Hunting Fun

In early August, I had written concerning the pre-2010 brood count, I highlighted the 2009 report and tried to give my best guess concerning the 2010 South Dakota pheasant hunting season. How did I do? Based on the 2010 report I think I hit it spot on with some areas even showing improvement. The gist of the 2010 brood count is that the overall count shows an increase over the 2009 brood count. In spite of the harsh winter we had and the wet spring that followed. How wet was it? There was an area, that is normally counted, that could not be accessed this year because of the roads having standing water on them.

Pheasants in South Dakota face a lot of adversity, predators, hunting, weather, lack of food. And yet they seem to continue to give us numbers that allow the SD game fish and parks to maintain the daily and possession limit numbers from year to year, 3 daily – 15 in possession.

Before we move into the 2010 report, keep the following in mind. The last time SD pheasant hunters’ harvested less than 1 million pheasants, was in 1992, yet the harvest was nearly 970,000 birds. Using that year as the base line and jumping ahead 10 years we find that the average yearly harvest, since 2002, has been 1,778,985. Last year, in 2009, the harvest was 1,648,191. That was the 2nd lowest since 2002 with 2007 reporting just over 2 million birds harvested.

“The 2009 brood route survey indicated that the South Dakota pheasant population had declined 26 percent from the 2008 observation. However, 2007 and 2008 produced two of the highest pheasant counts in more than 40 years. The 2009 survey was 13 percent higher than the 10-year average and was the fourth highest count per mile in the past 45 years.”(1)

Looking at the 2010 report, we find, “Results from the 2010 pheasant brood survey indicate the statewide Pheasants Per Mile (PPM) index increased slightly by 3% (6.26 to 6.45) compared to the 2009 index. In comparison to the 10-year average, this year’s index is 13% higher (2010 = 6.45, 10-year ave. = 5.71) and the fourth highest statewide PPM since 1963 during the Soil Bank era.”(2) This may be because, as I mentioned before, of many areas having high quality cover, due to the snow and rain we had, for the birds to hide in. Affording protection from predators and weather.

The report continues, “the total number of roosters counted during the 2010 survey was down 2% from the 2009 survey (2,045 vs. 2,078). In addition, the number of hens counted was down 4% from last year (3,037 vs. 3,170). Total broods counted increased by 1% (2,581 vs. 2,565), while the statewide average brood size increased by 4% (6.25 vs. 6.03).”(2)

The SDGF&P states, and I agree, “2010 is looking to be as good as or better than the 2009 pheasant hunting harvest was.” There is over 700,000 acres of public hunting land in the heart of the South Dakota pheasant hunting area. But maybe you’re planning on hunting on private property. I want to remind you to ask for permission first and than honor it. Good hunting ethics goes a long way in keeping the available private lands, just that, available. At any time a farmer can shut down the access to his property due to fences, crops or both being damaged by hunters who don’t seem to care or think they have the right to be on private property.

Also, keep in mind that that same great cover that has been protecting the pheasants, through harsh weather and predation, is still going to be there and will make for some hard but rewarding hunting. So strap on your hunting boots and start walking. Not just you, but your dog as well. If you have some wrist weights strap them on too. They will help get those arms back into condition for caring that shotgun. The time to get back into shape is before you hit the fields. Your body and your dog will thank you. Both of you will have a better hunting experience because of it.

By: Rodger Wenzlaff

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