BYOD (Bring Your Own Dog) to South Dakota to hunt pheasants on commercial hunting farms where there will be plenty of exposure to birds and lots of opportunities to hunt them in a variety of habitat and conditions.

5. “This is a ‘low service’ down-home, mom-and-pop business,” the pheasant farm owner said to distinguish his pheasant hunting business from the upscale and complete service hunting lodge a few miles down the road. “Oh, we take care of our customers by giving them a fixed-up old farmhouse to stay in. Though there’s no bar, swimming pool, or sauna at our place, there are four single beds per room and one bathroom at the end of the hallway with a shower everyone gets to share.

“The food is country style with bacon, eggs, and homemade rolls for breakfast and a big supper of chicken, roast beef, or pork chops, green beans, salad, and mashed potatoes, and three homemade pies for dessert. The plates and silverware don’t match and the tablecloth is 50-year-old linen. You might set at a table with some strangers from another state, but by the end of the meal everyone has become friends and all are having a good time,” the hunt host added. And, as with most pheasant farms in South Dakota there are plenty of pheasants at this place.

How To Find An Outfitter To Matc Though there may be thousands of places to go for a memorable pheasant hunt, finding them will take some effort, beginning with a look at the “Hunting Destinations” ads in this publication. In addition, you should also do a Google search under the “pheasant hunting” heading for specific regions, states, or counties with particular emphasis on reduced rates or special times of the season. While on the internet, punch up “confederations of commercial hunting operations” to see what states have “Sport Hunting Organizations” or similar associations of commercial hunting businesses. Another internet resource can be found by going to “Chambers Of Commerce” in towns and cities in prime pheasant hunting country. Any of these sites can have names, phone numbers, websites, and other information on a wide range of hunting opportunities with various accommodations, amenities, and prices. The game departments in most states may also have references to “fee” hunting operations as well as guides to public lands open to “free” hunting opportunities. The state run game departments will also have updates on pheasant populations which is vital information for planning a trip anywhere. Black’s Wing and Clay is an annual publication that has the most complete listing of commercial gamebird hunting operations in the United States on a state-by-state basis. Included for each entry are names, phone numbers, addresses, descriptions of the hunting habitat, a list of gamebirds available, and other relevant particulars about each place listed. Though prices are not included, a phone call will provide that information.

6. You can find bargains when searching for a place to go during the late season. Many pheasant hunting outfitters in South Dakota are loaded with customers from the third weekend in October (the traditional opening date for the pheasant season) to the third weekend or so in November (when harsh upper Midwestern weather can produce heavy snow, big winds, and sometimes blizzards that scare away non-resident hunters). Consequently, December can be a good time for an outfitter to book hunts at reduced rates in order to keep their business busy.

Licensed hunting preserves in South Dakota are open from September 1 to the end of March. Much more accurate modern computerized weather prediction makes planning hunts much easier up to several weeks in advance to avoid bad weather.

7. You can “customize your hunt” according to your own personal requirements when going to a commercial hunting farm in South Dakota. Many outfitters prefer larger groups of six or more people as the best way to more efficiently hunt large tracts of habitat such as big fields of CRP prairie grass, huge dry cattail sloughs, or mile-long, 100-yard-wide tree belts. But most outfitters will also take smaller numbers of hunters who may want to hunt alone as a separate party. And a majority of outfitters are willing to accommodate any special needs of kids, women, or anyone who may be new to hunting as well as older experienced hunters still able to shoot but doing better as blockers at the end of drives.

8. Hunting with an outfitter on a preserve better prepares you for hunting on other kinds of private property or on public land. Many pheasant hunters who come to South Dakota will spend a day or two at a commercial hunting farm to prepare themselves and their gun dogs for time later spent in other places.

“For the last five years, we have come to South Dakota two days before the state season opens to hunt those two days on a preserve,” a hunter from Michigan says. “We do this as a way to practice our shooting, to get in better shape by walking, and to tune up our dogs on pheasants. Then we hunt for five days on some other private land and public property.”

9. “Lots of roosters --some harder to hunt than others,” was one pheasant farm owner’s explanation for the combination of pen-raised-and-released ringnecks and born-in-the-wild birds on his property. “Like most commercial hunting operations in South Dakota, we do have pen-raised roosters to supplement the natural pheasant population here because there is a demand by our customers to see an abundance of game.