State Ranking?

kansasbrittany said:
I thought MN would rank higher on the lists of many:confused:
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This is a pheasant website so that weighs heavy. I will say Pheasants were reasonably plentiful in MN during the mid to lates 2000's and MN has good amounts of public land available but it's not destination pheasant hunting IMO.

I suppose it could be a destination if a guy really enjoyed hunting huge tracts of cattails, patches of red willow and small tracts of rank Brome grass all day long. That is pretty much what most of the MN public access consists of for pheasant habitat.

Don't get me wrong I've taken my share of MN public land pheasants and enjoyed it but much prefer the variety of habitat I can hit on any given day in South Dakota. If a guy scouts well and is willing to drive a little you can hunt cattails, shelterbelts, head high CRP grass, short grass prairie, standing crops, weed patches and fence rows all in one day in SD and all via public access.

To the original question I would rank the states based on three criteria. High quality public access options. Pheasant population. Legitimate opportunities for bonus upland species within the huntable pheasant range. Will also only rank states I've actually hunted in.

1. South Dakota - Best combination of Pheasants & Access. Good opportunities for Sharptail if a guy knows where to go and when.

2. Kansas - Very good WIA program. Have hunted areas where I flushed pheasants, bobs and some realy spooky GPC's in the same day.

3. North Dakota - Actually has better options for upland species variety than SD but I think pheasants are going to be down for the foreseeable future and frankly the residents are not that welcoming of non-resident hunters.

4. Minnesota - We qualify on all three criteria but IMO none of them score above average.

5. Wisconsin - I once did see a single Woodcock and shot a pheasant on public ground on the same day in Wisconsin.

DB
 
OKIEGunner said:
I've been contemplating making a trip out to CA one of these years for a great mixed bag opportunity. I just got to get going on my research and planning.
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If you have any questions feel free to ask in our regional forum or by pm. I'll do my beat to help you narrow your search for targeted species.
 
Downtown Bang! said:
This is a pheasant website so that weighs heavy. I will say Pheasants were reasonably plentiful in MN during the mid to lates 2000's and MN has good amounts of public land available but it's not destination pheasant hunting IMO.

I suppose it could be a destination if a guy really enjoyed hunting huge tracts of cattails, patches of red willow and small tracts of rank Brome grass all day long. That is pretty much what most of the MN public access consists of for pheasant habitat.

Don't get me wrong I've taken my share of MN public land pheasants and enjoyed it but much prefer the variety of habitat I can hit on any given day in South Dakota. If a guy scouts well and is willing to drive a little you can hunt cattails, shelterbelts, head high CRP grass, short grass prairie, standing crops, weed patches and fence rows all in one day in SD and all via public access.

To the original question I would rank the states based on three criteria. High quality public access options. Pheasant population. Legitimate opportunities for bonus upland species within the huntable pheasant range. Will also only rank states I've actually hunted in.

1. South Dakota - Best combination of Pheasants & Access. Good opportunities for Sharptail if a guy knows where to go and when.

2. Kansas - Very good WIA program. Have hunted areas where I flushed pheasants, bobs and some realy spooky GPC's in the same day.

3. North Dakota - Actually has better options for upland species variety than SD but I think pheasants are going to be down for the foreseeable future and frankly the residents are not that welcoming of non-resident hunters.

4. Minnesota - We qualify on all three criteria but IMO none of them score above average.

5. Wisconsin - I once did see a single Woodcock and shot a pheasant on public ground on the same day in Wisconsin.

DB
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I completely forgot to factor woodcock in. I've shot woodcock while hunting pheasant in west central Minnesota even though they are more commonly and probably exclusively pursued in the north woods. I shot at a couple last weekend in west central Minn, but missed.
 
I've only been to a couple of the Mid-West States but I'll give it a go!

1 South Dakota

2 Kansas

3 Minnesota

4 Montana

5 North Dakota

I have always thought Minnesota was a sleeper state! If Pa. hunters put the effort into habitat like the boys in Minn. due Pa. would be back on top!
 
jsdriggs said:
Hmmmmm, lets see????
I tend to agree with Wayne. Except I haven't hunted too many states. So here goes.

NE Montana
Wyoming
SE Idaho
West Central Montana
SW Idaho

Not a lot of birds in general, but some of the prettiest country a man can set his eyes on. Makes getting skunked all the better!:D
Carry your bear spray in W Central MT!
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Quiet Driggs! Everyone knows there are NO BIRDS in Idaho!

Especially Chukar, quail, huns, grouse, pheasants and waterfowl. And we only get to chase them 5 months.
 
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ks ,sd ,california, i will tell you one i bet not hardly anyone thinks about is hawaii from what ive heard this is an awesome place to hunts birds!!!! from an earlier thread of trips before i die this would def be one, on the beach chasing bikinis wow!!! now thats bird hunting heck hawaii might even be number one if i had ever been there
 
I can't put Iowa as #1 even as joke because It's not funny. I would love a place that had chukar, huns, quail, and pheasant and lots of public land and few people. That would be #1 to me.
 
pheasantaddict said:
I can't put Iowa as #1 even as joke because It's not funny. I would love a place that had chukar, huns, quail, and pheasant and lots of public land and few people. That would be #1 to me.
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Sounds to me like you are describing northeast Oregon.
 
If i am looking at the total upland experience then I am looking at this....

#1 - Oregon
#2 - Montana
#3 - Idaho
#4 - North Dakota
#5 - Kansas

Now if i was looking at with more of a pheasant blinder on then the rankings would be flipped around...

Gotta have good numbers of at least 3 species on public land that isn't horribly crowded to make my list :)
 
#1 would have to be my adopted home state of Sd. 2 would go to Ne for the mixed bag opportunity. I have shot grouse pheasant and quail in the same day here. 3. Nd because its a border state I am sure some of those SD birds fly or run over here. 4 Mn another border state, the home of PF and decent grouse hunting. 5 My home state of Mi for the hunting we once had. I think we currently shoot more woodcock and grouse than any other state. Plus knowone else gave us a mention. I see Ca, Or, and Ha as exotic locations similar to Argentina or Mexico. Just too far away.
 
What State has ????

1.Pheasants

2. Bobwhites

3. Scales

4. Gambels

5. Blue Grouse

6. Sage Grouse

7. Sharptails

8. Prairie Chickens

9.Ptarmigan

10. Chukar

Colorado!! Never mind, we do not have any birds!! Would love to see some Huns someday!!!:cheers:
 
How many states have you hunted in.

I would be interested in how many states the responders have hunted in. Hard to pick the top 5 if you have only hunted 2, IMHO. I grew up in MN and would rank it 50th based on my hunts there as a teenager. Keep in mind it was intensive ag (corn, soybean, corn, soybeans for as far as the eye could see) and growing up on a farm there wasn't time to travel and hunt in the fall. If someone shoot a limit of two roosters they got there picture in the local paper!

Anyway, my ranking would be

1.South Dakota
2.North Dakota
3. Idaho
4. Montana (we have no upland birds, spread the word)
all of which I have hunted
5. Kansas (based on what I hear).
 
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