In my hunting lifetime would say 1990 - 1994, 2005 - 2009, 2012 - 2019 (less one year in there somewhere) were the most productive years in the states that I hunt especially if I am noting birds moved. I would say the 2020s have been very good but for a variety of reasons not quite where it was ... probably in part due to my private land contacts across several states dwindling as landowners change. I will also have to note that from about 1994 - 2019 I spend more time (# of days) chasing ruffed grouse (and woodcock) than pheasants. Still do balance the two, but has shifted back more to pheasants ...
MN was indeed great in the 2005 - 2009 era and I have hunted and killed birds in probably 20 - 25 counties across MN. I would say over the last 25 years I have gravitated pretty far west compared to where I started pheasant hunting when I moved to MN in the mid-90s. I would say 80% of my pheasant hunting has been in MN for sometime now. It is a very good pheasant hunting state. There were some years in the 2005-2009 time frame where my combined MN bird harvest of ruffed grouse, woodcock, pheasants, and a prairie chicken or two hit some pretty high marks.
ND is a bit vulnerable to tough winters, but private land is always decent if not fantastic. If you cannot consistently kill all the birds you want on ND private land (barring a catostrophic winter), something is wrong with how you approach it. Public land is hit much harder now than it ever was say 20 - 35 years ago. The 1990, 1991, and 1992 season were marked by phenomenal hun and solid sharptail hunting too. I have hunted and killed pheasants in at least 25 ND counties since about 1978 or so, but 4 or 5 counties standout as long as winter behaves. I had my first bird dog in '81 and the early 80s were pretty good and that was pre-CRP and pre-PLOTs. Less posting, less hunters with dogs, less hunters with good dogs, minimal NRs (I was still a resident), and almost no pressure after opening day. We spent Thanksgiving Fri - Sun on a large SW ND GMA in the mid-80s. We never saw another hunter. Birds were a bit cagey, but walking the woody draws and creeks ... crazy good. Pass shot sharptails has they came off the river bluffs from the sunflower fields.
I have been SD multiple times and IA once, but do not have enough experience in either state to pin down a golden time. I have not had much reason or I suppose time to return to those states that often.
