Where to hunt pheasants in South Dakota: Part 3

South Dakota is a big and diverse state, and pheasant country over here isn’t the same as pheasant country over there.

Everybody knows South Dakota is the Pheasant Capital of the World. But South Dakota is a big state, and the ability to chase wild roosters in a wide variety of landscapes and habitats is also why South Dakota remains the world’s premier pheasant hunting destination. In short, it's like four states in one. 

With that in mind, here’s a rundown from east to west of South Dakota's primary pheasant regions and the opportunities you can find in each.

Part 3: The Missouri River Corridor

The counties along the Missouri River corridor make up an area that can be seen as a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to pheasant hunting. You can find everything from crop-edge hunting to the wide-open rolling terrain of the Missouri Coteau all the way to rugged, river-break country.

If you’ve never seen the sweeping vistas of central South Dakota, they can be hard to explain. However, the sheer size of the landscape is an important aspect to bear in mind because it presents a completely different hunting dynamic than smaller-scale opportunities found further east in South Dakota. For example, it’s not uncommon for a row-crop field to cover an entire section — that’s a square mile, or 640 acres, of nothing but corn or wheat or alfalfa.

More commonly found, however, is pasture or range land. With that, pheasant numbers might drop off a bit the further you get away from row-crop production, but there’s a reason why Missouri River towns such as Mobridge, Akaska, Gettysburg, Pierre and Chamberlain attract thousands of hunters each year. 

For a unique public-land experience, hunters could try the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ground that lines the Missouri River’s reservoir system. Approaching the Corps ground and other public hunting areas along the reservoirs’ shorelines by boat can throw a curveball at unsuspecting roosters that are more accustomed to hunting pressure coming from the opposite direction.

Back up on the high ground outside of the river breaks, quality public hunting opportunities can also be found on the state’s School and Public Lands. These are an underutilized public resource. However, they’re often heavily grazed, so do your homework to find some with adequate cover. While you’re scouting for those, be on the lookout for Walk-In Areas that have infrastructure for water tanks and cattle. You can only carry so much water with you on miles-long walks in cattle country, so find a spot where you can hunt your way to a water tank that’s a couple miles out and then work the landscape.

Also, don’t forget the 116,000 acres of public opportunity found on the Fort Pierre National Grassland. While this area is renowned for its sharp-tailed grouse hunting, areas of habitat adjacent to croplands that are interspersed throughout the native grassland can hold solid numbers of pheasants. 

The Fort Pierre National Grassland is a popular destination that offers hunters a mixed-bag opportunity, as prairie grouse and pheasants both call the grassland home.