South Dakota Pheasant Hunting 01-14-2023

Thanks very much to Lucas & Sage at JCW Outdoors for having me & Ace up for our annual rooster reduction hunt on private land. We had a fantastic day & saw literally hundreds of pheasants, uncooperative as most may have been. We got our limits in under 2 hours, capped off by what to me is the pinnacle of pheasant hunting, a miraculous recovery after a less than stellar shot. Ace & Sage do some amazing stuff. When I consider some of the super tough birds they DO recover, I wonder what sort of crazy shit is pulled by the ones they lose. It's rare, but it happens.

[@theuplandsasquatch]

Couldn't help but smile when Ace came up with that last one! Nice work!

[@lilbrowhydaw]

Thanks! I just love that type of recovery, turning a bleak situation into a celebration. My heart about leaps out of my chest. Experienced pheasant dogs do some amazing things. Good thing too, because pheasants do amazing things. I'd love to know how that bird flopped himself down into that slough.

[@dennisvandergriff7757]

Hope to maybe meet you both one day. Always enjoy vedios from each of you. Safe travels and super hunting. Ace and Sage are fun to watch.

[@scottschaeffer8920]

Ace made a great retrieve!

[@mikewells2899]

Wild as they come? Can you shoot wild hens?

[@shawnbelford3433]

Thanks for the fix. It's been a long time!!

[@lilbrowhydaw]

Won't be long before we're back after 'em.

[@scottschaeffer8920]

Have to ask; that corn is a food plot? Huge! Gosh, take half or more of that baby and turn into nest cover/ brood habitat. Maybe it’s crop corn? Looks like a nice farm to work-on.

[@lilbrowhydaw]

I'm not the expert on those particular pieces of land. But it seems they've got ample various cover. Big food plots go a long way when they're supporting 100s of pheasants & many dozens, if not hundreds, of hungry deer. Plenty of chow. More safety.

[@scottschaeffer8920]

@@lilbrowhydaw I did some pheasant crop analysis for my graduate work. When available, they foraged on native seeds, found in rich prairies, even in winter and snow, and when corn was right next store. Yes, carbohydrates found in grains build fat and corn & milo are kings. Those marshes are what makes SD pheasant range, and there’s movement afoot to reduce their protection, over our dead bodies!

[@lilbrowhydaw]

​@@scottschaeffer8920 big sloughs are the key during tough winters. Every rooster I shoot once winter sets in has been eating planted grain, even if their nearby roosting cover is CRP grass, which may have a good supply of "native seeds". Exceptions are rare.