The new phone book is here!!!!!

One rooster = One rooster

One hen = 3-4 roosters

I would not be very concerned with the number of old studs. Don't need very many of them going into spring. It is nice to shoot a BIG 'ol rooster once in while though!
 
UGUIDE said:
BB, you are in the math business so help me out with the numbers here.

If we were down 50% last year on a spot and are up 50% this year does that mean the spot is back to the numbers we had last?

So overall the state is up 18% which is good but down 31% on the 10 year average which is not good. I think the 31% down number is the most significant metric in the report.

One could make assumption that drought did have impact as Winner routes were unchanged from last year and Chamberlain/Yankton routes were down.
Click to expand...

I was speaking hypothetically, but if we were down 50% from prior year, we'd need to jump by 100% to get back to even...2010=10 per mile, 2011=5 per mile (50% drop), now we'd need to increase by 100% (double...5 per mile to 10 per mile)...again, hypothetically speaking...just saying, in general, that if an area increased by 38% from last year, AND we lost a good bit of habitat, then the remaining habitat probably holds a GREATER than 38% increase from the past year, if that makes sense...probably more noticeable over a multi-year time span, I would guess, but I think this analogy will work: searching for women, a guy heads to Town X, where there were 3 bars last year...on average last year there were 20 women out at bars last year, total, per night...now, we have lost a bar--burned down--so we're down to 2...BUT, we are told that there are 24 women on average each night out at bars in Town X...so, last year there were an average of 6.66 women per bar each night...now, we are up to 12 women per bar per night...so, even though the # of women only increased 20% from last year (20 then, 24 now), we can expect to see almost twice as many each night at the bar, as we are going from 6.66 to 12, due to the loss of "woman habitat" (bar that burned down)...we just need to make sure that the remaining "habitat" (2 bars) can satisfy all their needs--food, shelter, water, and whatever else, to keep them from dying or leaving the area in search of better conditions!
 
UGUIDE said:
BB, you are in the math business so help me out with the numbers here.

If we were down 50% last year on a spot and are up 50% this year does that mean the spot is back to the numbers we had last?

So overall the state is up 18% which is good but down 31% on the 10 year average which is not good. I think the 31% down number is the most significant metric in the report.

One could make assumption that drought did have impact as Winner routes were unchanged from last year and Chamberlain/Yankton routes were down.
Click to expand...

yeah, the 31% decrease over the 10 year average is a bad deal, but, honestly, with the exception of '02 & '11, virtually every year except those two were off the charts! So, if we only have 1/2, or 2/3 of what we have had, that is still pretty darn good...just hope we aren't consistently down 75-90% from the 10 year average of 2002-2011...actually, 2002 has been dropped from the #'s....it is now 2003-2012 as our sample period.
 
benelli-banger said:
yeah, the 31% decrease over the 10 year average is a bad deal, but, honestly, with the exception of '02 & '11, virtually every year except those two were off the charts! So, if we only have 1/2, or 2/3 of what we have had, that is still pretty darn good...just hope we aren't consistently down 75-90% from the 10 year average of 2002-2011...actually, 2002 has been dropped from the #'s....it is now 2003-2012 as our sample period.
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Well let's use the same "bar theory" and right off the bat exclude the married ones and the ones that are 350 on the hoof meaning we throw out the Western SD number of 37% down on only 5 routes driven......since the central and eastern parts are generally the number producing areas then the 18% state wide number becomes just the "central and eastern number" and it raises the percentage pretty well...........man I need a drink....that's way too much "new math" even for me
 
TerryB said:
Well let's use the same "bar theory" and right off the bat exclude the married ones and the ones that are 350 on the hoof meaning we throw out the Western SD number of 37% down on only 5 routes driven......since the central and eastern parts are generally the number producing areas then the 18% state wide number becomes just the "central and eastern number" and it raises the percentage pretty well...........man I need a drink....that's way too much "new math" even for me
Click to expand...

Math is exciting! Women and pheasant hunting...what could be better?
 
Speaking of limits, here's my proposal:

First five weeks of the season: 3 per day

Next four weeks of the season: 4 per day

Last two weeks of the season: 5 per day

Or some variation of the above. This would serve to spread out demand a bit, reward hunters for braving late season conditions, and reduce rooster #'s to a better hen/rooster ratio going into spring. We only need 12:1 but we usually have about 6:1 at seasons end.

Less hunting during the first five weeks should result in more birds left for the 4/day hunters and perhaps more again for the brave 5/day hunters. Like walk and blocking, they would get pushed to the "end of the field".

Is it correct that 65-70% of the pheasant hunting in SD takes place during the first three weeks? I guess my question is: Would it be beneficial to spread this out over the season more evenly?

I would do away with possession limits as "unconstitutional" :) Can they really dictate my consumption rate of pheasants and how many I choose to store in the freezer! Hmm.....Sounds like the KGB guys drink to much coffee.

If we pay over $100 to hunt 10 days, we damn sure should be able to possess that many days worth of birds!
 
TerryB said:
Haymaker there's no reason you should LOSE money. We've all had this discussion before about the trespass fees. What is reasonable? As a traveling hunter 11.5 hours from home what am I willing to pay? If I go with my 2 kids as it stands now at $150 per gun and up I'm screwed. I would like you to keep it in CRP and charge a modest trespass fee to recoup what you "MAY" have lost with the crop.....which today is a gamble in itself.......
Click to expand...

obviously you can be the only one to put a value on the land, but here are some things to consider.

if price goes up, say to $250 a gun per day, i can almost assure you pay to hunt, hunter numbers will dwindle quickly. with food and gas prices headed higher next year, a lot of guys will fold their tents...stay home and pay to shoot preserve birds.....no one likes it, but going one time for 3-4 days in SD, will soon equal a 4-6 bird day on most any preserve and will allow about 3-4 hunts per year.....rather than the long drive, gas bill, motel rooms and license...to come to SD....one time......
i would put the ground into production, $8-9 corn is gonna be huge next season, another dry year in some spots could boost it even more.....better than hoping for guys to keep coming and paying bigger money all the time.
it's just like anything, when it comes to pay to hunt, there is a limit where the value is questionable for the time, wear and tear on vehicle and money are concerned.....i don't see this getting any better.....ask your guys this season....would you pay $225-250 per day next year, if you had to?......:eek:
 
hunter94 said:
obviously you can be the only one to put a value on the land, but here are some things to consider.

if price goes up, say to $250 a gun per day, i can almost assure you pay to hunt, hunter numbers will dwindle quickly. with food and gas prices headed higher next year, a lot of guys will fold their tents...stay home and pay to shoot preserve birds.....no one likes it, but going one time for 3-4 days in SD, will soon equal a 4-6 bird day on most any preserve and will allow about 3-4 hunts per year.....rather than the long drive, gas bill, motel rooms and license...to come to SD....one time......
i would put the ground into production, $8-9 corn is gonna be huge next season, another dry year in some spots could boost it even more.....better than hoping for guys to keep coming and paying bigger money all the time.
it's just like anything, when it comes to pay to hunt, there is a limit where the value is questionable for the time, wear and tear on vehicle and money are concerned.....i don't see this getting any better.....ask your guys this season....would you pay $225-250 per day next year, if you had to?......:eek:
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Hunter,

All good points.......gives us all alot to think about.....not sure if I'm willing to pay that if thats what the market is going to ask.....This debate is going to be spit down a very equal party line.....those who have enough private ground to hunt and those who don't. Those of us who don't would rather see WIA and CRP........We'll have to make some tough decisions when the time comes
 
TerryB said:
Hunter,

All good points.......gives us all alot to think about.....not sure if I'm willing to pay that if thats what the market is going to ask.....This debate is going to be spit down a very equal party line.....those who have enough private ground to hunt and those who don't. Those of us who don't would rather see WIA and CRP........We'll have to make some tough decisions when the time comes
Click to expand...

Terry, it's the pits....things were different when corn was $2.50 a bushel, farming is a business, like any business, there is risk and reward...as has been said many times, "you got to make hay when the sun shines".
i understand that all too well, you can't make much money "hobby farming".
 
Check this out. i find this very interesting. This is a 12 week time lapse on drought monitor starting at about peak hatch or June 15. Things look pretty normal.

Then as time progresses thru end of August you can slowly see things get baked.

Man is southern SD is in tough shape how bad is it in NE and KS?

Takes a while to transition the slides so give it a few seconds.

This could explain decreased numbers in the Winner ,Chamberlain and Yankton areas.

http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/12_week.gif
 
UGUIDE said:
Check this out. i find this very interesting. This is a 12 week time lapse on drought monitor starting at about peak hatch or June 15. Things look pretty normal.

Then as time progresses thru end of August you can slowly see things get baked.

Man is southern SD is in tough shape how bad is it in NE and KS?

Takes a while to transition the slides so give it a few seconds.

This could explain decreased numbers in the Winner ,Chamberlain and Yankton areas.

http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/12_week.gif
Click to expand...

nice map uguide, thanks for posting it up......it is a graphic reminder of how bad things have gotten....
 
Thanks for the imput guys. You all make good points and clearly understand the situation. I do not know what options will be available to me when it comes out, we will have to wait for the new farm bill, but I doubt that the whole quarter will go back in to CRP. Whether there is CRP or not there will be hunting on that quarter in the future. It might be some kind of cover crop and crop combination. That is part of the fun of this business, you get to experiment with things. The revenue from hunting helps to make it possible but I try to keep it as affordable as I can. I don't know of anyone that offers what I do as cheap as I do. When the hunters are gathered around their pile of dead birds and I am taking their picture and they are laughing and teasing each other about the great shots or the not so great shots, that beats shoveling corn. So it isn't all about money either and I make a lot of new friends and that is worth quite a bit too.
 
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