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12 Replies | Page 1 of 11 | Top of Page | Bottom of Page

Pheasant Hunting in Webster

by BleacherBum , Posted to SDOInsider - South Dakota Outdoors on 10/31/2011 12:47 PM | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |
BleacherBum
Joined: 10/31/2011
Location: IL
There are a group of us coming from the Chicago area to hunt the weekend of November 11th.  We have 6 in our party but no dogs.  We are staying in Webster.  Plan on hunting public land.  Have hunted birds my whole life but have been fortunate enought to have private land owned by my family in Iowa to use.  Any tips for Newbies to the south Dakota hunting expierence.  Are there any particulars we should be aware of that may make our hunt more successfull.  Any suggestions would help.
Thanks.
Re: Pheasant Hunting in Webster
by sharptail on 11/01/2011 05:15 AM | Reply #1 | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |
sharptail
Joined: 07/02/2006
Location: SD
1.  Don't come unless you have at least a few dogs.
2.  You will maybe average a bird a day per person in that area, maybe if you work really hard and shot really well and find your down birds.
3.  Pay a little money to get on some private land, it will be worth your money.
www.eehunts.com
Re: Pheasant Hunting in Webster
by sdhusker on 11/01/2011 08:31 AM | Reply #2 | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |
sdhusker
Joined: 05/29/2009
Location: SD

All good suggestions.  Numbers are down in the immediate Webster area.   I think I would look west for more numbers, and if you can get someone who has a few dogs to take you out for at least one of the days, you'll be better off.  
Re: Pheasant Hunting in Webster
by BleacherBum on 11/01/2011 08:32 AM | Reply #3 | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |
BleacherBum
Joined: 10/31/2011
Location: IL
Thanks for the info sharptail.  I appreciate the advice.  Unfortunatly we do not have any dogs to bring.  2 of the guys going with us said they hunted that area 4 years ago with some success.  We understand that with no dogs we are gonna have to do some more walking.  Are you from the SD area? We were wondering if most of the crops are now out of the fields.
Re: Pheasant Hunting in Webster
by twert on 11/01/2011 09:33 AM | Reply #4 | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |
twert
Joined: 01/11/2008
Location: SD
Yes, most of the crops are out in that area.

If your buddy was here 4 years ago he hit some of the best pheasant hunting ever for that area.  This year is a whole different story.  I was up there last weekend and like the first poster said we got 1 to 2 birds per gun.  And that was with dogs.  I would go to the Chamberlain area or Pierre area and find public if I were you.  They still have good numbers out there.

But, if you still plan on the Webster area I would try to do some waterfowl hunting along with the pheasants.  Those numbers are up.  You will find pheasants it just won't be as easy.
Re: Pheasant Hunting in Webster
by verg on 11/01/2011 09:41 AM | Reply #5 | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |
verg
Joined: 06/13/2011
Location: sd
I live in Webster..and if I were you I go further west-seriously.  We have very few birds this year.  I hunt waterfowl pretty hard and have put on over 3,000 miles just in the county hunting/scouting for waterfowl and have seen about 25 pheasants total.  Used to see that many a night on the roads.  Public land gets hammered here by out of staters-so that combined with very few birds equals not much success.   In talking to buddies who have been hunting, most have been struggling.  A couple have done ok but  we all hunt private.  Not saying you won't shoot any birds but I guarantee you will have to work very very hard to find a just a few.
Good luck!
Re: Pheasant Hunting in Webster
by sdwxman on 11/01/2011 10:53 AM | Reply #6 | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |
sdwxman
Joined: 04/06/2007
Location: SD
 I would not waste my time hunting pheasants in the Webster area this year. 

Go west! Mobridge to Pierre area. 

Re: Pheasant Hunting in Webster
by BleacherBum on 11/01/2011 11:04 AM | Reply #7 | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |
BleacherBum
Joined: 10/31/2011
Location: IL
I greatly appreciate everybodys input.  The bad news is we are already locked into our reservations in webster.  Plan was to try and hunt some of the public land and road hunt in the afternoons.  How far west/south will we need to go to see better numbers.  We do not have any waterfoul permits so that is going to limit us to pheasants only.  Probabaly going to try and focus more of our hunting on smaller public lots with some denser cover.  Does anybody have any luck knocking on farmers doors and getting permision with out paying?
Re: Pheasant Hunting in Webster
by sdhusker on 11/01/2011 11:46 AM | Reply #8 | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |
sdhusker
Joined: 05/29/2009
Location: SD

Groton is 30 miles west of Webster; Aberdeen is 50 miles west of Webster; and Ipswhich is 75 miles west of Webster.  Groton area would be marginally better, Aberdeen would be a little better than Groton, and Ipswich area would be better yet.  If you get west of Ipswich, it's better yet.  

I used to see a lot of birds along Highway 20 between Watertown and Conde.  I haven't traveled that lately, so I'm not sure how that area is, but Highway 20 is about 20 miles south of Webster.   
Re: Pheasant Hunting in Webster
by sdhusker on 11/01/2011 11:49 AM | Reply #9 | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |
sdhusker
Joined: 05/29/2009
Location: SD
The other thing I would mention is that hunting heavy cover without dogs could be really tough.  You about have to step on them to get them to flush. I had a pointing lab in front of me for a while Saturday morning.  In one CRP field, he pointed 3-4 birds that were within 4' of me that would never have gotten up without that dog pointing them out. 
Re: Pheasant Hunting in Webster
by BleacherBum on 11/01/2011 12:16 PM | Reply #10 | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |
BleacherBum
Joined: 10/31/2011
Location: IL
Thanks again everybody for all of the tips and info.  it is greatly appreciated.  We are bringing 2 guys who are new to bird huntinig so even seeing some pheasants will be better than what we haver here in illinois.  Tried to describe the rush that one gets when a bird jumps up right in front of you but no way to describe it to them. 
On a side note does anybody know of any places in or near Webster to do some target practiece such as a pistol range?
Re: Pheasant Hunting in Webster
by verg on 11/01/2011 12:51 PM | Reply #11 | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |
verg
Joined: 06/13/2011
Location: sd
husker said it best...as I did earlier...GO WEST.  If you have a couple newbies-they're going to be disappointed here in Webster area.  I seriously mean it when I say-no birds.  Our numbers have drastically dropped and we literally have few birds.  You will also be walking public areas that have been drilled for the past month by guys just like yourself.  No ranges around here either.  Conde area will be pretty decent for road hunting which is 40 or so miles southwest of here.  Good luck-I hope you enjoy yourself but don't be too optimistic about your harvest.
Re: Pheasant Hunting in Webster
by sdhunt&fish on 11/01/2011 10:01 PM | Reply #12 | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |
sdhunt&fish
Joined: 11/01/2011
Location: sd

the message is the same,, pheasant hunting will be tough going in the Webster area. After walking 4-5 miles on public land and maybe see a rooster or 2, it will get discouraging.  Public land further west (Ipswich area) will be some better, so you might want to consider that. 
Also, there is a public rifle range south of Aberdeen on Hwy 281 which is open Saturday and Sunday afternoons (there is a small fee). You should be able to practice shoot handguns there.
12 Replies | Page 1 of 11 | Top of Page | Bottom of Page
Posted By: BleacherBum
Posted On: 10/31/2011 12:47 PM
498 Views, 12 Comments

Tags: webster, hunting, pheasant, hunt, land, chicago, 11th, november, plan, party
More Tags: Chicago, Iowa, Environment
Region: South Dakota

Categories: Hunting > Pheasant Hunting
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