The Numbers Add Up

[A5 Sweet 16]

Yes, you need to have birds in order to shoot them, & yes, you need to have habitat & decent conditions to have birds.
And yes, major catastrophic events can take a toll on bird numbers in a given area.
But I think the GF&P's statistics at least somewhat substantiate the idea that if good habitat remains fairly consistent, the birds will be around as long as there aren't too many major catastrophic events (which we really haven't had on a large scale that I recall since the 2012 drought).
And that in areas with consistently good habitat, hunting conditions during the season typically play a bigger part in hunter success than conditions in the off-season.
Looking at estimates for the last 10 years:
20/21 harvest was back up over a million for the 1st time in 4 years & the 6th highest in the last 10 years.
20/21 birds/hunter was 9.1, the 2nd highest in the last 10 years.
20/21 number of hunters was only 121,000, the 3rd lowest in the last 10 years.
(And no, these numbers do NOT include preserves.)
I don't think much of this was due to extending the season through January. I was out twice a week, each week, & saw VERY few other hunters.
I think it's because of the early harvest last year & good weather. The few that hunted were able to find & corner birds more easily.
I'm no farming expert, but unless something changes drastically, I anticipate another early harvest & another successful season as far as numbers go.
The effects of this drought, assuming it persists, are more likely to be seen fall of 22 & 23.

 

[goldenboy]

Let's go chase some birds again this fall!

 

[A5 Sweet 16]

Let's go chase some birds again this fall!

Joel, it's not even August & I'm starting to get excited. Of course part of it may be the heat index is supposed to be about 105 today, & maybe that's really making me hungry for fall/winter weather. Have you been thinking about another 3-state extravaganza??

 

[Munster927]

A5, you ever get around to the Aberdeen area? I have a 5 day period from last season to burn up and thinking of trying a new area than where I've been in the past. Maybe Watertown or Aberdeen. Thoughts on those areas? Don't need directions or honey holes, just some local knowledge as to if I'm better suited to stay with my known areas or branch out.

 

[goldenboy]

Joel, it's not even August & I'm starting to get excited. Of course part of it may be the heat index is supposed to be about 105 today, & maybe that's really making me hungry for fall/winter weather. Have you been thinking about another 3-state extravaganza??

Haven't really thought about that crazy idea again but I might spend some time in all three of those states this fall. I will let you know if I plan to be in your area.

 

[A5 Sweet 16]

A5, you ever get around to the Aberdeen area? I have a 5 day period from last season to burn up and thinking of trying a new area than where I've been in the past. Maybe Watertown or Aberdeen. Thoughts on those areas? Don't need directions or honey holes, just some local knowledge as to if I'm better suited to stay with my known areas or branch out.

If you've already mentioned your "known areas", refresh my memory.
I don't get up to Watertown or Aberdeen, so I really can't speak to them.
I do, however, have a friend & avid chaser of pheasants (on this forum too) from Watertown. He's pretty successful & I'll send you GPS coordinates of all his spots.

 

[Munster927]

If you've already mentioned your "known areas", refresh my memory.
I don't get up to Watertown or Aberdeen, so I really can't speak to them.
I do, however, have a friend & avid chaser of pheasants (on this forum too) from Watertown. He's pretty successful & I'll send you GPS coordinates of all his spots.

Oh send those right now haha

So far I've hunted south of Chamberlain and the Miller area. Neither of those areas have really wowed me so I'm after some new spots. Watertown's relatively closer so I thought I'd give there a try. But the late season Sand Lake Refuge hunt up in Aberdeen has me curious as well.

 

[Bob Peters]

20/21 number of hunters was only 121,000, the 3rd lowest in the last 10 years.
(And no, these numbers do NOT include preserves.)
I don't think much of this was due to extending the season through January. I was out twice a week, each week, & saw VERY few other hunters.
I think it's because of the early harvest last year & good weather. The few that hunted were able to find & corner birds more easily.

The above info is interesting when compared to this post of yours from last December.

The Roosters are Killing Me!!

As many of you know, I hunt pretty much solely public land & walk-ins in SE SD. It's quite rare that I take the time to get on private ground anymore. But I'm thinking that may become necessary, very soon, if I want to shoot many more pheasants in the last 6 weeks of the season. Prior to Dec...

forum.ultimatepheasanthunting.com

Maybe the general inference is that there weren't many hunters, but they were successful early and made late season hunting tough because all the public grass had been beat to death and there wasn't any snow to force birds into heavy cover?

 

[A5 Sweet 16]

The above info is interesting when compared to this post of yours from last December.

The Roosters are Killing Me!!

As many of you know, I hunt pretty much solely public land & walk-ins in SE SD. It's quite rare that I take the time to get on private ground anymore. But I'm thinking that may become necessary, very soon, if I want to shoot many more pheasants in the last 6 weeks of the season. Prior to Dec...

forum.ultimatepheasanthunting.com

Maybe the general inference is that there weren't many hunters, but they were successful early and made late season hunting tough because all the public grass had been beat to death and there wasn't any snow to force birds into heavy cover?

That was basically the inference. When I said "the few that hunted" I meant the few 121,000 who were all out early in the season & for a little later than usual because the weather stayed mild for so long.

It gets tough on public land every season eventually, but last year was particularly tough (briefly). Then we finally got some decent snow, & I branched out & found a few spots in my general area that I'd never hunted before. It was pretty obvious they'd been hunted less than a lot of my usual spots. Ended up having a banner season even though there were a couple tough weeks in the middle.

 

[Golden Hour]

If you've already mentioned your "known areas", refresh my memory.
I don't get up to Watertown or Aberdeen, so I really can't speak to them.
I do, however, have a friend & avid chaser of pheasants (on this forum too) from Watertown. He's pretty successful & I'll send you GPS coordinates of all his spots.

Is that the dude who is totally inappropriate and offensive? And at times quirky? He'll share his spots and then make sure he hunts the snot out of them just prior to that person showing up. That's just the kind of guy he is.

 

[A5 Sweet 16]

Is that the dude who is totally inappropriate and offensive? And at times quirky? He'll share his spots and then make sure he hunts the snot out of them just prior to that person showing up. That's just the kind of guy he is.

That's the guy.

 

[Munster927]

I'll make sure not to say when I'm going so they don't swipe my spots haha

 

[PeteRevvv]

Just west of Watertown used to be really good hunting but frequent flooding and more grazing vs crops seems to have reduced the bird numbers permanently since the early 2000s. I still give it a try most years and make a swing through Conde/Doland/Clark but then head back west after reminiscing about the glory days and getting that out of my system. South and SW of Aberdeen has been consistently better for decades now.