So you want to hunt public land in South Dakota?

The video was inciteful to me. My philosophy on public has been a little different. I like to get out first thing (10am in SD) as it's the only time that you know for sure that the piece of ground hasn't already been hunted that day. And I like to start on a bigger piece of ground that will keep me busy for a couple of hours. The rest of the day, anytime things are slow, I find myself wondering if the ground I'm on hasn't already been pounded 10 minutes before I arrived.

However, the "golden hour" approach counts on the replenishment of the ground as the birds return from feed, so I'll be giving it a try.
 
siouxcitysmitty said:
The video was inciteful to me. My philosophy on public has been a little different. I like to get out first thing (10am in SD) as it's the only time that you know for sure that the piece of ground hasn't already been hunted that day. And I like to start on a bigger piece of ground that will keep me busy for a couple of hours. The rest of the day, anytime things are slow, I find myself wondering if the ground I'm on hasn't already been pounded 10 minutes before I arrived.

However, the "golden hour" approach counts on the replenishment of the ground as the birds return from feed, so I'll be giving it a try.
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Nothing wrong with that approach, especially if you've travelled here to hunt. I get it.

But if you're hunting heavily pressured public land (which most in SD is), in large part it doesn't matter if you're the first one to a spot at 10:00. This is particularly true after the first 2-3 weeks of the season, so most of the season. Unless inclement weather has movement shut down (which has to be REALLY bad weather), most pheasants will leave public roosting areas at sunup, eat breakfast, find some private ground where they don't see 3 groups of orange a day, & won't return until late in the day. Obviously there are exceptions, but this is a pretty good rule of thumb. Not the first time I've mentioned this, but what makes SD different from other states with pheasants....is options. In other states without so much habitat, public land may be better during the day, because that's the only game in town. Pheasants don't have near as many places to hang out nearby. In SD, almost every public area I've ever hunted has several spots very close by where a pheasant can hang out, move around, & be safe during the day. It's largely the case that they don't need public land when they're not roosting. That's usually why public land gets slow. Not necessarily because it was already hunted that morning. Chances are if it was, those guys didn't see any/many birds either.
 
Maybe this has already been mentioned, but its seems like the majority of hunters on public land walk into a section the same way. The birds often become conditioned to this and any noise or threat sends them gone ahead of time. Obviously the wind is often a factor, but if you can approach it from a different direction than what everyone else is doing, that can throw them a curve ball. I often start doing this later in the season when I hunt on private land.
 
GFP South Dakota should buy rights to this video from you..
And make it available on there web page for new..interested hunters..
Answers a ton of newbie questions
Very Very well done👍👍
 
gimruis said:
Maybe this has already been mentioned, but its seems like the majority of hunters on public land walk into a section the same way. The birds often become conditioned to this and any noise or threat sends them gone ahead of time. Obviously the wind is often a factor, but if you can approach it from a different direction than what everyone else is doing, that can throw them a curve ball. I often start doing this later in the season when I hunt on private land.
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Bigly important. If that means parking somewhere other than the "parking spot", then do it. I always try to hunt what I think will be the most likely pieces of an area into the wind in order to mask my noise as much as possible & hopefully get a few yards closer to pheasants. That comes into play too. And once out in an area, the shortest distance between 2 pieces you want to hunt isn't always the best path. If you have to swing wide around in order to hunt a different direction, then that's what you should do. Pheasants don't wait around for the hunter who takes the quick, easy path just like the last few guys did too. Curve ball. Into the wind. Quiet. Slow. (unless your dog indicates you better hurry up)
 
Golden Hour said:
This time of year comes with a solid number of folks who are looking for information on where to start when making plans to come to South Dakota to hunt pheasants on public land. I've been wanting to put this video together since the end of last season and finally got around to it. It's a brief overview (IMO) as I could expound on the various intricacies of hunting public land, including time of year, time of day, weather patterns, etc. But, I thought this would get the ball rolling and, with any luck, help some folks out.

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Thanks for the information. I'm starting to plan a hunt for 2023 and your video is a nice summary of what I have looked into and started to put together. It's reassuring. If it's ok, I may contact you in the spring and summer to see what the local forecasts may be for next fall. Appreciate local guys willing to help get a good experience for us travelers.
 
Huntdreamer said:
Thanks for the information. I'm starting to plan a hunt for 2023 and your video is a nice summary of what I have looked into and started to put together. It's reassuring. If it's ok, I may contact you in the spring and summer to see what the local forecasts may be for next fall. Appreciate local guys willing to help get a good experience for us travelers.
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You bet. Feel free to send me a PM on here and I'll give you what information I can.
 
dakotasj said:
Interesting read ---

www.keloland.com

SDGFP plans to spend more of habitat stamp's millions

PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — The habitat stamp that’s now required of most people age 18 and older who hunt or fish in South Dakota has brought in more than $9.2 million during its first two y…
www.keloland.com www.keloland.com
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Thanks for sharing. It's good to keep tabs on where the money is going. I hope to get out and do a little scouting in the next week or so and will take a look at some of the improvements they've listed.
 
I really wish the state could purchase some land with habitat stamps. I see property that ducks unlimited purchased and put easements on them and sell them once easements in place. I think these would be awesome land purchases by the state for cheap compared to what land is goi g for now.
 
Golden Hour said:
Thanks for sharing. It's good to keep tabs on where the money is going. I hope to get out and do a little scouting in the next week or so and will take a look at some of the improvements they've listed.
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You are welcome. Looking forward to your scouting report.
 
IdahoCountryBoy said:
I really wish the state could purchase some land with habitat stamps. I see property that ducks unlimited purchased and put easements on them and sell them once easements in place. I think these would be awesome land purchases by the state for cheap compared to what land is goi g for now.
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Where are you located in Idaho? I’m in E Idaho
 
That’s a small world. I’ve been to challis quite a bit. Used to live in Leadore by Salmon but now I’m between Idaho Falls and Jackson Hole.
 
IdahoCountryBoy said:
That’s a small world. I’ve been to challis quite a bit. Used to live in Leadore by Salmon but now I’m between Idaho Falls and Jackson Hole.
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Almost neighbors. I’m in Blackfoot
Used to hunt chukars and fish for steelhead between challis and Ellis on the Salmon river and chase elk around Salmon
Did you know Terry Sullivan an outfitter in Challis? Used to hunt and fish with him years ago. Lost track of him when he moved to Alaska
 
That name isn't familiar , left Challis in 2019, but last few years there was changeover in guides, retirements, health issues etc.
 
You keep calling it Public ground but it's Government ground and they are for sale to the highest bidder. That's not you Mr. Seasonal Hunter so you will always get the short end of the stick. You know what will never get mowed before hunting season- private preserves. I sure wish I had back my share of money that goes in to DNRs, Habitat Stamps, boat/atv licensing, hunting licensing, conservation funds, state and federal taxes that go into "Public" grounds and take a $1,000 and buy some time on a private land that will treat me right.
 
PeteRevvv said:
You keep calling it Public ground but it's Government ground and they are for sale to the highest bidder. That's not you Mr. Seasonal Hunter so you will always get the short end of the stick. You know what will never get mowed before hunting season- private preserves. I sure wish I had back my share of money that goes in to DNRs, Habitat Stamps, boat/atv licensing, hunting licensing, conservation funds, state and federal taxes that go into "Public" grounds and take a $1,000 and buy some time on a private land that will treat me right.
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And that 1K will get you about 1 week of hunting. Good luck.
 
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