What am I missing?

B

BO BOLT & JEWELL

New member
Several people had me talked into going to SD late November and/or December (weather permitting) to hunt pheasants. I received the public hunting Atlas today and there are darn few public WIA available in the eastern half of the state which is where the primary range is located. I live A LONG WAY FROM SD, I don't want to go to SD wth no place to hunt. What am I missing????
 
How much land are you looking for? Are you specifically looking for WIA's? Where are you planning on going? I hunt public land almost exclusively and find that there is plenty enough around for most people. Unless you're trying to head out there with a group of 20 and expecting your limit you should do fine.
 
i 2nd big rands comments theres birds & alot of public land in that area...

being 100% honest with you i have never shot a SD rooster on a wia...
 
My mistake. Meant to type CREP lands. I don't have any specific areas in mind. I was hoping to find an area with several public access places and head that way. It would be my first trip and there are only 2 of us and 3 dogs.
 
You can hunt all public lands. No need to limit yourself just to CREP lands. I hunt several WPA that consistently produce more pheasants than they could ever produce waterfowl. Find an area you plan to hunt and get up early and go for a drive to scout some places. Best advice is to avoid towns with multiple hotels. The least hit places are the ones where you have to go further than the next guy.
 
I had the concerns this past week until we downloaded the public land app and took a gamble last Friday with crep and gpa fields away from the main roads. We only freelanced one day, but we scratched out three between the two of us and no dog. If we had shot better, we would have limited out in the first two or three fields just walking the fence lines.

At any rate, the public opportunities are there, and the birds were there for us on Friday. One of the most enjoyable days hunting I've ever had.

http://www.ultimatepheasanthunting.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19620
 
I had the concerns this past week until we downloaded the public land app and took a gamble last Friday with crep and gpa fields away from the main roads. We only freelanced one day, but we scratched out three between the two of us and no dog. If we had shot better, we would have limited out in the first two or three fields just walking the fence lines.

At any rate, the public opportunities are there, and the birds were there for us on Friday. One of the most enjoyable days hunting I've ever had.

http://www.ultimatepheasanthunting.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19620
 
BB & J

I've hunted just east of the Missouri since 93. Quite a bit less CRP land and walk-in opportunities for a while now. You will find that some of the walk-ins aren't worth hunting as the cover isn't there. You will also find on WPAs that some are hayed or grazed down to the nubbins or that the upland portions have been temporarily converted to soybeans or corn for several years before new grasses are re-established. The CREP lands are open to the public and in the James River watershed, mainly N of Aberdeen. Never hunted em though, we go further west.

It can still be a wonderland and quite the experience. Just enjoy the whole experience, small town cafes and bars, meeting long time landowners and having realistic expectations your first time out, its gonna be a learning experience period.

Dan
 
As others have said, there is plenty of land out there. Don't limit yourself strictly to WIA areas. There are lots of other types of public lands to hunt, WPA's can be pretty good too a lot of times. GMA's can also be good.

You will come across some areas that are worthless, either because they've been hayed down, or trampled by too many hunters, or some other reason. You'll come across other areas that look like nobody has even hunted them yet this year and they'll be a hidden gem for you.

You don't need too many pieces of land to hunt either. If you hunt non-stop from 10am-5pm, at one hour per parcel, that only leaves 7 pieces of land to hunt the entire day. Now factor in drive time, lunch, and maybe some scouting, and you'll hunt even less.

Point being, there's a lot more public land than you think in SD. If a piece doesn't look good to hunt, then keep on driving to the next. With two guys you can get 6 birds a day, I'm sure some days you will get your 6 in a few hours, and other days you will struggle to get 2 or 3 all day. Each day is different, keep searching for land.
 
Here we go again. If you want guaranteed birds, go to a Bird farm. Nobody here is going to give you a Bird Nirvana spot. You gotta do what most of us have done. Quit whining about the drive and get your boots on the ground and figure it out for yourself.
Sorry if I sound a little harsh but that is what it takes.
 
BO said:
My mistake. Meant to type CREP lands. I don't have any specific areas in mind. I was hoping to find an area with several public access places and head that way. It would be my first trip and there are only 2 of us and 3 dogs.
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just kinda seen like ur fishing for what specific type of public land is better then others or a short cut i meant wia i meant creep etc. nobody wants to gar hole you but i does take time to figure out what type habitat birds are using or wear more birds are in a region etc. good luck out there... do research on daily pheasant routines or hire a guide a day or walk prime ditches wear u seen loads of birds... i go west & work my way back east if i was u??? why start in the east side of sd if u want ur trip to be a sucess???
 
Your fist trip anywhere can be nerv racking I don't care how experienced you are. All the state land is worth looking at. Wia hold birds but its mostly little slews in the middle of a corn field. Don't overlook the little spots expecaly during late season. Put on some miles walking and driving do some morning scouting. They shoot more birds than the other big 4 pheasant states combine every year.
 
carpfisher said:
Here we go again. If you want guaranteed birds, go to a Bird farm. Nobody here is going to give you a Bird Nirvana spot. You gotta do what most of us have done. Quit whining about the drive and get your boots on the ground and figure it out for yourself.
Sorry if I sound a little harsh but that is what it takes.
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Sorry to bother you. Did you see any tears in my sentences? I don't want _hit from you. I am taking a friend who has never been on a wild bird, always dreamed of going to SD or Kansas on a do it yourself hunt. Personally, I have done DIY hunts all over the country for big game and have only started traveling with my dogs. Figured I could walk flat land for years as I age, but knew mountain goats, elk and other game is for young legs and lungs. I checked that off my bucket list, and will be happy to see a new area and watch my dogs. I don't need any honey hole. Unfortunately, my friend (really more of an acquaintance from church) has some health issues as a young man and will probably not be around this time next year. So, yes I would like for him to have a good trip. I was going to take him earlier this fall but my Mother's health was failing and I could not get away. Again, sorry to bother you.
 
I just got back from my first time ever. Hunted 3 days, 2 guys, no dog, hunted ditches only. Walked about 10 miles each day and ended up with 9, but it wasn't for lack of opportunity. We saw about 35 roosters and each missed about 10. Took us a day of hunting to figure out what to do and a lot of misses to figure out we were over choked. To do it over again, we'd both limit out before noon.
 
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fstchkn said:
I just got back from my first time ever. Hunted 3 days, 2 guys, no dog, hunted ditches only. Walked about 10 miles each day and ended up with 9, but it wasn't for lack of opportunity. We saw about 35 roosters and each missed about 10. Took us a day of hunting to figure out what to do and a lot of misses to figure out we were over choked. To do it over again, we'd both limit out before noon.
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Congratulations. Glad you had a good trip and got things figured out!
 
I agree with tbear. It's a little intimidateing I was out for the first time and we did ok. Just use your best judgement and you will have a great time
 
Gspranger2244 said:
I agree with tbear. It's a little intimidateing I was out for the first time and we did ok. Just use your best judgement and you will have a great time
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Thanks. We will be fine. Approximatly 25 years ago three of us went out west to hunt elk on a DIY hunt with no place to go and no experienc elk hunting. In fact we had never even seen an elk. I did not go this year, but my two buddies who were on that original trip went and killed two Bulls. I think collectively that makes over 55 bulls for us during that time period on DIY hunts. How heavy can 3 dead pheasants be? They have to be easier to pack out to on your back than a bull elk ha ha.
 
Im headed out this weekend! You will have a great time! Good luck when you go and cant wait to here how your trip goes. Make sure to take some pictures.
:cheers:
 
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