South Dakota Pheasant - 2nd Week-end

A bunch of the guys hit the road from Rapid City and headed east across the Missouri to a farm in some great habitat area.

Was pretty windy, but we managed to limit out in a couple of hours. We hunted entirely milo, which makes for easy shooting. Dogs performed well on Saturday (warm at around 70º), but I think they were extremely tired Sunday.

The wind was around 25-30 mph, so those ring-necks held tight but when they took off they were screaming. Downwind the blockers saw them coming at them about 70-80 mph.

Sure made for some fun shooting and plenty of laughs.

Great bunch of guys all willing to make a comment on someone's shooting/missing.

Great time and back home by 6 PM (driving a little bit fast!).

Whiz White

 

We normally go the 1st week in December. Bird numbers still down from what we've heard, but still looking forward to it.

Great picture Whiz.

 

The photo is from an area closer to Oneida SD.

We normally hunt on our farming areas near Mitchell SD. I couldn't go opening week-end but the guys said they saw an increase in birds over the past couple of year. Our areas near Plankinton used to host Browning Arms and other groups, but that was ended do to some poor gun handling episodes... and some deafness in my left ear. We only let close friends hunt now, like the guys in the photo and a few others.

The December hunt is pretty close to me. I was a governor appointee at the Capital when the Gov called me and asked me to take a couple of sports-writers to the very first last season hunt ever in SD. I took them up north towards Oneida and then over the the Gov's land close to Salem. I can't remember who the writers were representing, but I *think* one wrote for Sports Afield. They filled easily once we trudged through the snow to some cover. As you know, those roosters congregate in snow surrounded heavy cover. All I really remember is that it was damn cold, and tough walking through almost knee-high snow.

Whiz

 

Fond memories of getting caught in a blizzard going home one year. Same year Metro Dome collapsed.

WHEW!!!

 

Whiz, The fellow I buy my birds from took a thousand roosters to SD three weeks ago today. I don't know what kind of club they went to, preserve or "wild" bird spot. Brad

 

Well, early Saturday morning the adjacent farm to the north, took in a semi or two for about 800 birds at about $13 a piece. We figured that was about $10,400.

Google Paul Nelson Farms. You can't see if from the photo as the old barn is blocking the view of the main lodge.

Whiz

 

The website doesn't say the birds are "wild or native". At a $1,000 a day to hunt, they can probably afford those birds.

One year we hunted around Kimbal. There's a small truck stop/diner off the interstate there. Saw semi loads of pheasants in the parking lot. The lodge's have to replenish their stock somehow!

 

I think it's more like $2,000+ per day to stay there. It's one helluva operation; gourmet food, exquisite rooms, etc. Too rich for my pocket book.

Here's what we found with the raised birds. Normally when a ring-neck takes flight, he'll rise up like a helicopter and then take off with the wind, rising up fairly high and then disappears or glides to some distance weed patch, etc. The raised birds don't necessarily rise like the helicopter, they just get high enough to clear the corn, milo, etc, and take off... BUT THEY STAY LOW. We cautioned everyone that if they don't get up very high to be damn careful not so shoot, particularly at the end of the field where the blockers are.

A few of the shot birds we got had either no or very small spurs. The native birds had longer spurs.

I first hunted with my father in Plankinton back in the early 60's. I can remember stepping over the barbed-wire fence at noon to start the hunt (shoot), and into the field the birds took flight and covered the sky. It all happened so quickly and so damn many birds that you were always trying to pick a bird to shoot. In some cases dad never fired his gun as he was just mesmerized with the huge numbers of flyers. I think he'd just closed his eye and shot in the air, he would have hit one.

There was a truck stop on the south side of the Interstate at Kimball, but it's now closed and a larger one is now of the north side.

Today's ring-necks are smarter than they were in the 60's. Almost all of them took flight back then, but now they are crafty, staying hidden and running on the ground between the walkers. We killed the dumb ones, only to let the smarter ones live and pass on some genes.

Several years ago at the farm near Plankinton with the Browning guys there we were having some problems with them standing still in the field. Walking in corn, a cock would get shot, so everyone stood still waiting for the shooter or someone to retrieve the bird so we could finish the "push."

We kept telling the ones waiting for the retrieval to keep moving left-and-right, but they just stood there catching their breath.

The combines were running and we had just walked the last strip with the combines waiting for us to exit the strip. We got a few, and all headed to the pickups for transport to another area. I told the drive to just sit tight and let' everyone watch the combine come down and finish that last strip we just finished. As the combine was nearing the end of the strip, I'd have to say 25+ birds took flight and many were roosters. Those guys cold not believe that we had just walked that strip.

I have seen roosters staying low and running back towards and by me in the adjacent corn rows. We do not permit "ground-pounding" so those crafty runners survived for that hunted area.

I used to issue a "SD Ring-Neck Club" certificate (looking for one to attach herewith) for two now-deceased Governors Dick Kneip (my good friend) and George Michelson. They don't do that any longer, unfortunately. I asked the last governor to supply some more signed certificates that I could distribute, but they shipped me some really embarrassingly pathetic copies. These were normally given to dignitaries suitable for framing, but I gave them out to mostly out-of-staters whom I knew or met hunting. CANNT LOCATE ONE ON THE COMPUTER.

 

Good stuff Whiz. I sure wish pheasant numbers would get back to the high levels they once were.

 

I'd settle for just one wild pheasant here in PA!

 

IF WE COULD FIND ONE IN PENNA. HE WOULD BE LOST! OR TOOK A WRONG TURN SOMEWHERE!

 

I have one lone rooster around here at the house in the pines. I'll insert a photo of him strutting around.

Considering the fact that the ringneck pheasant was brought to the US by a attorney, several times, I believe is what he was, back in 1881 and a few times in years since. He let them go in/around the Portland area... I'll be there for Thanksgiving, but no hunting.

And now to think they are our state bird here in SD.

It is such a damn beautiful bird. I find myself just staring at the rooster in all its slender, occasionally, rather than shooting it.

That first rooster taking off like a Huey always grabs me for a second to just watch him.


THE PHOTO: I know many will not believe this, but I took this photo and several others of him out the window of my slowly moving Suburban. This guy just moved along the road with me as I crept along steering with my legs. This guy used to live around Stevens High School where I was an administrator, close to my home. They are so gorgeous!

 

Rosey: Look something like this Thursday last October 4, 2013? The second one was taken the following Monday. That's what I like about living here, that white stuff disappears quickly in most instances.

Then

 

Sure is beautiful , got my fix for this year ... Thanks for posting ... WPT ... (YAC) ...

 

Whiz....more like the first picture with 60 mile an hour winds! 24 hours later the State Patrol finally let us back on the highway.

 

Rosey: I remember that all too well. I made a point to head out from the farm near Plankinton right onto I90 as it was really starting to snow and blow. It was tough driving and I even stopped to help out a state vehicle that was stranded. Didn't want to stop too long because some of those semi's don't stop; they'll run over you.

My hunting partner waited about an hour before leaving the farm, which is two miles north of I90. He said that he saw the highway patrol stopping traffic, so he, like a fool, found a way around the HP. We met for lunch on Monday, and he said he had a helliva time getting back to Rapid City. I told him that driving the Suburban was a good deal for me, but I was in 4x4 most of the way.

I remember seeing some out-of-staters towing aluminum trailers for their dogs. I wondered how in the hell those dogs could have survived in the cold and snow.

When I worked for the Governor at the capitol in Pierre in the 70's, in two years I only spent ONE week-end in Pierre. I usually drove my state car to Rapid City for "business". You can imagine how stupid I was driving a rear wheel drive in some of that winter weather. Ah, the stupidity of youth.

Now it's like in the mid 70's. Crazy weather. Here it is, tomorrow, November and I still have to mow the property. WEIRD!

Whiz