Will public be any good in SD this year?

CT20-When I was doing my taxes last year, my accountant told me of a farmer/rancher near Phillip (west Dakota) faced with either paying the IRS
$30K in income taxes, or buying a new implement on a depreciation schedule. He bought a new combine.

It must be tough to have to make critical decisions like that.....................
or what to charge hunters next fall.
 
carptom1 said:
I too pay for acess a couple times a year. I mix it with public which I also enjoy. I guess to some on here those of us that pay are somehow less noble sportsmen. I also hear things like well healed, and well off to describe those of us who pay. I am sure many of you who say that make more money than me, smoke, drink, go to titie bars, drive 60k trucks etc. I am a pretty middle of the road earner. Save some money for retirement, drive an older truck, live in a modest home on a few acres and don't have 30-40 days to hunt and cultivate a bunch of relationships. Years ago I could get into some decent hunting in a couple hrs in southern Iowa, northern Kansas/Mo. It's not like that anymore. I have acess to 4k acres in southern Iowa that I haven't hunted in 5 yrs. I don't bitch about it. How about you don't either?
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For me it's simple. I enjoy having bird dogs and hunting with them. I save my money to take my dogs on hunting trips. Are there better, more honorable ways to spend my money and my time? If you think so, spend your money and your time doing them. I do the best I can within my means to get my dogs into as many wild birds as possible. There are hunters who have greater means and therefore more access to better hunting than I do. I accept that and wish them well. I am a little jealous but not to the point where I don't appreciate what I have. Basically, I just want to be left alone to hunt with my dogs. The joy I find in hunting with and watching my dogs work is my reward. If I have to pay for access, it doesn't change my commitment to safety and sportsmanship, which are the only standards that really mean anything to me.
 
UGUIDE said:
Not enough to cover the expenses!
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I can believe that. I posted the cost difference between having CRP and leasing it as farm ground somewhere here in the fourms--really makes one think:rolleyes:
 
Well I've made up my mind that I'm coming to SD to hunt this year instead of IA or KS. I'm NOT paying to hunt! Others may do that and that is up to them, but not this ole boy. I say I can hunt for 5 days enjoy my dogs and limit everyday on public ground. There is no reason to pay a farmer unbelievable amounts of money to hunt birds, when I can go to public land and maybe walk alittle more but still get my fair share. For those who think this can't be done I would beg to differ. I am excited to bring my 2 setters and pointer to the promised land and kick a little pheasant booty!
 
UGUIDE said:
Here my costs on 700 acres per year:

Mortgage = $60,000
Property Taxes = $9,000
Insurance = $3,000
Food Plots = $8,000
Repairs = $4,000
Fuel, Seed, Herb & Fert - $3,000
Equipment Payments = $10,000

Total cost at least per year = $97,000
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That was a good one Chris. Thanks for pointing this out to us.
 
i will be hunting a mix of private and public....looking forward to this huint just as much as my desert ram hunt last year...
 
here's my take

every hunter that's willing to pay to play, is one less hunter walking the public land I will be hunting:10sign:
 
This discussion pops up every know and then. I can guarantee you that Chris and others like him can make a lot more if they were to farm there land. We put some marginal land in CRP and get 180 bucks an acre. This year 25 bushel corn would have made more than that. Someone has always paid for your hunting in the past it was the farmer now it is the hunter. I would hope that farmers who buy $300,000 combines and pay 15,000 plus an acre for land would be making a profit. Everyone else likes to complain when there investments don't pay 5% put if a farmer gets 5% on there money it is a crime. By the way any business owner can depreciate equipment the same as farmers do.
 
Im for one am not scared!
I will find more birds going to SD then sitting on the couch wondering if our spots got mowed. We will have a good time regaurdless!

Happy hunting all and I hope to get to run into some of you at some point! Just look for 3 Brn/White dogs and a tall lady!;)
 
FCSpringer said:
Yes there may be a cost for opperating. But chris come on bud. Farmers are not hurting. 8$ a bushel corn. We all know what kinda doe farms are pulling down the last years. I my self at least have a clue, since my family farms. But folks have to look at it as well, if you go pay and support the gouging, your gonna keep paying it. Best way to stop it is dont go. Dont pay, and hit publics etc. Or just go elsewhere close to home and support a local preserve. Now if a person goes all the way out there and forks out all that doe, you really have no right to bitch about it either. Many well off folks love it. So if your not happy, try looking else where, or go about it different.

My costs here
Lic? 26.50$
Gas, emm maybe a hundred bucks for all season.
emm 30 bucks for shells
Took about 40 roosters last time I counted.
So thats about 3.91$ per bird. All private land asking for the day, public, and walking from home. Never ever, will I pay to enjoy the great old USofA's bountiful God given wild life.:thumbsup: Well, shouldnt say that cause I spend about 3-4 dollars a bird. Before I would shell out that doe. I would just go buy 9 roosters at 10 bucks and release them on a public and go find a few.:D I'm cheap LOL I like to keep the money I made.
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Springer
You talk about the best way to stop it. If it stops then most of my food plots have to turn into soybean fields and my CRP turns into corn fields. Then the hunters that are here have to go someplace else and put more pressure on the places that are left. I think that the market is doing it's job and finding a place that works for most of the hunters. If you prefer to support a local preserve rather than habitat that benefits many types of wildlife, then do so. But the wild bird pheasant industry also benefits ducks and geese and deer and rabbits and mice and owls and coyotes and hawks etc. What is so bad about that?
 
Anybody that has a good dog and is willing to work at it, spend all day should have no trouble getting a three rooster limit on public land in ND or SD.
Don't understand why people pay hundreds of dollars a day to shoot 3 birds in a half hour. :eek:
 
I have seen this same issue here in the south with deer hunting. When I was a kid you could get access to land for free or for a very nominal fee. My dad use to lease several thousand acres for a whole year for $1.00 per acre. Now it is over $10.00 per acre. What caused this? It is simply economics 101. Demand for the hunting rights went up and prices followed. Do I like it? No. Do I still lease property? Yes. If I want my son to have the same hunting experiences that I did, I have no other choice. Well, that is not exactly true. I could just buy property and pay the mortgage, taxes, insurance, etc. but I choose to lease.

Having come to South Dakota for many years now, I see a similar situation. I choose to hunt public ground, but have no issues with those that choose to pay, nor do I have an issue with property owners charging for access. It is their property, they pay the mortgage, taxes, insurance, etc. If they make a profit farming or by charging access fees, well that is the Amercan way. If you don't want to pay the fees to hunt someone else's property, then don't. Hunt public property or better yet, buy you a section of land and then you can charge access fees.

I would love to go back to the days when you could simply ask and get permission to hunt for free, but those days are gone. Let's enjoy what we have while we have it because if this country continues down the path it's going, it's all going to be gone soon.
 
haymaker said:
Springer
You talk about the best way to stop it. If it stops then most of my food plots have to turn into soybean fields and my CRP turns into corn fields. Then the hunters that are here have to go someplace else and put more pressure on the places that are left. I think that the market is doing it's job and finding a place that works for most of the hunters. If you prefer to support a local preserve rather than habitat that benefits many types of wildlife, then do so. But the wild bird pheasant industry also benefits ducks and geese and deer and rabbits and mice and owls and coyotes and hawks etc. What is so bad about that?
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Haymaker,

You will never convince these guys that have a problem with what you and others do. They would have you plant half your land in CRP, and the other half in milo that you only harvested half of. Then allow unlimited free acess to anyone that came by. It is your land. Do with it what you will. I really could care less if farmers drive a 50k truck, and ride in a 1m dollar combine. So they make enough farming so the hunting should be free? I appreciate the fact that what you leave helps the birds everywhere around your farm. I would far prefer that over the guy that farms ditch to ditch with no regard for wildlife.
 
mnmthunting said:
Anybody that has a good dog and is willing to work at it, spend all day should have no trouble getting a three rooster limit on public land in ND or SD.
Don't understand why people pay hundreds of dollars a day to shoot 3 birds in a half hour. :eek:
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Come on Wayne. You are experiencing what I enjoyed hunting solo in Iowa. South Dakota is a whole different game. You have underestimated the surreal value of Pheasant Camp. Shooting 3 birds a day is not the only activity at Pheasant Camp.:D

I admire your style though as you go where others are not will to go and by principle have reserved yourself a nice little honey hole as long as others are not willing to go the distance.
 
carptom1 said:
Haymaker,

You will never convince these guys that have a problem with what you and others do. They would have you plant half your land in CRP, and the other half in milo that you only harvested half of. Then allow unlimited free acess to anyone that came by. It is your land. Do with it what you will. I really could care less if farmers drive a 50k truck, and ride in a 1m dollar combine. So they make enough farming so the hunting should be free? I appreciate the fact that what you leave helps the birds everywhere around your farm. I would far prefer that over the guy that farms ditch to ditch with no regard for wildlife.
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Thank you. I don't need to convince anyone, I do hope that I give them something to think about. It is a bigger picture type thing than how much do I pay for the pheasants I shoot. I believe U Guide calls it a partnership of some kind where the sportsman contributes directly to the creation of habitat. That habitat does good for many species and the soil and the water and the air.
 
carptom1 said:
Haymaker,

You will never convince these guys that have a problem with what you and others do. They would have you plant half your land in CRP, and the other half in milo that you only harvested half of. Then allow unlimited free acess to anyone that came by. It is your land. Do with it what you will. I really could care less if farmers drive a 50k truck, and ride in a 1m dollar combine. So they make enough farming so the hunting should be free? I appreciate the fact that what you leave helps the birds everywhere around your farm. I would far prefer that over the guy that farms ditch to ditch with no regard for wildlife.
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Well said CT1,

I had a very hard time seeing things from the landowners position before I owned land. Some can do this and are gifted in my opinion but my perspective changed 100% when on the owners side. A revelation if you will.

As a side note CRP's bright shing moment in South Dakota, from a farmers perspective, is that hay prices are sky high and they could hay 50% of their CRP. I bet the ones that converted it and got no crop were maybe they had left it in CRP. The ones that had it maybe were glad they did?
 
We should notify those "Occupy" protesters of the problems in SD with the way the 1% is sticking it to us poor hunters....

We have never been asked for anything from the rancher who lets us hunt, but we love going to SD and having incredible access to birds so much that we always leave a good chunk of cash with him when we leave. I would also bet that over the last few years when the bird numbers have been ridiculously good, we have spent far less time actually hunting than we did helping out around the farm. Us city boys have just as much fun playing on the farm as we do shooting birds.

If you look at it on a cost per bird basis, you will make yourself sick. It's all about the experience and the time with family and friends. Some of my best memories of my Grandfather are of pheasant hunting in South Dakota. From that perspective our trips were worth every penny and we will continue to pay, help out, and do anything else required to keep the tradition going.
 
haymaker said:
Thank you. I don't need to convince anyone, I do hope that I give them something to think about. It is a bigger picture type thing than how much do I pay for the pheasants I shoot. I believe U Guide calls it a partnership of some kind where the sportsman contributes directly to the creation of habitat. That habitat does good for many species and the soil and the water and the air.
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and i think everyone clearly understands the concept, as do the father and his 2 sons, who can't afford $450 per day for tresspass fees.....clearly the sport has become more for the "haves", than the "have nots"....but leftovers are always available.
 
I still dont get how people think you have to pay tress pass fees. SD has plenty of public to shoot birds on. If SD is getting to be to much money head to ND. If its not posted and there is no fence its public.

Shooting a limit of birds is not what pheasant hunting or hunting is really all about. All im trying to say is the people that pay the money and can afford it are helping keep CRP alive when corn is $8. Find land around that area hunt some ditches and min maintenance roads.

As for what this thread was started about. Im sure there is still going to be plenty of birds and SD will harvest 3x times the amount of birds than any other state combined. It cant be any worse than last year witch is still better than any other state by far. The only real way to know is to go hunt.

I know if I was not having a kid Oct 26th ( ya bad timing on my part ) I would be in SD for 2 weeks this year.
 
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