Hunting Washington Forum
Other Hunting => Upland Birds => Topic started by: Hornseeker on January 04, 2012, 02:28:58 PM
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Since Im only about 5 1/2 hours away from either, I am wondering if I am missing out. To get to the good pheasant hunting hear in MT, I am 3-6 hours driving time too...so its really no big deal and the hunnert dollar bill for a license doesn't bother me much.
Is it easy to get on places? Is the western edge of these states good or does a guy need to get more central or east? For that matter, i am starting to wonder if far eastern MT is any good!?!
Anyhow, just starting to research and thought I'd ask here first!
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http://www.loggingcampranch.com/hunting.htm
I have not been there in a good number of years. But, the hosts were second to none and there were a lot of birds. Was going to go back for sharptails, but the dogs have aged too much. Waiting for a time when we have new pups and then we will go for sure.
Pretty good deer hunting too.
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60-260$ a day for birds... I wonder what you get for 60 vs 260???
I am mainly looking for non-pay hunting. A little research the last couple days has turned up some promising info... sounds like there is above avg. pheasant hunting to be had all over the SW corner, which is the closest area to me... both public land and private places that allow hunting for free. Anyhow, I'll keep researching and will give that outfit a call to see what the deal is with the 60-260.
Thanks!
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Glendive to Sidney is good, as is the Denton area west of Lewistown.
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My good friend and hunting buddy is moving to Minot, ND today to find work, so we're already planning a week long trip this fall for pheasants/sharpies/huns, and deer. Yahoo!
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Sharptails are fun. Should be able to find plenty of those around Dickinson.
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Hey JLS, is it common to get on private without paying in that Glendive to Sydney country? Or are you talking public lands?
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Just a thought, you might look around Hardin also. It might be a headache with the mixed deeded and tribal land, but might be worth a look.
Were your duck pics on the Yellowstone by Big Timber? Ice and retrieving dogs always makes me nervous. I've had to shock my lab before to call him off a retrieve that was getting too close to shelf ice.
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The ducks were east of Billings a bit. This particular part of the river was "fairly" safe.. although it did open my eyes to the probs that could come up...
Yesterday I actually took the pup out to a really safe section of river and had him retrieving the dummy amongst flowing ice and he had to break bank ice to get out there. The good part was, it was very shallow and he could touch bottom for the first 10 yards or so out.
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I'm lucky that I have a buddy that owns a big piece of land and A frame in SD. 16 of us go and hunt the opener. Tons of birds. Some years are better than others...just like everything. Picture is a basic first hunt of the day.
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We spent a week hunting the Winner area and east of the river, all public land. While we got into birds everywhere it was tough, we had three good dogs and guns and stuggled to pick up a bird here and there and we were hunting some of the nicest cover. We finally got into some better birds in the Wood area up to the White River, long drive and little camping and lots of miles on the boots for the birds.
There are alot of birds there but mostly on private lands that are groomed for birds, windbreaks with food crops on either side unharvested, low ground planted with cane and food plots etc. Some of those places we would see birds by the hundreds.
Most of the guys that were camped near us were picking up their birds road hunting outside private ground when the birds came out for gravel in the evenings. They said this was the worst year in 20 yrs for public ground.
When we grew up road hunters were looked down upon so it was difficult for us to do it, even though it is legal in SD and seems pretty effective. We did see alot of birds in the ditches on the way back to camp in the evening.
We've had some very good hunts in MT with the Block Management program there. Central MT was good to us for Pheasants, Huns and sharptail.
As far as paying to shoot pheasants I can do that here in WA for ALOT less money than in SD and I don't realy care for the gang drives we saw them doing there. I like to see the dogs work.
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I hunted SoDak for 10 days back in October. I was in Pierre. It was great. Wonderful hunting. Nice people. 2 day drive from my house. I'll go again for sure. If you didn't see enough birds to limit in one field, you just drive to the next spot. They say it was the worst pheasant numbers of all time. I say, I was in heaven. I can only think of one or two fields we walked that didn't produce birds.
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I have Pheasant hunted in eastern SD. I had Family in Willow Lake
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My good friend and hunting buddy is moving to Minot, ND today to find work, so we're already planning a week long trip this fall for pheasants/sharpies/huns, and deer. Yahoo!
I know an Airforce Captain In Minot ND. Never thought to ask him about pheasant hunting.
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I'm a little late to the party on this topic but I am from ND and despite what you may have heard there are still plenty of birds around, you just have to walk a little more than you had to in the past. I've never hunted up by the Minot area so I can't comment on that but the Dickinson to Medora area is very good. I've hunted mostly south of those areas, just get on some of the gravel roads around there and you should find some good areas whether it be PLOTS areas or private land. In ND you can hunt the private land if it is not posted and as long as the crops have been harvested. Don't be afraid to ask the land owners for permission either, especially if it is after deer season.
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Talking with a buddy this week, he said access in North Dakota is a lot easier than South Dakota. South Dakota is big money and getting on private land would be tough without paying a lot $.
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There are a TON of birds in SD, but it's not as easy as just showing up and shooting a limit. The days of old when you could walk up to a farmers house and ask to hunt their land are all but over. Now it takes a little led work and planning. The good thing is that the state is more than willing to help. Here's some things to remember. Early season there are more birds, but the roosters might not be fully colored yet and you can't start hunting till noon. If the crops aren't out your gonna have a hell of a time finding birds because they have too much cover. Later on in the season the crops are typically out and you can really narrow down where the birds are holding. The problem then is the birds have been shot at a lot and there are fewer birds, and they can be skidish as hell. However, the crowds really die down in the late season as well, and a couple inches of fresh snow will really hole the birds up and slow them down. The entire state isn't necessarily good for hunting either. Most guys head towards Winner, Chamberlin, Pierre, and towards Miller. Those cities are more or less in the pheasant "triangle". There is a lot of public ground to hunt in those areas, especially near Pierre, Chamberlin, Himore, and Miller. But, not all the grounds will hold a lot of birds, and some sections (640 acres) will winter 3000-4000 birds. Learn which walk in areas hold the birds and you will be in the money. We hunt a combination of private and public land every year and obviously we do the best on the private land. But, there is some damn good public hunting as well. The first year we went to SD I talked to the local bio/wild life manager for the area we wanted to hunt. He actually met us for breakfast in Highmore and laid out the best pheasant walk in areas, and also the best areas for grouse and Huns. Those maps and the notes he gave me are now a family heirloom to be passed down from generation to generation. :-). I've hunted near Chamberlin, Pierre, Highmore, and north of Miller. My trainer summers outside Winner. I've spent quite a bit of time in SD hunting and running dogs for pheasants and grouse. If you know where the birds are the hunting is legendary and it's not uncommon to move a couple hundred birds at once. If you don't, hunting can be tough.
