Gone Hunting

Leaving for South Dakota today, and picking up Lance & Todd in KC. We won't be pulling into Platte, SD until about 7:00 tomorrow morning. Thursday will be a little rough, but it's worth it. With a little luck we can get our limits quickly leaving plenty of time for beer, food, and rest. Besides, we won't have to budge until 9:00 on Friday morning what with the 10:00 shooting time; a weird but welcome South Dakota pheasant hunting rule. Not being out there at sunrise is a little different, but most pheasants are killed in the afternoon hours anyway. Pheasants are out eating in the grainfields (some of which are wide open) early in the morning and are hard to hunt, but after mid-morning they begin returning to the CRP, shelterbelts, or uncut crop fields (usually milo or corn). In these types of habitats/cover pheasants are more likely to hold tight, ideally resulting in a close flush. That's not a steadfast rule as I have seen roosters and hens run in single file down a shelterbelt path.

I won't be back until late Sunday night, and you can bet I will have plenty of pictures and stories when I get back.