Other Hunting > Upland Birds
Any info on public land South Dakota pheasant hunts?
GeoSwan:
I'm from ND and spent my formative years hunting there. Mainly birds, though I have shot a few deer there before I switched residency to MT, and then WA.
A few things here. Some good and some bad mainly about ND, as that is the state I have the most experience with.
1. ND might be the best migratory waterfowl hunting state in the country given the fact that it is the most northern state of the central and/or Missouri flyway.
2. The pheasant hunting is absolutely stellar. SD gets all the credit, but ND, particularly the southern half is world class.
3. ND is only 9% public. SD is even less. To put it into perspective, WA is 42% public and sits at #11 out of 50.
4. ND private land laws USED TO benefit hunters. In WA, you need some form of consent from a landowner. In ND, if a landowner posted a field, there were rules about the clarity/maintenence and posting frequency (one sign every 1/2 mile or something) If it was posted correctly then you had to get permission. If private ISN'T posted correctly or is not posted at all, you WERE allowed to hunt that private land.
Recently, ND adopted an E-sign posting system, which cut hunting access drastically. That combined with the fact that there is scarce public land opportunities is not good for us hunters. Fortunately I grew up hunting ND in it's access hayday, but I can't say the same for it now, and so I don't hunt there anymore.
I don't reccommend this, but you may need to link up with an outfitter with a private lease. This is bad for the sport, but may be the only way to ensure you can get private access.
bornhunter:
--- Quote from: GeoSwan on May 11, 2025, 08:48:14 PM ---I'm from ND and spent my formative years hunting there. Mainly birds, though I have shot a few deer there before I switched residency to MT, and then WA.
A few things here. Some good and some bad mainly about ND, as that is the state I have the most experience with.
1. ND might be the best migratory waterfowl hunting state in the country given the fact that it is the most northern state of the central and/or Missouri flyway.
2. The pheasant hunting is absolutely stellar. SD gets all the credit, but ND, particularly the southern half is world class.
3. ND is only 9% public. SD is even less. To put it into perspective, WA is 42% public and sits at #11 out of 50.
4. ND private land laws USED TO benefit hunters. In WA, you need some form of consent from a landowner. In ND, if a landowner posted a field, there were rules about the clarity/maintenence and posting frequency (one sign every 1/2 mile or something) If it was posted correctly then you had to get permission. If private ISN'T posted correctly or is not posted at all, you WERE allowed to hunt that private land.
Recently, ND adopted an E-sign posting system, which cut hunting access drastically. That combined with the fact that there is scarce public land opportunities is not good for us hunters. Fortunately I grew up hunting ND in it's access hayday, but I can't say the same for it now, and so I don't hunt there anymore.
I don't reccommend this, but you may need to link up with an outfitter with a private lease. This is bad for the sport, but may be the only way to ensure you can get private access.
--- End quote ---
Good to know. Thank you.
follow maggie:
I would change a couple things about bird hunting in North Dakota, from someone who lives here. Pheasant hunting is still good in the western half of the state, roughly west of a vertical line drawn through Bismarck. Maybe as far east as Jamestown, but definitely no further east than that. Pheasant hunting in the east half of North Dakota is not good and it’s getting worse because of habitat loss.
Another thing I’ll add is both Dakotas have had huge rains the last couple weeks which aren’t good for the hatches. The counts this summer will give an indication how bad it’s going to be. You might look into doing at least part of your trip at a lodge that does 2-3 day hunts. All of these places plant birds from a hatchery so you’ll get better shooting opportunities.
87Ford:
Why would anyone go to the Dakotas to shoot pen-raised, released birds? You can do that in Wa. :dunno:
follow maggie:
Thousands of people do it every year. They just don’t know it. I didn’t know it until I moved here. There’s a guy near where I usually hunt that raises & sells pheasants. I get a couple here & there from him in the late season to put out for my lab Haley. I’d say he has a little better than five acres of pens & he sells tens of thousands pheasants to these places. If you think about it though, they have to plant birds. There’s no way the wild population would survive that kind of commercial hunting pressure.
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