With a heavy heart.........

It's with disbelief and a heavy heart and a tear in my eye that I sit here and let everyone know we lost a great man and friend in the SD pheasant habitat/hunting world. Jim Aune passed away late last night. I was fortunate enough to be present and spend the 4th of July with a man I consider a very good friend and family. I am sitting here and really am at a loss of words and I am just trying to look back and appreciate all the great times we had together and the conversations we had about pheasants and life in general. I know that my time is SD will never be the same without you my friend. My family looked forward to spending time with Jim and his family on our yearly hunting trips. RIP Jim I will always remember you and the impact you made on my life and will carry that with me forever. View attachment 9270View attachment 9269View attachment 9271View attachment 9272View attachment 9270View attachment 9273
 
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Geez Chad, that is some terrible news. I've hunted with Jim a couple of times. One of those you were also there. He was a very good steward of the land and did so much for pheasant habitat on his land. Thanks so much for sharing those photos. RIP Jim!

For those on this site that are not familiar with Jim Aune his handle was SDJim.
 
George,

Yes it's absolutely terrible and it's having quite an impact on myself and my family. We were fortunate to get to spend the 4th with Jim and his family. We had our normal discussions about Jim land plans and the birds he has been seeing. We laughed, ate good food and had just a great time as always. When we left for the evening Jim shook my hand as always and I told him we would be back to visit over Labor day. He responded with I can't wait to see you guys when you are back. Then this morning less than 12 hours after saying our good byes until next time I received the phone call from Jim's wife with the terrible news. To reflect on this whole situation never take anything for granted and appreciate the time you have to spend with friends and family. It's amazing the relationships and bonds that form through bird hunting with us coming from different parts of the country and backgrounds. But we all have that common ground and it's that we love to bird hunt. Let's all remember that...… George here is the pic from the day we all hunted together.View attachment 9274
 
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Our days on this earth to bird hunt get a little less every year. So lets make sure we get together again this fall for a hunt and a toast to Jim. While Jim's passing is certainly quite a shock I can also see it's not a huge surprise. Jim was a severe diabetic and his being grossly overweight didn't help the situation. Guess that can be a wake up call to many of us that need to shed a few pounds and get on a good exercise routine. You have nothing if you don't have your health. I'm 73 and I know every year in the field gets a little tougher.
 
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Sad to say the least. It often seemed his primary mission was to share pheasant hunting with those that did not always have the chance to access prime territory.
 
Sometimes, if we're very lucky, we meet individuals who are a gift to our lives and we recognize it as it happens.

My condolences on your loss, and congratulations on having had such a friendship.
 
So sorry I never had the opportunity to meet SDJim in person but I always heard wonderful things about him from my hunting partner in Atlanta, Bill Knight. RIP SDJim, you will be remembered and missed.
 
Jim and I met one day off season as I searched him out as a contributor to this board who willingly opened his house and his land to those that were in need. We spent a great afternoon together with Jim showing me around all of his property, and what the plans were for each parcel in the future. We were always going to share a fishing trip, but that never happened. Jim has one of your setters, doesn't he chad? RIP Jim. We'll meet again..
 
Sorry to hear guys. He was the first to respond last year when my dad passed away. Never met the man but still have his pm he sent me. This group has lost a great man.
 
Jim and I met one day off season as I searched him out as a contributor to this board who willingly opened his house and his land to those that were in need. We spent a great afternoon together with Jim showing me around all of his property, and what the plans were for each parcel in the future. We were always going to share a fishing trip, but that never happened. Jim has one of your setters, doesn't he chad? RIP Jim. We'll meet again..

Reddog,

Yes Jim had a female English setters from us by the name of Bailey. I have attached a few pictures.View attachment 9278View attachment 9279
 
So sad to read this. He truly was a steward of the land. What he was doing at his place to improve habitat was nothing short of amazing. I killed my first wild SD bird at Jim's place. Sad day indeed.
 
I am just another of the many, to whom Jim opened his land, always free of any charge. My party came up to Platte from North Carolina, knowing no one, no dogs, not much experience or hope. Jim greeted us and immediately guided us across the road to a shelter belt full of birds. If I could shoot, I would have had my limit in one pass. We had too few years with him. I'm 76; may get back there again this fall, may not. But it won't be the same without SDJim. RIP.
 
Also sorry to hear about the loss of all ya'lls good friend. Those were some fantastic pictures, and I'm confident there are equally fantastic stories to accompany Jim. John from South Carolina.
 
Man that really sucks. I had conversed with him many times of his love for KU basketball and had made plans to see him a couple times while in SD but it never worked out. He seemed like a very giving man with a good heart. He was one of the one's on here that got me excited about hunting. Sorry about your friend I know you were close.
 
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