You mean the preserves that are privately owned and operated around the state? The sdgfp doesn’t plant pen raised pheasants any where. That would be over 18 million dollars. That would also mean that the 1.1 million birds killed last year were damn near all pen raised ? That is not true and I know that for a fact.
It's all perspective. No, the state themselves do not publicly buy and release birds. However, the "wild" populations are supplemented all over the state with birds that happen to survive. The rate at which this happens is heavily debated but generally agreed that more than 10% and less than 40% survive to nesting. My point is, the pheasant population isn't going away anytime soon.
10 % is being generous and those birds don’t range far from where they are released and most are roosters which have little to no effect on the population. Where I hunt there is not a preserve for a lot of mile and the one there is they keep very good records and kill almost every bird they release that morning. The biggest thing that has changed since the hayday of earlier 2000’s is cover . 10 dollar corn and crp going out killed more birds than anything else. It’s still good but nothing like when no one was buying birds other than a few places in the whole state. I know a lot of lodges now that are not preserves putting birds out just to get there hunters some as you can’t burn the same ground and load up with wild birds like back then. I can go get my limit of pen birds with out firing a shot walk slow and just grab them they are that dumb.
Hard to find places to hunt down in that country. Would find about the same in the wia. Plus you get in the area of michell and east they get pounded hard just because of the population form there to Sioux Falls. Most corn is just coming out this week around Mobridge. If I’m planning a pheasant trip I would never come before the first week of November unless going with a guide.
where did you hunt at? Guessing east side or south central where every one else goes?
A buddy of my dad's owned a preserve near the rosebud reservation. We killed a bunch of birds on and around it. IIRC, they were required to release five for every three that they killed. It definitely was common to shoot preserve birds on public ground in that area. The preserve guys weren't releasing a handful for each group, they released truck loads of them in the evenings.
You know, I used to be so against this. I do a Hells canyon elk hunt, hells canyon chukar hunt etc. sometimes a "get out the truck and shoot bird" is awesome
I hunted the south central part of the state. Saw lots of road birds, but no country to run bigger running dogs. I would much rather go to Montana etc to hunt. I wont be back.
Yep there is a reason all the pointer guys train from Pierre north all summer. Watched some guys run on horse back this year that was cool and those dogs ran real big trains for field trials.
I compete in those same trials. Placed a few times.
