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icejets
PostPosted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 7:50 am  Reply with quote
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XVI, my son and I would be interested in joining your hunt if you need hunters. Also, I am looking to go pheasant hunting next Dec. As a long time dove and quail hunter, in TX, I have always wanted a chance to shoot some pheasants. I decided it is time to take the plunge and have been on the phone with a rancher in SD trying to arrange a hunt. It's hard to set something up for just two people (my 20 yr old son and I) so I thought there there might be some intrest from other 16gaugers. Looking for a group size of about eight persons. You can contact me @ sandersra@charter.net for details
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revdocdrew
PostPosted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 9:07 am  Reply with quote
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525: Has KDWP actually published the opening date or is this still mostly rumor?
icejets (you may have to explain that one?): Where abouts in S. Dakota are you working on? I could give you the name of a guide in Presho (right in the middle of the state on I-90) and near Mitchell (and you'd get to hit the Cabela's Laughing) Without family/personal connections, you're probably going to have to pay $100-200/man/day and want to be sure 10 other groups of 8 haven't hit the same property before you. Lots of birds in S. Dakota but they ain't stupid. You might also want to avoid the deer opener (both the early opener in the Black Hills and the mid-Nov opener the rest of the state)-the motels/restaurants get pretty wild that weekend.
Most of the guides will assure you that you will SEE your limits BUT they also expect your group to shoot them dead in the air also. It's been my experience that big wild S. Dakota pheasants are incredibly tough-have seen one bird knocked out of the air with one shot, knocked over standing in some short grass (with the dogs far out of the way), and still getting up and running off and 2 good dogs couldn't find it. Most of the guides pretty much insist that you use at least high velocity 1 and 1/8 4's or 5's and prefer 1 and 1/4. The low-life philistines I hunt with all use benelli M-1's and SBE's (but usually beg to use my 12g. Trojan for a pass or two)
I know-somebody's going to post bragging about hunting with a 28. Please don't try it until you've been up there a time or two and if you do, be prepared to lose some birds. I've found LOTS of hawk eaten pheasant carcasses in fields and that's no fun.
Be prepared for even great dogs to sort of lose it the first day-there is just SO MUCH scent in the air they'll probably clear all the birds out of a 150yd strip of CRP the first pass. They should regain their sanity shortly Confused hopefully before you lose yours Laughing
Wonderful people in S. Dakota but the landowners are not very happy with the 'road hunters' trespassing after taking a 40yd shot at a flushed pheasant then claiming they were just trying to retrieve a downed bird.
Let us know how the property search goes.
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revdocdrew
PostPosted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 9:19 am  Reply with quote
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Sorry-despite my rant about 'using enough gun', I plan to use a newly acquired Sterlingworth 16 with 1oz #5's BUT it's M/F, I've done this for awhile, and am happy to let a bird fly on if it's more than 25-30 yds away. If I'm hunting with my setters-most of the shots are either flushes at 10 yds (and I'm thinking about opening the R brl to IC) or way out of range.
What do you other 16g. pheasant chasers use for choke and shells? (this has been discussed some in the thread by the guy with an IC Auto-5)
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TJC
PostPosted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 10:53 am  Reply with quote
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revdoc,
I had my Merkel opened up to Skt1 and Skt2 this year. It worked extremely well over my pointers. I also make adjustments with ammo when using that gun. I may but a Rem game load in the 1st barrel and a Golden Pheasant in the second. If the dogs put a bird up that is out there a bit, I just go right to the second barrel with the heavier load. It worked quite well this year but remember we don't have wild pheasants here in NJ. Everything is put and take including the state lands.

When using the Browning Feather I usually put the IC/Mod chokes in. At times I will put the Full choke in the second barrel. Again I make adj with the ammo I'm using.

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Square Load
PostPosted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 10:56 am  Reply with quote
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Joined: 16 Feb 2006
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Location: Flagstaff, AZ

I like to use my reloads of 1 1/8-#5 copper plated shot with a mod choke in my 870. Next year I plan to try my Citori with ic/mod with 1 1/8-#6 followed by the #5 reload. I have 4 boxes of Win. CF hull pheasant loads with #6 shot @1295 fps that I found and need to use up, otherwise I would probably use the #5 load in both barrels.

I like the #5's. I have had very few (almost none) cripples with them, but have had numerous cripples with 6's. Gives the dog something extra to do finding them. All of my hunting is done in the late season, Dec. 27th and later, so I am always shooting at fat, fully feathered birds. I am sure if I hunted earlier, the 6's would work better.

Dennis
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icejets
PostPosted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 12:04 pm  Reply with quote
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revdocdrew,

First let me appoligize, I in no way was trying to hijack your thread. That was the impression I got when I reread my own post.

Just wanted to to let you know that if a spot or spots were open in your group I would be interested in going, not to invite myself though.

The hunt I'm trying to set up is in south central SD, south of Pierre. From DFW I would have to go right by the Cabelas you mentioned. While that is a plus, we now have a Cabelas in Fort Worth so it's not as big a deal as it was before. The ranch is a working cattle ranch that has had a hugh growth in pheasants as they returned it to more native habitat per the ag. department recomendations. Yes they charge 200.00 per person per day to hunt but are not a true "Guide" service. Being from Tx, where if you want to hunt you lease, I thought that was understood. Included in the cost is the old farm house set up to sleep eight. You have to clean your own birds and cook your own meals. There are no pen raised birds on the property. Yes, I can give you the gentlemans name if you like. I found him through an article in Shooting Sportsman Mag and tried to work out a hunt this past year with him trying to fit me in with another group since I was on my own.

Anyway my offer still stands.

Thanks,

icejets
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Brad6260
PostPosted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 12:04 pm  Reply with quote
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Revdoc,
You are correct!
Here are the Kansas Upland dates I copied directly off KDFW web site.

Cheers,
Brad


Upland Game Birds
PHEASANT

2006 SEASON: November 4, 2006 - January 31, 2007

Youth Season:


Area Open: Statewide


Daily Bag Limit: 4 cocks in regular season, 2 cocks in youth season


NOTE: Pheasants in possession for transportation must retain intact a foot, plumage, or some part that will determine sex.

QUAIL

2006 SEASON (all zones): November 11, 2006 - January 21, 2007

Youth Season:


Area Open: Statewide (note 2 zones)


Daily Bag Limit: 8 in regular season, 2 in youth season


PRAIRIE CHICKEN

Early Season (East zone only): Sept. 15 - Oct. 15


Daily Bag Limit: 2


Regular Season (East and Northwest zones): Nov. 19, 2005 - Jan. 31, 2006


Daily Bag Limit: 2


Regular Season (Southwest zone): Nov. 19, 2005 - Dec. 31, 2005


Daily Bag Limit: 1

Download PDF
Email Page
[/url]
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revdocdrew
PostPosted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 12:27 pm  Reply with quote
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Thanks Brad: I could have been smart enough to look that up for myself.
Icejets: Your intentions were fully understood. Sounds like you'll be near Presho which is just south of Pierre (and you can fly into Pierre on Northwest) That country is truely pheasant heaven-until you've seen with your own eyes 200 birds getting up out of a milo field you won't believe it.
By late Dec the pheasants will have been moved enough they're getting awfully smart and the weather up there can get pretty brutal. You might want to get clear with your host exactly how many other parties have been through his property before you. Most of the guys leasing in that area plant narrow rows of milo down the CRP, then mow a few long strips 20 yds on each side of the milo to keep the birds in the grass as you're working them toward the end.
I've done the 6's and 5's/4's thing also using green Rem 6's in one pocket and yellow Fiocchi Golden Pheasant 4's in the other. Unfortunately, I get too discombobulated (please tell me I don't sound like 16GG speaking Stoogian Laughing ) when the birds are in the air and occasionally load one brl with my CHAPSTICK while trying to figure out what color goes where Confused
Hey Fin: What do you load in your Sterlingworth?
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Larry Brown
PostPosted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 2:39 pm  Reply with quote
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Season before last, I had very good luck with a 16ga Poli using B&P 7's in the R barrel, same of 6's in the left. Chokes 005/015, or about skeet/mod. Those are more open chokes, smaller shot and lighter loads than most people use, but it worked extremely well for me. Shot birds mostly in Iowa, but also SD and KS. All wild birds. I do have good pointing dogs, and my average shot at a rooster comes well inside 30 yards. I did switch to another gun with tighter chokes and heavier loads in SD after seeing a lot of birds at long range the 1st day, but as it turned out, I would've been better off not switching.

This year, I had the outdoor writer's disease and was fooling around with several different guns. At the end of the season, I went to a British 12, chokes very similar to what I shot in the 16 last year, 1 1/16 oz Brit 6's, which are close to our 7's. Killed 5 January roosters with that load, and they were all stone dead when the dog brought them back to me. If you're going to shoot consistently beyond 35 yards, then you need at least 6's; beyond 45, you'd better be shooting 5's. But I'd sooner wait for my dogs to pin the tight sitters for me. Cuts down on cripple losses too.
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revdocdrew
PostPosted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 3:34 pm  Reply with quote
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OK-I know you guys are going to accuse me of speaking out of both sides of my mouth (a well recognized preacher malady Wink ) BUT after reading Bro. Larry's note must confess that in my younger days when I was pretty quick getting on birds, I mostly used a 20g. Citori Superlight, straight stock, 26" brls and shot lots of pheasants using Sk and Mod tubes with 1oz of 7 and 1/2 shot. I think the difference then was that over my ranging setters, the pheasants either flushed wild or held and I had mostly close shots and TRIED VERY HARD TO SHOOT THEM IN THE HEAD. When I did, they fell like rocks (sometimes flapping rocks) In S. Dakota using the guide's flushing labs, the shots are alittle farther and mostly going away birds so the only thing to shoot is their boney backside and they need to be hit hard to drop. And I know I let some wounded birds NOT shot in the head fly off hit but not killed using the 7 and 1/2s.
Bottom line as usual-use what works for you and the gun and load in which you have confidence. Pheasants are too beautiful a creation and too great a trophy however to leave dying birds in the field.
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Square Load
PostPosted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 5:11 pm  Reply with quote
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RevDoc,

Amen to your last paragraph! It almost ruins my day to lose a pheasant.

Dennis
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Wolfchief
PostPosted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 6:10 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 15 Oct 2004
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Location: Indiana

Last year when I went to South Dakota with my son, we hunted with a guy north of Pierre--wild birds everywhere---we hunted ducks/geese on the Missouri River in the early mornings and pheasants after lunch. I took a Benelli Super Black Eagle for the waterfowl, but used a 16 ga. full choke Winchester Model 12 to shoot the roosters. It worked very well---not many cripples. The load I used was Remington's factory Heavy Game in 1 1/8 oz. of #6. Shots were as short as 15 yards and as far as 40. I have never had a better time afield in my life ! Pheasants in S. Dak are the same as everywhere else---you gotta hit 'em hard in the front end to put them down to stay. But you do not have to use a 3" mag to do it.....

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revdocdrew
PostPosted: Mon Mar 06, 2006 7:43 am  Reply with quote
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Single best day pheasant hunting I've ever had was N. of Bethany, MO almost to the Iowa line the day after 8" of snow. Had 11 nailed-them solid points by my setter on birds holed up down in the snow under a clump of grass. Every bird flushed at our feet, could have used a 28g skeet gun, and every bird was a HEN Confused Never fired a shot and I've never had a better day. My mostly quail pointing setters never really have figured out those dirty running pheasants, but, if you can get to the field, there is nothing like hunting pheasants over a pointing dog after a big snow! Laughing
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Square Load
PostPosted: Mon Mar 06, 2006 6:58 pm  Reply with quote
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Revdoc,

Had a hunt similar to that myself, Kansas, '97, last week of Dec. Depending on how the wind blew, the snow cover was anywhere from bare dirt to 3' drifts. The birds held tight for my Shorthair like yours did and sometimes you knew if it was a hen or rooster because you could see it's tail feathers sticking out of the snow! I had one rooster flush so close that the tip of his left wing brushed me across my chest and the next wingbeat brushed my face. It shook me up so bad I proceeded to miss him with both barrels! When it was all done I was one bird short of my limit for the 3 days I hunted and have no idea how many more I missed. Have never had another hunt like this but I keep hoping it will happen again someday.
I'm sure people who live in the premier pheasant states and get to hunt the entire season have had many days like this, but for the rest of us it is probably a rare occurance.

Dennis
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revdocdrew
PostPosted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 7:12 am  Reply with quote
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Problems in (bird) paradise. Feb was the 5th driest on record in KS and the drought is expected to continue through the spring. Eastern KS did get some wet this last weekend. FIN: What going on around Wichita? Could impact nesting habitat and the newly hatched chicks might not have the insects they need to eat. Somebody out there do a rain dance (16GG-PLEASE don't post a video Laughing )
It looks like OK and TX have had some much needed rain. What's happening in S. Dakota?
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