South Dakota Hunt ‘04
After our successful pheasant hunt near Mitchell, South Dakota last year, we thought it a good idea to schedule another one this year. Planning for this hunt started about one month after our return. That would be December 2003.
Dimitri Pappas took the lead and we invited several hunting buddies and friends to join us on this venture. Those accepting this invitation were – Vince Speeg and Todd and Traci Williams. So our group had five seasoned and eager hunters looking forward to an adventure in South Dakota.
The planning was in detail because of the tight time line. Three were to fly in while two would drive and transport the major baggage, guns and dogs. Dimitri again furnished his Suburban 4x4 and a 4x8 trailer. This arrangement and trading out on driving duties worked well for the long, 1,200 mile, trip to the Big Bend Ranch. This ranch lays about 30 miles east the State Capitol of Pierre.
The road trip up was uneventful for the drivers, but those that flew in experienced a great deal of difficulty because of the number of Texas hunters heading to South Dakota; scheduling problems with the airlines; and the weather. But all arrived at the Ranch in good order and in high spirits, however, some baggage did not arrive until the wee hours of the morning.
Once at the Ranch we were welcomed to this private hunting paradise that is located in the heart of the central flyway on the scenic Missouri River. This Ranch provides you the opportunity to enjoy world-class wingshooting for Ringneck Pheasant, Hungarian Partridge, Canada Geese and Ducks.
We met the owner, Alex Falk and the Hunting Operations Manager, Gary Peterson. Later we met the staff -- Jeff, the Hunting Guide, Aldora and Sara, the Cooks. Soon after these introductions we were shown our quarters that were located in a lodge that overlooked Two Deer Lake to the east and the Missouri River bluffs to the west. Each guest room is complete with a private bath. Special amenities include satellite TV’s, a separate cigar smoking lounge, fully stocked complimentary bar, plus a kitchen stocked with snacks for any time.
After unpacking and relaxing a bit, we met in the dinning area for appetizers, drinks and dinner. The dinner meals were hardy and most appealing. They consisted of baked pheasant, baked walleye, and prime rib. These delicious meals were accented by a wide selection of fine wines.
On Saturday, October 16, 2004, was the first of our three days of hunting. After a filling breakfast we assembled at 0900 hours under a cloudy sky. It was cold, in the high 20s, with an accompanying wind that varied from 10 to 20 knots. We along with the four dogs were then transported to the hunting area. The dogs were:
Jeff’s Scout, Dimitri’s Caz and my Bear and Birdie; two yellow labs and two blacks.
The hunting was done over 3,500 acres of farm and ranch land. This area was composed of tree belts, CRP, weed patches, soybean, corn, sunflower, and bean fields plus a number food plots. This combination provided abundant food, cover and nesting areas for the Ringneck Pheasant.
We would hunt these areas by walking the fields. We employed three of us, with two dogs, across the field and two flankers that were about 40 yards ahead of the drivers. Jeff was in the rear coordinating our movements as we covered the terrain.
We had not progressed very far before the first bird erupted from the cover. It was then the responsibility of each gunner to shout out the sex of the bird. The term “Rooster” was used to identify the cocks and “Hen” to identify the hens. Once, the sex had been identified as a cock, the shooting began. It is a real no no to collect a hen.
Errors of Note: I would be remised if I failed to point out that one of our more experienced hunters did bag a hen. In order to protect the rights of the deceased hen the hunter will remain anonymous. Secondly, yours truly incorrectly identified a young rooster as a hen and therefore missed the opportunity to collect that bird. That error drew a disconcerting look from Bear.
After we had traversed the hunting area we would water the dogs and give everyone the opportunity to take a short break and have something to drink if desired. Then we would select another area to hunt, change out the dogs, and rotate the hunters in the formation.
We continued this process until noon. Then we would return to the lodge and prepare for a delicious and hardy lunch. After which, we had time for a little nap or just relaxing before taking up the hunt again. This also gave the dogs a break – a time to relax, eat a treat or two and rest before again tackling these tough hunting conditions. However, the cold and damp weather really worked in their favor because it kept them cooled down during the hunt and the scenting conditions were ideal.
We did not have to hunt long on the first day before we collected our limit of birds. After which we returned to the lodge to relax, cleanup and prepared for a delicious dinner. It was during this time that we had the opportunity to share other hunting adventures and enjoy each other’s company.
The second day was a little warmer, in the low 30’s, but the wind was a bit more brisk. Later in the day the winds would settle down and it would warm up to the lower 50’s. We also had some light rain and heavy cloud cover. We hunted hard this day to fill our limits.
The third and final day was also cold and windy. Just as we were completing our first pass through the fields a driving rain came without warning. Accordingly, we returned to the lodge to change into our rain gear before proceeding on with the hunt. Again, we hunted hard to collect our limit of birds. This day ended about 1730 hours. We were all truly exhausted as were the dogs that had performed so well during the hunt.
Early on Tuesday morning we collected our cleaned and frozen birds, said our goodbyes, and headed out for our long 21hour drive home. The three flyers were transported to the airport in time to make their scheduled flights. We arrived in San Antonio about 1600 hours on Wednesday afternoon.
In sum, this was another outstanding hunt and adventure. It combined a lot of walking, shooting, great dog work, and an abundance of birds with time to savor this outing with good food and fine wines. I would recommend such a hunt to anyone who enjoys the great outdoors and fast action hunting.
Four of the Crew:
(left to right)
Dimitri, Ray, Bear, Traci & Todd
Monday, November 1, 2004
South Dakota Pheasant Hunt
