come opening weekend are ones that have private land to hunt. Understand that many residents do not have privatee land to hunt either and thus the public land gets crowded.

DZ
 
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Dakotazeb said:
Victor,

I just can't stress enough that you need to re-condier coming out here opening weekend. Since you have never been here before you have no idea as to the number of hunters in the field the opening day and the following week. I would guess is, that for the most part, the only non-residents that come opening weekend are ones that have private land to hunt. Understand that many residents do not have privatee land to hunt either and thus the public land gets crowded.

DZ
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DZ is right, the public land gets hunted hard and most of the birds get pushed off. Later in the year when private land has all the crops in the public land has as good or better habitat and starts to hold lots of birds again. One must also remember that SD has a Resident only Public land only hunt the weekend before the general season.
 
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