Pheasant Hunting Ditches in MN

We are lucky here in MN to have all the public access that we have. I am new to pheasant hunting and this year I have stuck with preserves as I am still training my dogs. I think the dogs and I have progessed to the point that we will start looking for wild birds next year. I know we have WPAs, WMAs, WIAs and other areas to go too.

My question is this. A few guys around the office says that they ditch hunt. I have had a hard time finding out anything about this. Which roads have easements? How far does the easements go? I have all kinds of questions about details but let’s start with this, is ditch hunting even legal in Minnesota? If it is, it is viewed as ethical by the folks that live out in the areas where one would do it?

I would appreciate any input. Thanks.

Load up a cooler full of beer.

Drive around and look for pheasants off the road.

Get out of truck and shoot.

Thats the ditch hunting ive seen.

I’ve seen it done like Hook’s described, but I also see a lot of guys who will park the truck and walk the ditch/fence line. This is in SD. I don’t know the MN rules but will give you some feedback I hear out west.

1. Be darn sure you have good control of your dog. You’d feel like a jerkhole if it ran out in front of a passing car at 55mph. During harvest is even worse with all the semis out and about. Nothing ticks off the locals more than a truck parked in the road or a dog walking out in front of them.

2. Know your rights. Can you shoot across a fence line legally? If so, how far? Can you retrieve a dead bird with gun in hand?

These are just a couple of the more popular ones I hear. Personally, I would look for section lines vs. busy roads. I hunted this way a lot growing up not having private ground back then. We also “road hunted” a lot by driving around and piling out to shoot birds. Of course, this is a SD thing.

Not legal in Minnesota. It is in Iowa and SD for sure.

It’s either not legal in Minnesota, or at best it’s legal in some very marginal situations where the ditches are especially wide.

Either way, it’s largely a hit-and-run proposition and the landowners do NOT view it favorably. And BTW, there’s a reason for that: MN is vastly more populated than is South Dakota, so having guys running and gunning birds out of ditches creates a lot more problems here.

Grouse

Thanks everyone for the responses. Your feedback is basically what my gut was telling me. There are better options that don’t put my dogs, the public and myself at risk and don’t contribute to a negative impression of hunters. I’m going to stay way from that and utilitize the options I mentioned above. Thanks again.

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It’s either not legal in Minnesota, or at best it’s legal in some very marginal situations where the ditches are especially wide.

Either way, it’s largely a hit-and-run proposition and the landowners do NOT view it favorably. And BTW, there’s a reason for that: MN is vastly more populated than is South Dakota, so having guys running and gunning birds out of ditches creates a lot more problems here.

Grouse

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…that being said I hunt many ditches (especially this time of year in SD. As said before it is not legal in Mn…) and when done safely and by the law honoring the “safe zone” signs that farmers put up, hunting can be dynamite and most importantly safe. I disagree that farmers don’t like it. The farmers I know out there would much rather see guys safely hunting ditches than trying to pick off birds roosting in their groves (which really gives hunters a bad name with farmers…) Just my .02 worth…

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It’s either not legal in Minnesota, or at best it’s legal in some very marginal situations where the ditches are especially wide.

Either way, it’s largely a hit-and-run proposition and the landowners do NOT view it favorably. And BTW, there’s a reason for that: MN is vastly more populated than is South Dakota, so having guys running and gunning birds out of ditches creates a lot more problems here.

Grouse

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…that being said I hunt many ditches (especially this time of year in SD. As said before it is not legal in Mn…) and when done safely and by the law honoring the “safe zone” signs that farmers put up, hunting can be dynamite and most importantly safe. I disagree that farmers don’t like it. The farmers I know out there would much rather see guys safely hunting ditches than trying to pick off birds roosting in their groves (which really gives hunters a bad name with farmers…) Just my .02 worth…

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Again, you’re talking about SD, which as I said was a completely different situation.

Besides the obvious fact that it is legal in SD, there is the fact that compared to western MN, the population is much less dense in most of SD, so there is less of a chance of ditch hunters peppering houses, buildings, and livestock.

Grouse

Again…the reason for “safe zones”. follow the rules and no barns/houses get peppered. Livestock can be next to walk ins and WPA’s. Just gotta’ be careful and thats not just if your in a ditch.