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In a word Phenomenal!
Ten days of chasing SD Ring Necks, Prairie Chickens and Sharptails was a blast. Although much of the fun was largely due to the fact our hunting party is a great group of guys and gals the hunting is fantastic. My wife even shot at Prairie dogs but we were not sure if she hit any because we were a little distracted by a rattlesnake about 10 feet away. She wanted to know what I would do if it started slithering toward her (I know she would have figured something was up if she saw me running).
This was my first trip to SD after several years of hunting Iowa. SD is a state that has it together as far as hunting public land that is not overrun with people. Plenty of room for everyone. At times the vastness of an area was a bit intimidating and tough to figure out how to hunt.
I had a rare "Triple" which had several wittinesses. Here is the scenario: The GSP is on point down in a deep washed out cut. The handler is on the opposite side of the washout from me. His dog is solid as a rock and he had to urge him on to "Take it", so he wouldn't have to get down in that mess. Sam finally creeps in very slowly and the rooster flushed right at me. I shot at it coming at me, again as it turned sideways (20-25 yards) and going away (30 yards-maybe). The old tri-fecta. Several chuckles later, all I could say was "Swing and a miss." I just did it so we could have some lighthearted dinner conversation. It gave everyone something else to do besides brag about their dogs and shooting.
About 1/3 to 1/2 the crops are out which held a lot of birds but all-in-all we found plenty everywhere. We got out just before the blizzard. I think the birds should do OK, given the food still available in the fields.
Ten days of chasing SD Ring Necks, Prairie Chickens and Sharptails was a blast. Although much of the fun was largely due to the fact our hunting party is a great group of guys and gals the hunting is fantastic. My wife even shot at Prairie dogs but we were not sure if she hit any because we were a little distracted by a rattlesnake about 10 feet away. She wanted to know what I would do if it started slithering toward her (I know she would have figured something was up if she saw me running).
This was my first trip to SD after several years of hunting Iowa. SD is a state that has it together as far as hunting public land that is not overrun with people. Plenty of room for everyone. At times the vastness of an area was a bit intimidating and tough to figure out how to hunt.
I had a rare "Triple" which had several wittinesses. Here is the scenario: The GSP is on point down in a deep washed out cut. The handler is on the opposite side of the washout from me. His dog is solid as a rock and he had to urge him on to "Take it", so he wouldn't have to get down in that mess. Sam finally creeps in very slowly and the rooster flushed right at me. I shot at it coming at me, again as it turned sideways (20-25 yards) and going away (30 yards-maybe). The old tri-fecta. Several chuckles later, all I could say was "Swing and a miss." I just did it so we could have some lighthearted dinner conversation. It gave everyone something else to do besides brag about their dogs and shooting.
About 1/3 to 1/2 the crops are out which held a lot of birds but all-in-all we found plenty everywhere. We got out just before the blizzard. I think the birds should do OK, given the food still available in the fields.
