A ringneck pheasant always cackles when he goes airborne. I guess it’s his way of saying, “Okay, just me and you now. Let’s see how good a shot you are.”
We used to have a few wild ringnecks in Virginia, but they went the way of bobwhite quail when fescue overwhelmed our meadows and drove many ground feeding birds into near extinction. There are lots of good preserves in Virginia that offer pheasant hunts, but it’s not quite the same as hunting wild ringnecks, one of the cagiest game birds in North America.
A few years ago, I wrote an article on a pheasant hunt in Virginia and described it as, “The next best thing to a wild pheasant hunt in South Dakota.”
Major Kevin Yeo happened to read my article – and owning a 6,000-acre spread in South Dakota – invited me to come out and try the real thing.
A quick call to my friend Peter Eades – who pilots a 182 Cessna – sealed the deal when Peter agreed to take his plane. Next to having a friend who owns a good fishing boat, having a friend with an airplane is mighty convenient.
From Central Virginia, it’s about 1,000 air miles to Mitchell, South Dakota, the pheasant capital of the “Sunshine State”. Peter and I figured it would be 1,500 miles or so by Interstate. Bucking a strong headwind, it took us 10 hours before the wheels of Peter’s airplane touched down at the Mitchell Airport.
Brennan Yeo, Kevin’s son and the head guide at Granite Springs Preserve, picked us up. A great hunting experience was about to begin.
There are really two different seasons for hunting ringnecks in South Dakota. The general small game season runs from the third Saturday in October through the first Saturday in January, and the preserve season, which extends from September 1 through the end of March. Since we were hunting on preserve land, we were able to get in our hunt in late September.
The action began early the next morning with Brennan and Al Hyatt serving as guides and Peter, myself and two other hunters from Pennsylvania forming a party of six.
We would hunt millet strips, about a quarter mile long and 30 yards wide. As we approached the fields, I caught glimpse of two cock birds sunning themselves at the edge of the millet. But when they saw us, they darted quickly into thick cover.
“Later in the season, a hundred birds might fly up wild at the sound of a truck door slamming shut,” Al said. “They get pretty spooky after they’ve been shot at. But early in the season like this, we should get in some good shooting.”
And the shooting began almost immediately. While Peter, Brennan and the other hunters began a drive at one end of the field, Al positioned me at the far end of the millet strip. Since ringnecks like to run about as much as they like to fly, our guides always stationed one hunter at the end of each field as “the block”. Within minutes after the drive began, I heard a few shots, but saw no birds heading my direction. Then another shot and another finally sent four cock birds heading my way. Two of the birds ducked out of the field about half way down, but the other pair tried to sneak through my blocking position and didn’t make it. It took three shots, but I dropped both birds.
For two days, we played cat and mouse with these wild birds, but managed a respectable limit of four each day out. The birds were totally unpredictable. Sometimes they would flush far ahead of our dogs (usually black labs) and sometimes they would sit tight and let us walk right over them before erupting with a cackle behind us and flying safely to cover.
Game preserves in South Dakota are not like Virginia preserves where birds are released immediately before the hunt. On a South Dakota preserve, a required number of healthy and state approved birds are released throughout the year, including the spring when the hens have time to pull off a summer hatch. The released pheasants help supplement the wild bird population. Almost every bird we shot, though, were wild pheasants, not released birds. Preserve game managers are also required to keep detailed records, which the South Dakota Department of Game & Fish examines and compiles to insure that the birds prosper from year to year.
Granite Springs, located about 15 miles east of Mitchell, is a first rate facility. The 8,000 square foot lodge is brand new, with six bedrooms and six private baths, a beautiful dining room, a large rec-room with a plasma TV hanging over a gas log hearth and unbelievably good food – fresh breads, pastries and desserts along with mouth watering entrees.
Granite Springs also has a ten-acre quarry lake stocked with rainbow trout. We generally fished in the afternoons following the hunts, and one afternoon Peter and I fished together and easily caught 75 trout up to 16-inches on dry flies.
A big advantage in hunting preserve land – in addition to the longer season – is that you can shoot an unlimited number of birds, though most preserves charge an extra fee after a normal limit of four is attained. Hunting a preserve like Granite Springs also eliminates the need to drag your dog halfway across the country and the guides will handle the bird cleaning and processing chores. Plus, the food and accommodations are fantastic.
Many hunters use a 12-gauge shotgun with high brass for wild pheasant, but I did just fine with my 16-gauge Remington 1100. I used 7 1/2 shot, but # 5’s or #6’s might be preferred later in the season. Delta has good service into Sioux Falls connecting from Cincinnati and Brennan will pick up and return his parties to the airport.
If the cackle of a wild pheasant stirs your soul, then head for South Dakota. For more information about Granite Springs go to www.GraniteSpringsSD.com or call 605-940-9614.