21 Photos of South Dakota Pheasant Hunting

1 | Realtree and Pheasants Forever

The partnership allows Realtree to market its leading brand of camouflage patterns to Pheasants Forever's and Quail Forever’s 145,000 members whose outdoor pursuits go well beyond upland hunting, while supporting the organization’s overarching mission for wildlife habitat conservation. Read more here.

I snapped this image in camp of the PF decal slapped on an Orca cooler in Realtree MAX-5.

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2 | View from Above

Pheasants Forever's overriding aim is to conserve pheasants, quail and other wildlife through habitat improvements, public awareness, education and land management policies and programs.

Looking down from my plane, I wondered just how many pheasants were in that December scene below. It's all about habitat.

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3 | Aberdeen Airport

You won't see this scene behind glass in just any ariport around the country, but you will in Aberdeen, South Dakota.

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4 | Hecla Dakota Hunting Farms

Here's my room at Hecla Dakota Hunting Farms.

We all felt right at home.

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5 | Ring-Necked Pheasant

The ring-necked pheasant is South Dakota's state bird.

Here's one taxidermy mount from the lodge.

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6 | Prairie Storm FS Steel

We shot Federal Premium's Prairie Storm FS Steel on the hunt with good results.

Read how Prairie Storm loads support habitat.

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7 | Realtree and Hunter Orange

A number of hunters – like Pheasants Forever's Chris Kalis, pictured here – wore a combination of Browning Realtree apparel and hunter orange.

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8 | Savage Fox A Grade

My heirloom Fox Sterlingworth was my paternal grandfather's grouse gun, and then my dad's, and now mine.

My wife's Fox A Grade shotgun belonged to her great-grandfather, also a Pennsylvania grouse hunter.

I thought it was pretty cool to be able to use this loaner Savage Fox A Grade on our South Dakota pheasant hunt.

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9 | A Man and His Dog

Good buddy Pheasants Forever's Bob St. Pierre – and his German Shorthaired Pointer Esky – enjoying a break in the action at the end of a successful hunt on day one.

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10 | Watering the Dogs

The South Dakota pheasant hunt included a number of gun dog breeds.

Here we stop for a water break.

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11 | Boot Drying

Drying our Irish Setter boots, among others, back at the lodge following day one's hunt.

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12 | Rooster Feathers

Many pheasant hunters take time to pause and admire a rooster's feathers.

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13 | Lodge Scene

Pre-hunt scenes at the lodge were full of joking, good fun and planning the day's hunt.

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14 | Filling Pockets

We got plenty of shooting on the two-day pheasant hunt, filling vest and jacket pockets back at the truck.

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15 | Dog Handlers

The dog handlers at Hecla Dakota Hunting Farms are among the best I've ever had the pleasure of hunting with . . . organized and thoughtful bird-dog folks who do their job well.

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16 | Golden Retriever

Lance Kraemer of SoundGear had his young Golden Retriever along on the hunt.

Bentley nailed down a number of solid points for our group of hunters, with fine follow-up retrieves.

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17 | Day Two Rooster

Here's Esky and Bob St. Pierre on day two. After a solid point, the rooster slinked away as this wily game bird is prone to do. Esky adjusted, locking the bird down again. The rooster flushed straight up, banked on the escape. Bob took it with one solid shot and a puff of feathers.

Good stuff.

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18 | Deke, German Wirehair

Deke, a German wirehair, gave me a newfound appreciation for this gun dog breed during the South Dakota pheasant hunt. Smart, level-headed, biddable and steady, Deke is one of several other dogs on this hunt I developed an immediate fondness for in the field.

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19 | Last Afternoon

We closed out the final afternoon under a slate-gray and orange-streaked sky with a chill in the air.

Paradise, I tell ya. Paradise.

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20 | English Cocker

And George Lyall's English Cocker pup Minnie was another camp highlight. She charmed everybody.

You'll remember George from a recent episode of The Flush on Oklahoma quail hunting. His English pointers nailed a number of pheasants with stylish points on our recent hunt.

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21 | Group Shot

It doesn't get any better than hunting pheasants with a bunch of good friends.

Go here for Realtree small game hunting. Follow us on Facebook.

Join or renew your Pheasants Forever membership here.

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