2022 Pheasant Hunting

Good chance I finished my season on a pair of MN roosters. Had planned on going back to SD but the forecast this week scared me off especially going solo. Had some fun with these roosters though, a light mist made the scenting conditions good and played a couple good cat & mouse games was pretty sweet.

lindyrig79 wrote:

Had planned on going back to SD but the forecast this week scared me off especially going solo.

It looks bad out there this week. Central and western SD look like the bullseye too, maybe over a foot of snow in some areas. Doesn’t take much out there to close the highways either.

gimruis wrote:

It looks bad out there this week. Central and western SD look like the bullseye too, maybe over a foot of snow in some areas. Doesn’t take much out there to close the highways either.

Yep, I would have been arriving today and trying to get home I don’t think would have been fun. Quite the combination of ice, snow, and wind they are forecasting. We’ll see, maybe I can still go later this month but will be getting busy with the holidays and family. Had a pretty good season if it turns out I’m done, eating pheasant again tonight

lindyrig79 wrote:

We’ll see, maybe I can still go later this month but will be getting busy with the holidays and family.

Their season goes all the way through January. You could go after the holidays too. I haven’t hunted out there since they added January to their hunting season a few years ago. Wish ours here in MN went further into January.

Cosmo and I went for a midday pheasant hunt today in the fresh snow. Took me about 90 minutes to get these three long tailed roosters. I found the mother load at the second spot and raised about 40 birds. Its starting to get to be tough walking out there, so I focused my energy on spots near standing corn. I also raised a gray fox, something I haven’t seen in years.

I went one last time today. Hit 3 spots. I raised 22 hens, 1 rooster, and 3 wild turkeys. I got the rooster.

The only habitat worth hunting was standing corn or pine trees. Cattails were completely snowed in and waist deep.

Got one this morning too out of my buddies cedars. Tough walking for sure especially for someone who turned seventy Christmas day.

Got out this last week and was able to limit out in SW MN. It was a slog with all the drifts and deep snow. Saw 50-75 birds one day and couldn’t get a shot off. They all saw me coming a mile away trying to walk on top of the crusted snow. The next day I decided to use waterways to sneak in and jump into good looking cover and it paid off. Was able to get 3 in a half hour. All public land as I wasn’t able to get to the private I had permission for. Good way to cap off the season. I will say I saw good numbers of birds in all the the regions of MN I hunted this year so as long as they can make it through the winter I’ve got a good feeling about next year.