Can a average joe find a place to hunt Pheasants

[Gabe]

OK I’m bird hunter from the southern tier of New York I get to hunt (wild) Woodcock and Grouse on lots of state land. A couple years back I decided to try my pointer on pheasants (released) blah it wasn’t exactly the experience I was looking for its like fishing for stocked trout. In fact I sat and watch an old timer take his limit with beagles, He said “well these put and take birds run like rabbits so you got to hunt them that way” it was fun to watch though.
I know little to nothing about pheasant hunting other then the mid-west is where to be. I’m looking to gather info on what it would take to do a self guided hunt somewhere the shorter the drive the better, but foremost would be a place that your average Joe could go and spend a week or so and maybe get a chance at a bird or two. During my search here on the forum it seems like it’s getting harder and harder to get access to property, you have to be a club member or pay the land owner. Here there is public land that I hunt and I don’t run into to many other bird hunters. So that’s what I’m hoping to find somewhere out there, am I dreaming or is it possible to pick a area and expect to able to hunt there?

[Benny]

It should be possible. If you have a mixture of ag lands and grass prairie you'll undoubtedly find roosters. If all of your public lands are forested, than probably not.
There are probably some local guys from NY here, but otherwise you need to start bumping into like minded folk around your area and ask. I know a lot of my places I go to just came about from asking the right people and putting in a few tanks of gas for the scouting. You may also find landowners that don't need "payment." Being polite and maybe just offering a couple bottles of wine might help get you in their wheat field.

[Brushbustin Sporting Dogs]

Benny he was talking about coming out west not in his own state.

South Dakota has tons of public walkin access to hunt. Check the different areas but around Aberdeen is good, Mitchell is greatand some where in between. Never hunted Iowa so am unsure about that. I think Kansas has good public access and south east Nebraska can be pretty good also.

Rob

[wburns]

I worked in Kansas this fall and they had a number of good walk in areas open to the public. I saw plenty of birds unfortunatly I was working and never had a chance to enjoy it. The cool thing about Kansas is you have a chance to take Bobwhite, Prairie Chicken and Pheasant all at the same time in some portions of the state.

[Benny]

Benny he was talking about coming out west not in his own state.

Ahh, my mistake. Wasn't reading well this morning. That makes more sense as I haven't heard of very good numbers of pheasant in and around the eastern coast.
As for the midwest, what they said. I've heard great things about South Dakota, and still a lot of tall grass prairie left for the public. It wouldn't hurt to pick up a couple magazines off the rack, too. I've read quite a few Pointers Journals and other upland magazines that continually cater to the issue of public land hunting. Of course, you figure once they've name dropped that spot its a gonner, buy you never know.

[topher40]

Last I checked anyone has permission on over 1 million acres in Kansas, ANYONE. That is what they have enrolled in the Walk In Hunting Area program. If you didnt consider Kansas you would be crazy.

[muddycreek]

Well here is my take. SD has the best phez population bar none, but pressure is also the highest. I lived there for a few years and the pressure on the public land can be intense, but birds can and will be taken. One can have success acccessing private land, but it is much easier after Thanksgiving, but then the birds are "typically" bunched up and much harder for a pointing dog.
Iowa, I have zero first hand experience with, but sounds like the birds are way down. ND can be great. THe best thing is unless ground is posted you can hunt it (best access law in the nation). I have family in the NW part of the state and in a good year one cannot believe the bird numbers! One issue is like SD the birds tend to bunch up later in the season and can be very hard to hunt with a pointer. Last but not least is KS. As Topher said Great walk-in program, in excess of a million acres. Not all is the same but generally pretty good. A couple reasons I like KS, you are generally working individual birds rather than flocks (easier imho for a pointer) and the bonus of quail and prairie chicken.

All three states (KS,ND, and SD) have a Walk-In type program with books listing available properties, so a self-guide trip is easy to take. Once you figure out what state you want to go I am sure you will get some advice to general areas to look.

As an example look at this thread. http://www.gundogforum.com/forum/viewto ... 81&t=14853

[Gabe]

Thank You for all the feedback KS certainly has possibilities. It would be a good two day drive through several other states such as Indiana and Illinois or Iowa is even closer. If I drove to KS would I be going through good bird country with wild birds?

[BellaDad]

If you're doing that then you may as well drive through Iowa or northern Missouri which both have decent bird populations before you get to Kansas, Nebraska or SD.

[prairiefirepointers]

Head to Kansas. TOPHER is right.. You'd be crazy to overlook us.
Heck, Look me up if you decide to head this way. There is so much WIHA in our county that I know SEVERAL spots that hardly get any hunting pressure. TONS of birds, but you need strength in numbers to walk it, and you will kill birds.

[Grange]

I've been making two trips a year to SD for the last several years and I only hunt land open to the public. It is a hit and miss prospect. Early in the season you almost have to get in line in some spots. At othe times of the year you won't see another hunter all day.

[Flush]

There are quite a few states were an average Joe can hunt wild pheasants in respectable numbers without paying for land access on hundreds of thousands, if not millions of acres.

North Dakota, South Dakota, and Kansas are all good bets. Nebraska and Montana are other places where I have had good hunting for wild pheasants on publically accessible land too. I personally have never hunted Iowa, but my understanding is that in good years (which wasn't been the last few from what I hear) Iowa can also be pretty good, although it sounds as though pubicly accessible lands in IA aren't as plentiful as the states to the west.

Much of the better pheasant hunting in these more "western" states is on private land that is enrolled by the state in a "walk-in" type program, these lands are open to all licensed hunters, you don't need to get permission from the landowner. From a hunting perspective it's just like public land although technically it is still privately owned land.

Each state has their own name for their particular program but IMHO researching these programs will be well worth your effort if you want to free lance. For reference in KS its called the "WIHA" (Walk in hunter access) program, and in ND it's called "PLOTS" (private land open to sportsman). A little internet searching on the state you are interested in will reveal the name of their program.

Long story short is YES, there is good wild pheasant hunting out there for the freelancer who isn't rich. Opinons vary on where is best. To me it depends on lot on the time of year and if you are interested in pursuing other "bonus" birds such as sharptail. Stricktly limiting things to pheasants, I really like North Dakota. Overall though Montana would be my favorite, mainly because I like sharptails and Huns so much.
With that said, I actually hunt KS the most because I live next door in CO. KS doesn't have the pheasant numbers that SD and ND have, but there are still plenty of wild pheasants to have a very enjoyable pheasant hunt, not to mention bobwhite quail (which I somewhat prefer as a pointing dog guy anyway).

Personally I wouldn't stop until I got to the Dakotas or KS. I know some states east of there have wild pheasants, but I don't hear a lot of good things unless you have some form of local connection.

-Flush

P.S. Wild pheasants can run as badly and probably even worse than pen raised pheasants!

[Orangecrush]

I grew up in Kansas and travel back several times a year to hunt. There is a TON of walk-in land available. Here is a link to the Kansas Department of Wildlife's walk-in atlas. http://kdwp.state.ks.us/news/KDWP-Info/ ... ting-Atlas

You can also call the County Assessor's office for the county you want to hunt in to request a landowner's map. It has the entire county platted with the name of the owner of that plat. I think it even has phone numbers for the landowner. I think the map runs $28-$30, but it well worth it.

[lawoodcocker]

I hunted S.D. 3 years ago. Myself and 1 other guy came home with 11 after 6 days hunting. We saw a bunch but many flushed wild. I think we had 3 good solid points. We did not encounter more than 3 other hunting prties in 6 days. We did not come across any quail. There were also duck oppurtunities but we did not participate.
A buddy and I hunted Ks. this past Nov. Although we did not see the numbers that we did inS.D., we still came back with 10 in 6 days of hunting. We also came across quail just about every day. We killed 6. We also shot 2 limits of duck on each of the 2 dfays we hunted.
Both states have great public access. I think S.D. gets more pressure. I'm booking my trip back to Ks. this year.

[Ecw21]

Gabe-

I hunt wild pheasant in Illinois and, occasionally, Indiana. I'm lucky enough to have a good personal connection and I hunt a large tract of private farmland around Kankakee, IL. There is a decent population there, but we work very hard to get even a couple birds. To be honest, I would listen to the folks on here and keep driving through. As a native Hoosier and current Illinoisian, I hate to usher you through to better grounds, but the other states are just that..better grounds. There are certainly wild pheasant in both states but largely on private land. If you are making a long trip, I would make it a little longer and get into the possibility of better hunting. My 2 cents.

Am considering a trip to KS as well. And I also will be moving out your way (ish...Mass) and always have my ears open for good Ruffed Grouse hunting. If you have any tips, shoot me a PM.

Good luck,

Eric

[birddogsunlimited]

i have lived here in ND for only a short time and i know there is land that is open to walk in hunting but there are conservation plots witch are private lands open to hunting but acording to the guide book its only open to residence im going to do a little bor looking into tis since i have freinds that have been asking the same question

[rkelly]

I am originally from ND. The plot land is open to residence only the first two weekends of pheasant hunting, after that anybody can hunt them.

[tfbirddog2]

Lets not forget something about the state of S.Dakota they release birds every year, not taking anything away from the state, infact planing a trip with some guys that want me to take them hunting with my dogs, but they have birds cause they release.Kansas has plenty of good walk-in hunting just remember get away from the big citys and look for the little spots too.

[Windyhills]

Private pay to hunt places in SD release birds but the numbers pale in comparison to the wild bird population, which is due to habitat conditions and has nothing to do with stocking or releasing birds.

Popular claim for those from other states to make though. Even more popular for shooting preserve operators from other states to make such claims...

I'd suggest the dakota's, Montana, or Kansas. Take your pick, all of have public lands plus private walk in lands systems (called different things in different states).

SD has received growing hunter pressure in recent years. Late in the year it's still worthwhile most of the time but on publicly accessible lands you may see dozens of birds for every one you get a shot at. With a bit of savvy and decent shooting + dog work, limits are very possible, but you will usually work for your birds. ND pressure has also been growing in some locales but in general is lower than SD.

[Shadow]

been in Kansas since 1972- mostly all quail in the Eastern part- but there's a wild turkey problem lately- last couple years I've been after pheasants ouy west- good place for cheap boarding, meals, and lots of WIHA's is arround Hays- we get lots of hunters the first two weekends- December January you'd find not to many out- large grass fields with a good running pointing dog would be what you should hit- plan a week trip- you will have all the land to hunt you could wish for

[Prairie Hunter]

I have hunted pheasant in MT, SD & KS. Hunting in all 3 states can be very good, and there is no shortage of available land in any of them.

By far, SD is tops when it comes to shear numbers of birds. Despite what some people say about released birds, SD has more wild birds than any other state. The 1st week of the season is usually warm, and there are tons of other hunters. There is just too much competition for good looking spots. I don’t like crowds when I’m hunting, so I avoid the 1st week. Also, many times, the crops haven’t been cut yet, and a lot of birds will stay in the corn fields on private property all day because they don’t get any pressure.

By the 3rd week of the season, most of the out of state hunters have gone home. There is very little competition for good spots, and there are still plenty of birds. The crops have been cut by then, so the birds are usually concentrated into smaller areas. As it gets colder, the birds run less and hold better for pointing dogs. If you get a little snow, so much the better. You can walk into a slough, and see 100 – 300+ birds come out ahead of you. But, if you just keep walking, the dogs will eventually get points on birds that refused to flush and leave the cover. I have walked the length of a field watching dozens of birds flush ahead of me, then killed a limit in the last 50 yards, all over solid points. SD also has great sharptail & prairie chicken hunting.

I usually hunt northeastern MT and properties in the Milk River area for pheasant. The available cover is more limited than SD, but it concentrates the birds. When you find birds, there will usually be lots of them. Almost any little creek bottom or pond with water will hold birds. MT also has plenty of sharptails & Huns.

KS has a good population of birds. Early season is usually a little too warm for my taste. The last couple of seasons, I hunted in t-shirts. When it’s that warm the birds are more scattered and run more. Also, there are a lot of hunters in the early season. It can be hard to find areas that haven’t been hit hard. I like to hunt Dec. & Jan., better weather, and still plenty of birds. I still see more hunters than I would see in SD or MT, but you can usually find areas that aren’t getting hit too much. The fields you hunt will be smaller, so you can cover them thoroughly. KS also has the added bonus of quail & prairie chickens.