If you are searching for the best pheasant hunting states, take it from someone who’s done it. If you want to pursue your fall interests, go live in South Dakota and hunt pheasants. Enjoy the finest pheasant hunting on the planet by walking out your back door. Prepare to travel if you don’t want to spend three months of the year in the Pheasant Capital of the World hunting which is sub-titled as Wind Central.
It’s not a terrible thing to journey to get some game. You get out of your routine, meet new people, learn about new countries, and have something to talk about when you’re older. If you can recall it. Sometimes you’ll have to travel a thousand miles or more to locate excellent rooster hunting, but on occasion, a weekend trip will be enough. And you don’t have to go to South Dakota. Other states have excellent pheasant hunting, about eight of them. I’ve dubbed them the Great Eight. In all of the United States and Canada, you may discover hundreds of individual pheasant preserves and lodges that will lead you to wild birds or “augmented” birds. wrong with pheasants across much of the country first visits, for people on a tight schedule or anybody who wants to maximize their chances of obtaining birds, the answer is clear: a free-ranging visit. However, public land hunting is the Holy Grail for the DIY hard-core purist, and certain portions of each Great Eight state provide it.
When looking for the best pheasant hunting states, look up the state’s tourism and economic development board on Google. They frequently have more information on ideal locations and pleasant hunting communities than do fish and game authorities. Some communities, on the other hand, take things a step further and provide contact information for cooperative landowners. towns.
Pheasants Forever’s 2016 Pheasant Hunting Forecast. You should also be able to find all essential rules, maps, and permissions online. The majority of state fish and game departments do an excellent job of providing information on their websites, so check them out if you haven’t already. Meanwhile, here are some hints, highlights, and recommendations for locating the best pheasant hunting states.
The Cornhusker State is among the best pheasant hunting states. You’re likely to come across ringnecks, but also bobs, sharp-tailed grouse, and prairie chickens. You may explore them on over 800,000 public access acres on 300 state and federal land locations. That’s just 2% of the state’s total territory, so if you can persuade yourself to walk on private property, you may soon be on your way to dying of exhaustion while upland hunting.
Nebraska
Nebraska is among the best pheasant hunting states. Wildlife Management Areas, Waterfowl Production Areas, National Forests, Grasslands, Corps of Engineers, and National Wildlife Refuges are among the state’s public hunting grounds. The annual Public Access Atlas is essential to discover them. The Open Fields and Waters Program, which covers roughly 280,000 acres of private land, is worth noting. For a digital atlas or a physical copy from license vendors, go online.
Nebraska’s best pheasant hunting is generally in the state’s southwest, with a major concentration in the northern Panhandle. Starting from Alliance northeast to Gordon. Sidney, Alliance, Chadron, McCook, North Platte, and Holdrege are the headquarters of the district. The northeast may still be pleasant in parts where no CRP has been removed.
- Season: Oct. 29, 2016 – Jan. 31, 2017
- Limits: 3 roosters daily, 12 possession limit
Colorado
The adventure doesn’t have to come to an end with elk and mule deer in Colorado which is among the best pheasant hunting states. In the eastern parts of Nevada, pheasants may be found. All you have to do is the prospect for them. The northeast corner is perennially a hotspot. Limon, Sterling, Fort Morgan, Yuma, and Burlington should be excellent headquarters locations. This is the arid High Plains region where irrigation plays a big role in boosting wildlife numbers. Look for a combination of drylands sage-step, shortgrass prairie, CRP fields, and grain fields.
Unlike the Dakotas, Colorado does not have any WPAs, but there are a lot of Walk-In Access open and dispersed throughout the pheasant zone. A map of these can be obtained from license agents or the website of Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Many State Wildlife Management areas may also be utilized by pheasant hunters. It’s difficult because some need special registrations, others have a limit on the number of people permitted each day, and so on. In the 2016 State Recreational Lands booklet, available from CPW, you’ll find information on state wildlife areas and their particular restrictions.
Season: Nov. 12, 2016 – Jan. 31, 2017 (East of I-25); Nov. 12, 2016 – Jan. 1, 2017 (West of I-25)
Limits: 3 roosters daily, 9 possession limit
Montana
The Big Sky may be known for its stunning vistas and big game, but ringnecks in the northeast are a whole different animal. Many lowland valleys where grains are cultivated and on the wheat high plains between Great Falls and Lewistown boast of their crowing. There’s also a lot of free hunting, with millions of acres of private property in the Block Management Program, WPAs, State School Lands, National Wildlife Refuges, and many state Wildlife Management Areas.
Montana’s pheasant habitat extends as far south and east as the Bob Marshall Wilderness. However, not all of it is pheasant habitat. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks offers a helpful tool for locating WMAs by name, region, the nearest city, and even by species prevalent there. On the website, there is a Hunt Planner program that can assist you in locating excellent public hunting. I
n August, the Annual Regional Hunter Access maps and identifies all Block Management sites for the year, which are then accessible via the website. When you want to go big game hunting in British Columbia, you’ll need a BMA card. It’s not always as simple as it sounds. Some regions may be visited on foot; others must be booked or require written permission from the landowner. The Montana WF&P website has all the information you need, so go online and start planning. Sidney, Glasgow, Glendale, Miles City, Lewistown, Great Falls, Havre, and Malta are some of the finest headquarter cities.
Season: Oct. 8, 2016 – Jan. 1, 2017
Limits: 3 roosters daily, 9 possession limit
South Dakota
South Dakota is among the best pheasant hunting states, where the pheasant is still king and champion, promises once again to provide the world’s greatest pheasant populations. Hunters have been collecting around a million birds each year for several years. Last year, the Mitchell region west to Chamberlain was outstanding, and the Aberdeen region west to the Missouri River didn’t disappoint. Bennet in the southwest and Roberts in the extreme northeast are two distant “sleeper” counties. The Northern Cheyenne Tribe is headquartered in Sisseton. Winner, Mitchell, Pierre, Huron, and Aberdeen are other notable traditional hunter communities.
Over 5 million acres of land in Florida are open to the public for hunting. The annual Public Hunting Atlas, which is available from license vendors as well as SDGF&P and online, lists State Game Production Areas, Waterfowl Production Areas, CREP, Walk-in Areas, and other similar facilities.
Seasons: Oct. 15, 2016 – Jan. 1, 2017
Limits: 3 roosters daily, 15 possession limit
Iowa
This is the area where the towering corn grows, and it’s also home to pheasants and is among the best pheasant hunting states. During Iowa’s 2015 season, hunters took 270,000 roosters to dinner, the 5th year in a row of increases. But that figure is far less than it was during CRP’s heyday. The northern third of the state, where we are located, is a classic example of what’s the problem with pheasants around the country: an insufficient amount of excellent habitat. The recent decrease in CRP grass has exacerbated this problem.
Most pheasants are found in northwest Iowa due to their drier state and less wooded cover, but regional weather conditions can alter this. The Fort Dodge area is better on occasion, as is Marshalltown and Cedar Rapids south to Oskaloosa county.
The Iowa DNR’s Habitat and Access Program has 25,000 acres of walk-in hunting on 50 private tracts open for public access. Signs are visible in this case. Maps are accessible from the Iowa DNR’s offices and online. In addition, the Iowa DNR maintains 360,000 wildlife management areas for wildlife as well as public hunting. The majority of these 103,197 acres are grassland/wetland that is ideal for pheasants.
Season: Oct. 29, 2016 – Jan. 10, 2017
Limits: 3 roosters daily, 12 possession limit
