Nevada, Montana, South Dakota, Kansas, and North Dakota. There, I said it. Those are my five favorite states for public access wild bird hunting. I know, I know, your favorite isn’t on my list. More power to ya, and I hope we run into each other there. It’s a very personal choice, and don’t let anybody chop down yours.
For my money, a great place should first be somewhere you just gotta go … bucket-list-level in some way: scenery, new bird species, wonderful town for a home base, people, food and craft beer, etc. There are huntable wild birds in virtually every state, public access ground too, so making it onto the podium requires a little extra something. Load up your dog, and join me on an awesome upland road trip to find out what it is.
Public Land Access: Big sky, big country Atop that imaginary podium proudly stands Montana. There’s a lot going for this state including a walk-in program where landowners are only compensated when someone hunts their place. Crappy habitat, lousy payday. The Block Management Access program is well-organized, with hard-copy and online maps, and a sign-up system for prime lands. (Most are simply “walk-in.”) And like all the states in my top five, there’s a lot of ground. From vast prairies for sharptails, to boggy swales harboring pheasants, to dark forest where ruffies drum, there’s something for everyone. Huns and sage grouse, too. You’ll find more spots than even a resident can hunt in a lifetime. Some are good, some are bad, most are worth at least a half-day walk with a good dog.
Another plus is the sheer number of publicly-owned acres, administered on our behalf primarily by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. It’s a mixed bag of habitats, species, and terrain, just like the privately-owned walk-in ground, and one could spend an entire hunting career without setting foot on anything else.
Public Land Access: South Dakota South Dakota has walk-in programs for hunters to access private land. (Photo courtesy of Scott Linden) For many, the daddy of them all is South Dakota. If you haven’t gone yet, you will. Landowners are compensated per acre, so there are some hiccups from emergency haying, flooding, burning, and other accidental and overt management practices that could impact your hunt quality. But then, there’s the world’s largest huntable pheasant population. Sure, you’ve got drive-and-block hunting, but there are also grounds where a guy and his pointer can chase ringnecks in isolated cattail swamps and tiny crevices on a massive grassland. Potholes shelter ringnecks, and nearby grasses might produce sharptails or even a prairie chicken.
The massive impoundments and shorelines along the Missouri River are managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and offer less-trafficked ground for the same species. The Dept. of Interior stewards properties including the Ft. Pierre National Grasslands, where you can walk for miles in search of sharpies, chickens, and an occasional pheasant. There are a number of variously-named public-access programs along with the “traditional” walk-in setup, so dig deep and explore them all. Another gem is the federally-managed waterfowl production areas. Give mornings to the guys in camo, then cut your dog loose and chase upland birds in the afternoon.
Public Land Access: Kansas Kansas is a speck on most bird hunters’ radar screens, but their walk-in program is second to none, well-organized, with some quality control and varied habitat. A mix of bobwhites and ringnecks also makes it worth a look, as does the four-rooster bag limit and warmer late-season temperatures. The individuals in charge of their walk-in program have made it convenient to find and access grounds (there’s an app for it). Most of the decent hunting is in the western half of the state, as are most of the acres, but beyond “Go west young man (or woman),” you’re on your own to cherry-pick terrain, habitat types, and scenery.
Modern science has proven it’s not as flat as a pancake, it just looks like it. Those little cracks in the ground among vast grassy prairies are where pheasants dwell. The oak woodlands and plum thickets shelter bobwhite quail. Terrace ditches are worth a look for roosters. Crops, shelterbelts, and fallow farm ground are part of the walk-in program and worth exploring. Get the app, the map, and start hunting.
Public Land Access: North Dakota North Dakota is coming into its own with a walk-in program still finding its legs. Landowner participation is growing by the year, and my experience has been that the land in the program almost always has secret sauce somewhere in the recipe: adjacent crops or stunning scenery, for example. Bird numbers will never rival South Dakota, but neither will hunter numbers. Several national grasslands and other federally-administered lands are also at our disposal. One of my best hunts was accidental—we’d given up trying to find our destination and “settled” for a craggy set of grass-covered hills … loaded with sharptails. Oh yeah, there are a few Huns and pheasants too.
Signage and property lines are less defined, so be certain you are where you are before dropping the tailgate. Ask around for hidden pockets or landowners whom might welcome a visiting hunter, too. The oil boom has subsided, so finding grounds and lodging are much easier now. Take South Dakota’s terrain and habitat types and slide them across the border—look for the same holding cover and long, long walks across seas of grass.
Public Land Access: Nevada An acquired taste, Nevada has two sides: dusty high desert most times, lush Sierra Nevada Forest at others. “Chukar” is not another way to spell Nevada, but the two words are often used interchangeably by bird hunters … and rightly so. Lava rock borne of volcanic eruptions, alkali dust that chokes man, dog, and rattlesnakes, it’s hard to believe anything lives there, but America’s most sought-after bucket list bird flourishes. And while there is some walk-in ground, the Silver State is on my list for the 90 percent of its land mass administered for us by federal agencies, most often the Bureau of Land Management.
Nevada offers steep climbs in chukar country. (Photo courtesy of Scott Linden) Basin-and-range is what they call this country … desert flats interspersed with miniature mountain ranges made of rocky cliffs and slopes where your only responsibilities are to water your dog and set out for the far horizon in search of chukar. When your knees give out, probe the watercourses for valley quail. Further south, you’ll find Gambel’s quail, too. And all on land you and I own—no app, no permission required.
Other Great States for Upland Hunting The list of runners-up is long and varied, including outliers such as California, Nebraska, and Maine. But if you’re planning a wild-bird, public-land and walk-in access hunt, numbers tell the story for me: massive inventory of acreage, healthy population of varied bird species, beautiful scenery, and challenging terrain. Just don’t fret if your state didn’t make the list; it can still be a winner, so muster up a buddy and call the dog.
