Sharptail in South Dakota

[luke0927]

How is the sharptail population in SD? when you find them are they in the same places with pheasant, is it easy to tell the differnence in the field between a hen and a sharptail? I can look at a picture all day long.... but i would love to try and find some while im out there...i was going to get on the state map and see what parts they show them in but i was wondering how the population was and a little info on hunting them.

[SD Pheasant Slayer]

Luke,

I was out west hunting sharpies a little over a week ago and had a blast. I talked to a National Parks Service Agent and he told me the hunters are having a "far-above average" year of hunting. Our group of four killed 20 birds over two days but some of those were prairie chickens (which are legal game too). I really think if you go out there and hunt hard, you'll find birds just fine. This was our first time hunting sharpies, so maybe our observations aren't worth much, but it seemed if we were seeing pheasants we weren't seeing sharpies or chickens. The sharpies were in very thin cover - too thin for pheasants most of the time. As far as telling the difference - I wouldn't worry too much about it. I'd never seen a sharpie in real life and had no problem. Look for that white on the base of the breast and the pointed tail and you'll know you have a sharpie. Good luck!

[luke0927]

Luke,

I was out west hunting sharpies a little over a week ago and had a blast. I talked to a National Parks Service Agent and he told me the hunters are having a "far-above average" year of hunting. Our group of four killed 20 birds over two days but some of those were prairie chickens (which are legal game too). I really think if you go out there and hunt hard, you'll find birds just fine. This was our first time hunting sharpies, so maybe our observations aren't worth much, but it seemed if we were seeing pheasants we weren't seeing sharpies or chickens. The sharpies were in very thin cover - too thin for pheasants most of the time. As far as telling the difference - I wouldn't worry too much about it. I'd never seen a sharpie in real life and had no problem. Look for that white on the base of the breast and the pointed tail and you'll know you have a sharpie. Good luck!

thanks were you on public or private land...think i can find any on public land?

[SD Pheasant Slayer]

We shot all our birds on Ft. Pierre National Grassland and some of the state land west of Pierre so I know they're out there on the public land. The grassland is HUGE and you could hunt it all day for weeks on end and never hunt the same area twice - however, it get's a fair bit of pressure and I'm sure it will be even worse with the pheasant season opening this weekend. I'm sure you'll still find birds, but I'd imagine they'll be pretty flighty. You can kill birds either way, but I really think you'd have better odds on private land this far into the season. The other option is to wait until the later part of the season and hunt after the bulk of the hunters have given up and settled in for the holidays. I kill as many or more birds in December every year than I do in November, but it's colder and takes a little more effort as the birds don't hold as well. Of course, that's dealing with pheasants only - I'd imagine sharpies are similar, but couldn't say for sure.

[Chaingang]

Generally as the season progresses sharptail will usually group up in larger numbers. Unfortunately this also makes them extremely wary and very difficult to approach within gun range or hold for a dog. Weather plays a big part in it also. Warm sunny days may be your best bet in the late season. As a comparison to Phez, I would say they are MORE difficult to approach within gun range the later you get into the season. Some die hards will resort to pass shooting them between their feeding and roosting areas later in the year. Not too appealing if your a dog person though.