SD pheasant hunt 11/8/07

We loaded the guns and dogs early last Thursday morning and headed west for our annual four day pheasant hunt in South Dakota. Surveys by the S.D. Game, Fish and Parks Department project pheasant numbers the likes of which has not been seen since the Soil Bank years of the 1950s and ’60s. The pheasant population index was at a 40-year high in 2005 and the 2007 index tops that historic mark. Overall statewide numbers for 2007 are 23% higher than the 2006 counts and 18% higher than the 2005 mark. Our hunting area consists of areas south west of Aberdeen where counts where at 10yr avg of 4.65 and at 9.38 for 2007.

There was no issues in finding birds. The usual getting up on them to get some decent shots is the norm this time of season, the birds tend to be a little jumpy. I wonder why?

The sloughs and water holes had plenty of water and held birds in the cattails. The upland grassy areas had birds. In the evenings the birds where on the roads or in the cover just off. And I bet the corn held them also. Most of the corn in the area was out. It would have been nice to have a little moisture in the form of snow cover or spit of rain to help the dogs scent a bit better. There is no doubt the Fish, Game and Parks numbers are correct in the direction of bird numbers. It was fun watching those pheasants by the hundreds at times flying even if we couldn’t get close to them. So it was another great hunt with a bunch of fun guys. Looking forward to it already for next year.