Plan on heading out west ( west of PA ) SD, ND, KS, etc. Looking for a nice place to to get my feet wet on Prairie upland hunting. I’m not picky on any certain species. I’ve only hunted pheasant thanks to the state game land stocking program of PA and little bit of grouse. I now hunt with a close-ish ranging pointer ( braque d’Auvergne ).
Any and I mean ANY advice would be greatly appreciate.
dave
Thanks for the feed back. Wish you all the luck on the next one.
Dave, Only hunted 2 days in the eastern hills of Nebraska. Birds were scarce. Only moved 5 in five hrs. on Tue. but did shoot three. Hunted another 5 hrs. Wed. without seeing a bird. Can't recommend hunting east of the 3 Fed. areas south of Valentine. I'll be in one of the Dakotas 22nd and swing back through central NE on my way home.
Welcome to My Dog Hunts Dave! I see that Pheasants Forever released a prairie grouse "survey" recently. It's not a real survey, they just guess based on past weather events. A hunter never really knows until he walks the ground himself or talks to those who have. However, it seems that Nebraska and the Dakotas will be average to slightly better this year. Average for me is seeing 25 to 50 birds a day hunting with flushers. Contrary to what a lot of hunters repeat, I find that you can still have good prairie grouse hunting into November as long as it doesn't get too cold or snowy. Nebraska is known for a later, milder winter than North Dakota.
There are a lot of variables for what, when and where. Prairie grouse seasons will be open by mid-September about everywhere. Pheasant/quail seasons don't open till late October or November across the prairie states. It sounds like grouse/phez/Huns will be better than the recent past in North Dakota. It's difficult to speak in 10 year terms as CRP habitat has been greatly reduced. But hunter numbers have also reduced so you should be able to still find public land birds.
As for South Dakota, most guys will tell you to not expect great hunting your first couple of trips. It can take a lot of driving to locate good bird numbers with less hunter pressure. I avoid the most popular areas and manage to find great hunting on public and private. West central to northwest SD usually has good hunting and little pressure. I've never had a landowner in that area request a fee. It's a longer drive, but I'd rather drive further to start and hunt close, than drive 200 miles a day trying to avoid hunters once I get there.
Nebraska: Stay away from the southwest and you'll avoid most of the bird hunters. I hunt the northeast quarter and central part of the state and do well.
Kansas has received a lot of attention the past few years so I've avoided the state.
I'll be in Nebraska on and off the first few weeks of September hunting grouse and checking on pheasant and quail numbers. Then late September and October in North Dakota for Huns and phez. I'll PM you after each trip to give you an update.
If you arrived here through the My Dog Hunts Podcast you've probably already heard most of my advice. If not, check it out. I've flagged your membership so if you make it out west and shoot new species, post it here and I'll send you free Story Bands to commemorate your trip!
If you fill out the form for Podcast Giveaway, I'll send you a free pair of Story Bands for any species of bird you've currently taken in PA.
MDH doesn't have an established forum so this is likely the only reply you'll get. If you aren't aware of The Upland Journal Forum take a look there. Lots of hunters and good advice once you learn how to sort.
You won't regret a trip out west!