My dad's side of the family have been avid pheasant hunters for going on four generations now. All of us. We learn pheasant habits (and the habits of other hunters) and try to outsmart them rather than outrun them. Except for a couple of knothead cousins who seem to enjoy busting the worst part of sloughs. Places where their dog wouldn't go, even the energetic Sparky. (Age is curing them of that.
) Somebody from NC who is not up on SD pheasant habits is basically not going to know what to do. Certainly not an optimum strategy. You can learn as you go but expect a lot of work with iffy results. Hunts with released birds can be a lot of fun like the stories of my grandfather's day. People I know release birds a couple days before a hunt so you're hunting a mix of native birds, recently released birds, and survivors all together doing pheasanty things. Just you know you're going to run into them sooner or later and when you do there will be good shooting. Depends on what you're looking for.
