SD trip 2023

Matt D

Matt D

Well-known member
Got to hunt 15 days this year. Had to go a week earlier than our normal time frame due to needing to be in MN for a work deal during our original scheduled days. Got there Sunday the 28th after the cold snap on that Friday prior. Lots of corn still standing which the birds were fully utilizing. Also for whatever reason it appeared to us they were buried deeper in to it then most years thus impossible for 2 of us to get to them. It became obvious quite quickly that bird numbers were up and things started to fall in to place pretty quickly that first day. Had planned to do a day by day report by writing each day in Word then pasting it all at the end of the trip. That didn't happen sInce we had to improvise some on our lodging on the front end of the trip so a little more chaotic then usual. All in all a great trip with very solid bird numbers and as always lots of laughs and memories. Always enjoy getting around to visit with our land owner friends and meeting up with the various people we have met over the years. Dinner with land owners and helping farmers move equipment go a long ways in securing future access for hunting. Sounds likely that a couple of pieces we hunt will be changing ownership possibily by the end of next year. Non local land owners in their 70's are finding the draw of record land prices too much to resist. Can't blame them one bit. Have been blessed to get to chase birds on these properties for years.

Hoping to maybe get back out there late season to use up this 5 day license we have left over. Not certain if we will get to or not. Lodging already locked in for next years dates and counting down the weeks until we leave. Loved the place we stayed this year and looking forward to being back there again next year and possibly having some friends join us for part of the time. Ate 5 star breakfast and dinner's every day at the house. Tough to beat!

Here are a few pics from the trip.
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Thanks for the report and pics. We leave this friday for a 6 day hunt. Hope to post favorable comments when we return.
 
sjohn said:
Thanks for the report and pics. We leave this friday for a 6 day hunt. Hope to post favorable comments when we return.
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Good luck and good shootin'
 
Goosemaster said:
Great house, but you are pay hunting, so .
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If you are saying that because of the 5 star meals comment that is because I am one hell of a cook if I do say so myself. Pretty sure my hunting buddy would agree. Other than that I can’t find anything in my post that even someone like you could then extrapolate out to pay hunting? Let me first say there is nothing wrong with pay hunting IMO. If you own land you can do whatever you want with it. I enjoy that freedom as a SD land owner although I prefer to allow a friend to hunt birds and deer on it since he is close by and keeps an eye on things. Friends like that bale you out when you arrive 5 days early and don’t have a place to stay. Feel pretty confident a few of our other friends out there would have done the same had we asked. As for all the other land we hunt, if you consider giving them all a small gift or two of food from our area as paying then yep you are absolutely correct, we are big, bad pay hunters that are ruining all bird hunting in the country and you better put me on ignore.
 
I called my preferred motel today to check on rates next week..,$100+ tax, = $109/nite. $15/dog per nite on top of that. I normally stay in a very comfortable farmhouse in that area, and we pay $140 per day per person. Great kitchen, great dog facilities…and this allows us to hunt about 1000 acres of very good habitat. Splitting the motel 2 ways is about $55/nite per guy, but you end up eating out a lot…and doing more driving around checking public spots in the vicinity. The farmhouse may be $50 more per day, even less if you pay the motel the dog fee. Best $ I spend! I hunted some/all of 8 days leading up to 11/16…not just on his land, but my land, and other private land that was offered to us. I enjoy hunting public land, but I really enjoy knowing I’m not competing for access early in the year. By supporting a landowner who has an incentive to create and retain and improve habitat, I’m helping the situation. The general area I’m in has many local farmers and landowners who are pro-habitat. In fact, an old timer just enrolled about 30% of his land into CREP, which will be a big deal in just a year or so for wildlife. Yup, I pay to hunt…mostly stuff I cook, but pies, smoked salmon, baked goods, etc, are often the currency. And when I stay in the aforementioned farmhouse, you could say I’m paying about $50/day when breaking it all down. Should be 2-3x that, frankly!
 
I bring out local michigan products or baked goods from my wife, if they need help at the farm i offer my labor. Least i can to.
 
Dakotazeb said:
Well that's what I thought you had but in the pics they kinda look like SM's. My bad!
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No worries. I agree they do look a little like SM’s. My buddies black and white ones are almost the size of cockers. I give him lots to f crap about those short legged dogs but they are really good hunters!
 
Matt D said:
If you are saying that because of the 5 star meals comment that is because I am one hell of a cook if I do say so myself. Pretty sure my hunting buddy would agree. Other than that I can’t find anything in my post that even someone like you could then extrapolate out to pay hunting? Let me first say there is nothing wrong with pay hunting IMO. If you own land you can do whatever you want with it. I enjoy that freedom as a SD land owner although I prefer to allow a friend to hunt birds and deer on it since he is close by and keeps an eye on things. Friends like that bale you out when you arrive 5 days early and don’t have a place to stay. Feel pretty confident a few of our other friends out there would have done the same had we asked. As for all the other land we hunt, if you consider giving them all a small gift or two of food from our area as paying then yep you are absolutely correct, we are big, bad pay hunters that are ruining all bird hunting in the country and you better put me on ignore.
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I have stated my position on pay hunting.Giving a 6 pack of beer,or a steak,is fine.Giving them 100s of dollars, is not.
 
Goosemaster said:
I have stated my position on pay hunting.Giving a 6 pack of beer,or a steak,is fine.Giving them 100s of dollars, is not.
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So tell me where in my original post did it mention anything about pay hunting? You just seem to make shit up in you mind and then it becomes the truth. I truly feel sorry for someone that is so damn worried about what others are doing. Every person I encounter that offer paid hunting I thank them for doing it because it means habitat for the birds to survive and prosper. Doesn’t make a bit of difference to me if someone then pays them for that access or they allow me to hunt. The birds are the winner in that scenario.
 
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Matt D said:
So tell me where in my original post did it mention anything about pay hunting?
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When I read your initial post and then saw Goose's comment about pay hunting, I didn't see any evidence of that either. And now that you've clarified as well, I still don't see where that is coming from on his end.

Offering a landowner a pie, a 6 pack of beer, or some fish filets is not really "pay" hunting in my book. I think there is some confusion here on that subject. I consider pay hunting to be a private lodge where you "hunt" A5's psuedo-pheasants that were raised in a barn. You know, the ones that have no wild instinct and act more like domesticated poultry and you don't even need a hunting license.
 
gimruis said:
When I read your initial post and then saw Goose's comment about pay hunting, I didn't see any evidence of that either. And now that you've clarified as well, I still don't see where that is coming from on his end.

Offering a landowner a pie, a 6 pack of beer, or some fish filets is not really "pay" hunting in my book. I think there is some confusion here on that subject. I consider pay hunting to be a private lodge where you "hunt" A5's psuedo-pheasants that were raised in a barn. You know, the ones that have no wild instinct and act more like domesticated poultry and you don't even need a hunting license
Goosemaster said:
I have stated my position on pay hunting.Giving a 6 pack of beer,or a steak,is fine.Giving them 100s of dollars, is not.
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Goose....I could be wrong here...but I would bet my collection of silver quarters that if somehow you ended up owning a small piece of land with hunting opportunity, it would be posted from one end to the other. And if thats the case, you are most definitely whats known as a grifter..... I.E.,someone who likes to take, but never gives. Or do I have it all wrong...maybe you have a few hundred acres loaded with birds and I'm more than welcome to come whack a few??
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I don’t golf any more, but to me it’s a bit like playing muni courses vs private courses…the former are probably crowded and not as well taken care of, but certainly cheaper. ..it’s all about budgets, priorities, etc…no approach is wrong, IMO.
 
Matt D said:
So tell me where in my original post did it mention anything about pay hunting? You just seem to make shit up in you mind and then it becomes the truth. I truly feel sorry for someone that is so damn worried about what others are doing. Every person I encounter that offer paid hunting I thank them for doing it because it means habitat for the birds to survive and prosper. Doesn’t make a bit of difference to me if someone then pays them for that access or they allow me to hunt. The birds are the winner in that scenario.
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Ok and when there is no free hunting, you are to blame
 
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