Pheasant-Hunting.com

Here is the breakdown of what to expect from a hunting experience under $400.

 

If you know some farmers or landowners, $100 will get you a chance to hunt their land (negotiable, it will be more the first weekend, less at year end), but this is not guided, and you must be on your best manners.  Plan on spending $200 for hotel, food, gas, and miscellaneous items.  You will also need a hunting license.

 

If you don't know any landowners, the best process is to get a guide who can negotiate the deals with the land owner, and go with you on your hunt.  A guide will provide you with an all inclusive package, and will probably have dogs as well.  A guide can usually set up all the services above for around $100 to $200 per day, per hunter, you will still need to get your licenses, and decide on your lodging. 

 

The advantage of the guide is he will know the going rates for different areas, and can negotiate a better price, (many times you get his services for free, compared to what you might negotiate on a cold call).

 

South Dakota’s small towns are full of lodging facilities that hunters have been using for generations. A lot of you guys will driving your own rigs and bringing your own dogs which usually means you are driving your rigs to the fields, after all, that’s why you drove this far.  If you are from a town in Alabama, like the Ziebach’s, Fell’s or the Poe’s, then this may be the choice for you. They have been staying in the same Motel for many years. This offers them a sense of stability so far away from home and accessibility to sleeping rooms. Tom Fell says that if it was good enough for his dad then it’s good enough for me. For them, staying in a small town has many benefits. Close to everything you need to make your hunting experience unforgettable. I do recommend that you hook up with a guiding service like they did with me. You will be able to gain greater access to more fields this way. The fields all start to look the same after awhile and being in the wrong field is not good. Most lodges will come with experienced guides and some with world class Labrador Retrievers.

 

I do recommend that you bring your dogs, like Doug Ziebach who brings back Susie and Kevin Poe with Shug, both South Dakota born and bred Yellow Labrador Retrievers that they acquired from www.bobuecker4labs.com. These dog owners did all the right things; they observed Bob’s female for two years while hunting with Bob before deciding to purchase a pup. They took their dogs to puppy training and retriever training and advanced field training by a professional handler.

 

Your dogs should hunt well with others dogs, but make sure that the batteries on your collars are fully charged anyway.

 

Elmo Ziebach and the crew of about 16 hunters prefer to go to the local supermarket and buy the sandwich making materials and goodies that they will need for the next day or two or three. Don’t forget to buy peanut butter, jelly, garbage bags and sanitary wipes. This also gives you the opportunity to bring any regional cuisine to cook in field or back at the motel parking lot.