Well the crops are getting out of the fields at a rapid rate. The hunting has been very good. I'm mainly hunting field perimeters so not seeing large numbers in bunches but getting single or double rooster flushes. It's a good way to put three birds in the game bag in not much time.

I got a new brown pup so he's learning the pheasant game. My Black Lab is always on his "A" game which is really fun to watch.

We are also shooting some Sharptails regularly. They are a fun bonus.

Great pictures and really nice looking SxS's for sure.

Can’t go wrong with a good lab and a nice sxs.

Great pictures and great looking dogs. What is that SxS your using?

Sorry, is that the Lindner CD featherweight 12ga as shown in a previous post?

Atta boy, Bobby! We sure had fun at the Bird Dog Bunkhouse last week. Wish we were still there! I left a lot of roosters for you!

No this is a different Daly Featherweight 12ga weighing 5.5# that I got this summer. The other is a 16ga.

Tim it was great to have you and Bruce out again. Also enjoyed having Dave along. You guys always have plenty of fun!

This season ranks as one of the best EVER.



All the hunters have been getting lots of shots and putting roosters in the game bags.



I still have hunters staying up 'til Christmas.



It's been lots of fun!

In saying this season “ranks as one of the best EVER,” do you mean you’ve seen a noticeable uptick in bird numbers, or, that you were host to very fine gents (like Battue), which I expect is the case most years. I ask because I’ve heard some reports of “good” numbers in other parts of SD, and even here in nw Iowa.

Great pictures! I love that double too. I leave a week from today for SD and have never hunted wild pheasants before so I am pretty excited. It is a buddy of mine and his 2 dogs going. This is my mini "retirement trip" I guess. We are hoteling it in Aberdeen and then trekking out from there daily. If we can each shot 2-3 birds in the 4 days we are going to hunt I will be happy.

Most of the guys who come when I'm there return every year so the camaraderie is always consistently great. We all have become good friends who met by staying to hunt at my house from all over the USA. Battue and Wilkeshunter are two of the fine gentlemen I count as my friends.

I provide a very nice place to stay and the hunting is good, which are the reasons I have so many guys return each year.

I hunted a couple weeks ago around Onida area and the National Grasslands, and it wasnt that good. Birds we saw were flushing wild. Only had 3 hunters, deer season was going on then. Very disappointed overall.

I am sorry to hear that and I am hoping we at least get a little shooting. We don't have a guide or anything and are just try some stuff open to the public. It was a spur of the moment trip.

Best tip I can give is that there is a learning curve to hunting public land wild SD Pheasants. Many Birds will flush wild, expect it. However, what one thinks is obvious, often isn't the best choice.
You most likely will drive by more close opportunities than you would imagine possible. Bobby taught me to look for places that where not obvious to me when I first started going. It wasn't a formal classroom, just comments. It was my choice to pay attention.

Thank you! Any and all advice is welcome. It is my best friend and I going. We have been best friends since 6th grade and for years would take off over Thanksgiving weekend with some shotguns and dogs and go hunt some state we never had before. This is the "old man" version of that.

Bobby has a nice place to stay at, good food, and can show you some good public land to hunt the birds on. This was my first time @ Bobby's place and I hope to be back next fall once again.

My dogs and I had a great time and did well, even though it was a bit warm there yet. We had some fine, gentlemen sportsmen staying there, who were a pleasure to meet & visit with esp. during the evenings.

battue's note was spot-on..! The birds are out there - you just have to find them.

Brittman

I and 3 friends just completed a great hunt at Bobby's place. The house is set up for hunters and is a good place to stay and come home to at the end of a hard day of hunting. We shot 4 man limits of birds on 4 out of 5 days. We hunted mostly ditches and section lines. CREP and other designated public hunting were not great. Those areas had been heavily hunted. We knew where to look and once we figured out the patterns it was up to good shooting and dog work. Our group is planning to return next year. Me and the other old dude are experienced pheasant hunters having hunted Kansas for years. Bobby's place has more birds than either of us had ever seen. I have attached a photo from one of the days we finished up early.

Nice, well done!!!!

We did a quick trip on short notice over Thanksgiving. Dogs were rusty but we managed 3 days worth of limits. Averaged 7 miles per day so a guy had to work at it where we were. Great to get out again, its been a while.

Looks fun!

You guys got good numbers of birds each day. Well done!

We are headed out in 2 hours and hope we can find a couple of birds. This is pretty exciting. If I had planned this better I would have offered up a ruffed grouse and woodcock hunt in exchange for pheasants.

Lots of birds encountered with some snow on the ground.