Gun Dog Forum

I was planning on going on an unguided trip to SD with a friend who had been out there several times and he has backed out due to personal reasons. I have already selected my vacation & can't change it. I could go to WI and chase ruffed grouse & wood cock, but would prefer to do something different than my normal WI hunt. I am set up to sleep in a cot under the bed topper on my pick up & have a year & half old griff that hunts & points solid but is not broke to wing or back. I am looking for options & would appreciate any information or if someone has an opening in a group I am raising my hand. I am really considering just heading towards Mitchel SD with an atlas and hunting "free style". I have done a little reading on land use permits / "trespass" hunts that sound like they are reasonable.

I am not looking for GPS coordinates to your favorite spot just some advice.
bumpnbtm@gmail.com is a good email if you don't want to share information with the rest of the free world.

There are a few things you should be aware of.
Are you sure you can spend 9 days with only your dog for company. If you have not done it you might be in for a surprise.
It has been extremely dry in SD. Normally you can find some good public hunting around Mitchell,Huron, Redfield and Aberdeen. But it does not look real promising this year.
It can get quite cold at that time of year in SD so make sure you have adequate sleeping gear. What are you doing for bathroom and shower facilities. Nine days is a long time to sleep in a truck.
How are you going to keep your birds, it can also get very warm at that time of year.
You will be limited to 3 birds a day. But only 15 birds in possession. So you may be done early. It is usually fairly easy to limit. Not sure of the dates but the first week or two shooting does not start until noon.
not trying to discourage you it can be a good time if you are mentally up to it, but it can be the trip from heck if you are not........................Cj

Wisconsin might be a better option. Pheasant numbers are way down in South Dakota.

https://gfp.sd.gov/hunting/small-game/p ... tlook.aspx

You are planning to be in SD the first week of the season. Not normally the best option as that week will have the most hunters in the field. Expect public lands to be quite full of hunters and it's doubtful you can get on "pay to play" land at that time if you don't already have a reservation. Pheasant numbers are down 45% statewide this year. That my keep some hunters away but the opening week will still be a busy time. Good luck.

Go for it if anything it will be a learning curve... heads up usually alot of crops still standing giving the KING the advantage!

I have decided to go to SD and stay in the a Ft Pierre area campground for a couple of days. I plan on fishing one day to give the dog a day to rest as well as only hunting a few hours/day. I am looking forward to the quiet time with just my dog & and a bottle of KY's finest export, heck I am liable to smoke a cigar or two. If the hunting turns out to be frustrating after a couple of days I will head back to WI & chalk it up to learning lesson.

Thanks to everyone for their responses.

bumpnbtm wrote:I have decided to go to SD and stay in the a Ft Pierre area campground for a couple of days. I plan on fishing one day to give the dog a day to rest as well as only hunting a few hours/day. I am looking forward to the quiet time with just my dog & and a bottle of KY's finest export, heck I am liable to smoke a cigar or two. If the hunting turns out to be frustrating after a couple of days I will head back to WI & chalk it up to learning lesson.

Thanks to everyone for their responses.

Enjoy!