What State and which Counties have the best wild pheasant hunting?


If possible, I’d like to scratch a guided pheasant hunt off of my bucket list in the next couple years.

It’s getting hard to find wild birds in SD in any good numbers where I’m at. Not much habitat being left for them. Here’s a place I got stuck yesterday a pasture at the top of the river breaks no cover for several miles except for the draws and not much food there.

The paid hunting corn rows are now drifted over about 75% not much useable cover for birds. I leave one of my lots along the lake idle I just let the weeds do their thing and I have a small food plot in it. Even the 6 foot weeds get drifted over at times few of the released bids from down the road will see spring most years. The weed seed and we feed them gets a few through the winter.

If you end up in SD or ND on a guided hunt good chance you'll be hunting pen raised birds.

As for the best pheasant counties in ND, Adams, Bowman, Hettinger, Grant and Stark counties.

I can be easily talked into a pheasant hunt or two, just saying..

I can tell you the area in SD for a “guided” hunt, but youre gonna wind up hunting with a bunch of other guys marching in a line like the redcoats. Ive done it twice, as I was invited and it was free, ill never do it again. Guys who have never seen a pheasant shooting toward other. One guy had never shot at an animal before that outing. No thanks. That isnt pheasant hunting to me, but its what a lot consider it to be. I would get on a pheasant specific forum and ask guys if there is a place that does smaller guided hunts, you and a couple other guys with 2-3 dogs. SD by far has the numbers overall and its solid outfitters all over the centra region. NW and north central Iowa is great too and you may find small outfits willing to take a couple guys out. All depends if ur looking for a hunt or target practice while having bb’s hit you.