Pheasant hunting season off to strong start in South Dakota

Oct. 24—MITCHELL — Pheasant aficionados were expecting a decent start to the pheasant hunting season last weekend, and early reports indicate they got just that around South Dakota.

The traditional pheasant season in South Dakota got underway Saturday morning, and hunters from around the state were seeing good bird numbers and coming home with their limit or close to it.

"Folks have said this was one of the best weekends they've had in a long time for opener," said Jake Hanson, a development officer with Pheasants Forever. "The hunters I talked to had success. Some had limits and some were in the process of hunting throughout the day and mentioned to me that they were seeing birds on the landscape."

Hunters were reaping the rewards of what was predicted to be a strong hunting season for pheasant following a record harvest year in 2022.

The 2023 Upland Outlook,

which gives a review of pheasant nesting conditions and predictions for the upcoming season, noted earlier this year the impact of the harsh and cold winter the state experienced in 2023, but timely spring and summer rains were enough for optimal nesting and brood rearing throughout the area. Those conditions were expected to be even better than last year, and it said conditions were expected to be particularly good in western, central and northeast South Dakota.

So far, the predictions are panning out, said Hanson, who had hunted in and around the Mitchell area as well as Pierre and Watertown over the past several days.

"Many places had a favorable spring, and those conditions were favorable for a strong hatch. As the summer progresses, you had nesting cover and brood success, which results in good summer conditions for chicks," Hanson said.

The 2023 Pheasant Opener Field Report, released by the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks, suggested opening weekend was an overall success. The report said hunters were averaging one to two birds each on public land, while private land hunters fared a little better with 1.5 to 2.5 birds per hunter. Limits were reported on both public and private land, according to the report.

Summer conditions were beneficial for pheasant populations, but late fall precipitation is keeping many farmers out of the fields and slowing down harvest, at least temporarily. The statewide corn harvest is at roughly 48% as of Oct. 23, according to statistics from the USDA, which is well below the 61% from last year, though it is near the 46% average for this time of year.

That means there is still plenty of cover for birds in unharvested corn fields, which also hold a good deal of food for birds to linger over.

"The amount of standing crops on the landscape has provided added challenges to hunters. Corn harvest is approximately half complete depending on the area. In areas where harvest is complete, hunters are reporting seeing even more birds and better hunting conditions," the Pheasant Opener Field Report reads. "With field conditions improving, harvest is progressing rapidly, and hunting conditions will continue to improve with it."

Hanson said the report confirmed what he had seen over the weekend.

"One thing that might have been a factor in success is there is a lot of standing corn, and the places we had the most success were habitats adjacent to corn fields," Hanson said. "They were adjacent to the food source, and I can only imagine as the season goes the success will continue as the corn comes out."

Standing corn at the start of pheasant season is not out of the ordinary, and neither are sightings of hunters hailing from both South Dakota and out of state. Hanson said he saw hunters throughout the weekend everywhere he hunted last weekend moving from spot to spot.

Hanson said he was under the impression that pheasant license sales were up this year compared to last year.

"I felt like I saw it on the landscape," Hanson said.

Brady Terveen, a co-owner at A1 Al's Pheasant Ranch near Emery, said he had about 35 guests at his hunting lodge over the weekend and that they all had good success.

Most of Terveen's clientele comes from outside South Dakota and they are usually hungry for a good hunt. The lodge has seen its share of up seasons and down seasons, but conditions were almost ideal on opening weekend this year, and he expects that will only get better as harvest progresses and the weather changes in hunters' favor.

The sooner corn comes out of the field, the sooner birds will migrate more to their traditional habitat, which is where hunters and their dogs stir them up. That means a break from the intermittent rains the area has been seeing the last few weeks would be helpful, if nothing else to allow farmers to get their harvest work done.

"Crops are starting to come out and that will help us, and the weather is getting chillier, so (pheasants) will start bunching up," Terveen said. "The next two or three weeks will have some good hunting ahead."

Cooler weather also reduces the toll on hunters and their dogs, alike, he said. Dogs and people can get overheated when temperatures are unseasonably warm, and long walks carrying heavy guns can get tiring without fall air that is crisp and cool.

Taking another 10 degrees off the average high can make a big difference between a pleasant, successful hunt and a long day without success.

"That 40- to 50-degree range. We don't need it to get too cold — I'm not a glutton for punishment — but some days like we had (Tuesday) would be great. That's the range where dogs can work and hunters can enjoy themselves and feel their fingers," Terveen said.

Terveen also noted that his crew saw plenty of hens — a good sign that there will be more pheasant offspring for future seasons.

Hanson said there should be plenty of opportunities for hunters to locate birds if they put the time into research. Pheasants Forever is now partnering with the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks on a new program called

Public Access to Habitat (PATH) that aims to increase the number of publicly-accessible acres for pheasant hunting in the state.

The program is a voluntary incentive-based program where landowners enroll in a long-term conservation program similar to the Conservation Resource Program (CRP). Landowners receive an additional payment for that enrollment. The goal is to open another 10,000 acres of quality habitat for public access on an annual basis.

Hanson said the program is just getting underway but it is already seeing hunter activity. He himself hunted some of that new acreage this weekend and saw the opportunities it can open up.

"Right now we are working on the fundraising component of that. It launched Sept. 1, and in the first 45 days, we enrolled over 1,000 acres into public acres. And there is more on our biologist's desk just waiting for the ink to dry," Hanson said. "By this time next year, we hope to add 10,000 acres that will be open to hunters in South Dakota."

Not everyone has access to private hunting land, especially out-of-state hunters. Giving those hunters more opportunities to hunt can only increase the appeal of coming to South Dakota for hunting season, which in turn means more dollars that go to local businesses and to local and state governments.

Of course, it also means more birds for the taking.

"That's what it's all about. When you have more habitat on the landscape, the healthier and more abundant the population of wildlife," Hanson said. "When we have more quality habitat and wildlife and it's enrolled, more people come to our communities. You can measure that impact on habitat open to the public. Not only is it good for hunters, but it's good for wildlife, producers and the local economy."

Pheasants Forever is working with onX Hunt, an online hunting mapping service, to create special layers on maps that would show all PATH hunting areas in the state. Members of the service will be able to locate PATH properties through the service's app.

Hanson said some of those properties are already producing birds, and those birds are being taken by hunters in the field.

"I shot a rooster on two PATH properties this weekend. I can attest that those PATH enrollments have birds," Hanson said.

Whether it be on public or private land, there should be birds out there for everybody, said Terveen. Having hunted South Dakota fields for decades, he feels that this year has as much potential to be memorable as some of the best seasons of years past.

"I'd say in the last five to 10 years this was one of the most memorable and successful opening weekends we've had," Terveen said.

More information on the PATH program can be found at the

Pheasants Forever website.