# Solo South Dakota hunt opionions wanted



## shaner (Nov 30, 2007)

I am thinking of going to South Dakota for pheasants with just my dog and me. Would anyone please care to comment or give me suggestions on a decent town to go to and maybe what I could expect? I have never been before.
Thank you.


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## Chaser (Sep 28, 2007)

Are you looking to hunt on a private outfit, or do you want to hunt CRP walk-in access areas? If you are looking to hunt on a private hunting outfit, you can find all kinds of places on the internet. If you are looking at a do-it-yourself type hunt, and planning on hitting up CRP, a good way to start would be to get in touch with the Department of Commerce, or one of the city or county visitors' bureaus, and start asking about plat maps. The counties will have them for any area you want to request. They will cost you some money, maybe $6-10 per map, but you can have them hook you up with maps of the areas that have CRP and the plat maps even tell you who owns what, so you can get permission from land owners. I have heard the area around Mitchell is pretty good. This is what my dad and I will be doing when we go out there.


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## threshershark (Sep 7, 2007)

I've never been, but a good friend of mine goes every year around the time the general rifle deer season opens here in Utah. He goes up by Mitchell and does exactly what Chaser suggests: Gets maps that show the CRP and walk-in access. He always has a stellar hunt.


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## bnatt (Sep 17, 2007)

Mitchell is the "pheasant capitol" back there. There are a lot of outfitters in and around that area. So be aware of that when you are heading out. Like the previous post mentioned, there are a lot of walk-in areas around there, so find a hunting atlas (if you email or call South Dakota fish and game they will send one to you no charge) and take a look at some of the areas that are enrolled in the walk-in programs. My suggestion would be to get off the beaten path a little. You don't have to go to the traditional power house towns to hunt. There are so many pheasants back there that it's actually hard to NOT find them. Bring a box full of "thank you gifts" for some of the farmers who allow you to hunt their land and you'll be fine. You can also hunt, I believe, 30ft on each side of the road. So if all else fails, you've always got that in your pocket.


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## Trooper (Oct 18, 2007)

+1 The atlas is awesome, get it. The walk-in is the best because you won't hammer three birds right off the bat, it'll take you all day to get them, but what else do you have to do? The SD walk-in program is awesome, you'll have fun. Also, there are many abandoned right of ways in SD that are still public ground. It's kind of of a one-way, long skinny hunt, but can be very productive. They show up on the atlas. 

No more secrets for you.


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## TEX-O-BOB (Sep 12, 2007)

Get a big map of So. Dak. and hang it up on your wall. Throw a dart at the map. Go to the nearest city to the dart and hunt from the hotel room in any direction.  That state is covered up with pheasants and you really can't go wrong anywhere you go. If I were you though, stay away from the "hotspots" and the "pheasant capitols" just go to a little out of the way town and you'll see a lot less people and a lot more ground that's not tied up in some hunting club or lease.


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## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

I hope to make a trip one of these days myself; what is the cost for the permit, anyone?


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## birdman (Nov 21, 2007)

Mitchell may be the pheasant capital of the world, but you might want to try the Chamberlain area this year (right on I-90 in the middle of the state). Pheasants Per Mile index for Chamberlain this year is 22.5, Mitchell is 7.6. The overall state index is up again for something like the 10th year in a row! I'm thinking about doing something like this myself since the Iowa roadside survey that came out today is dismal. Down 75% in the area I normally hunt with just over 5 birds per 30 mile route (1 bird every 6 stinking miles, horrible). The South Dakota public hunting atlas can now be viewed online at the game, fish, and parks website.

License is $110 for two 5 day periods that must be designated at the time of purchase. You can do two consecutive 5 day periods or split them. I believe you can bring home 15 birds. I think only residents can hunt the first 3 days or so and shooting hours for the first week are from noon to sunset and from 10 AM until sunset the rest of the season. They've got some rules about nontoxic shot on public lands so be familiar before you go. Private lands under the Walk-In Area program do allow lead.


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## Trooper (Oct 18, 2007)

> They've got some rules about nontoxic shot on public lands so be familiar before you go. Private lands under the Walk-In Area program do allow lead.


That's true- but just go all non-tox. You'll probably be switiching types of land so often that sooner or later you'll have a mixture of lead and non-tox in your pockets. A couple of years ago I hit a real small WFPA- a 20 minute hunt, so I just put two steel in the chambers and four more in a pocket, grabbed my vest and went after it. Of course a warden pulls up and I got a half box of lead in my vest. (That I had no intention of firing). I started declaring my guilt as soon as I was within earshot, and he let me off with just a lecture, but no more lead in SD for me! It's the least of the cost by the time I get that far.


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## birdman (Nov 21, 2007)

Good point Trooper. I never really considered that scenario but could see it happening real easily. My problem is finding nontoxic shot for my 16 guage, and when I can find it it's real expensive. It's getting harder and harder to find inexpensive loads for that gun. So I generally have to use my 12 gauge for the nontox but still love hunting with the 16.


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