South Dakota Is Losing Its Hometown Pheasant Hunters. Meanwhile, the Nonresident Business Is Booming

[Nick87]

I take the ferry to work and land in the area between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. It's all high end duck clubs in the area. $100,000 entry fee plus yearly dues. They all have built dams around there fields and pump them full from the Mississippi. I have a good buddy that's ate up with duck hunting. He has pretty much stopped hunting locally and goes to Saskatchewan for 3 weeks every year but even that is getting overrun with outfitters from the united states.

Thats pretty much how I feel and do with most of my hunting now. Bith deer and birds. Which is why other states are seeing a influx of NR pressure. Domino effect.

 

[Gellar]

It seems there’s no in between when it comes to non residents. You either go full send and throw your residents out with the bath water or you only allow enough NR’s to supplement your general fund but not fist your residents out of their local opportunities.

 

[Gellar]

I take the ferry to work and land in the area between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. It's all high end duck clubs in the area. $100,000 entry fee plus yearly dues. They all have built dams around there fields and pump them full from the Mississippi. I have a good buddy that's ate up with duck hunting. He has pretty much stopped hunting locally and goes to Saskatchewan for 3 weeks every year but even that is getting overrun with outfitters from the united states.

Early 2000s is when the big duck clubs started around pleasant hill and the Calhoun bottoms. It started with locals getting pushed off there own family farms deer hunting when the state took away the cap on nonresident deer licenses. Outfitters started moving in hard and so did the nonresidents. The locals moved to duck hunting. At first you could get permission, then maybe $1000 for a duck hole. then money and greed took over.

 

[huntin24/7]

I take the ferry to work and land in the area between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. It's all high end duck clubs in the area. $100,000 entry fee plus yearly dues. They all have built dams around there fields and pump them full from the Mississippi. I have a good buddy that's ate up with duck hunting. He has pretty much stopped hunting locally and goes to Saskatchewan for 3 weeks every year but even that is getting overrun with outfitters from the united states.

I think I threw up in my mouth reading that. I love waterfowl hunting, but the guides/outfitters and “big shot” waterfoulers” might be the most cringe gross people in hunting.

 

[Gellar]

I think I threw up in my mouth reading that. I love waterfowl hunting, but the guides/outfitters and “big shot” waterfoulers” might be the most cringe gross people in hunting.

So…you are saying, you don’t bite the head off of your duck for the ‘gram and have barrel stickers on your shotgun?

 

[warmer]

I wonder if you could eliminate some of these issues with only allowing non residents two total weeks of upland or waterfowl hunting every season with no benefits to bring a nonresident landowner. Pretty sad what’s becoming of many states in regard to hunting.

Suggest that in SD and you'd probably end up "swimming with the fishes".

 

[huntin24/7]

Suggest that in SD and you'd probably end up "swimming with the fishes".

Haha! That’s probably true in most states anymore. In a perfect world, I’d like to see a time before I die where there’s no benefit to being a non resident landowner from a hunting perspective. Not gonna happen, but a guy can dream.

 

[Gellar]

Interesting article from Outdoor Life on SD's upland program. The number of NR hunters is staggering.

South Dakota Is Losing Its Hometown Pheasant Hunters. Meanwhile, the Nonresident Business Is Booming

Nonresident pheasant hunting remains a booming business in South Dakota. Locals, meanwhile, worry their own tradition and access if fading.

www.outdoorlife.com

Reading the article as I sit in my deer stand about 100 yards from the bank of the Mississippi River. Every now and then a volley of shots will ring out. Being it’s the 7th of November a fair number of those shots are probably from NR hunters looking to harvest a bull canvas back that this pool is famous for.

I think it’s almost comical they interviewed a real estate professional for this article. A few months back I was at a public meeting for the property tax levy. There was a large crowd of local people, angry there taxes had gone up again. Rightfully so. One of the final people to voice there concerns was a real estate agent saying the elderly could not afford to pay property taxes and first time home buyers couldn’t afford to buy a suitable house either for their growing families. The same real estate agent had a 900 sq foot, 2 bedroom house, 1 bath house listed down the street from our shop for $695,000. She didn’t talk about the school district or close proximity to hospitals or the quiet safe neighborhood in the listing. She highlighted the opportunities for hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation. She had no interest in selling that property or her other listings to locals. She wanted the NR who would look at that price and think they were getting a bargain.

 

[seeth07]

Last year my wife and i couldn't stomach the cost it takes for a nr to bird hunt in SD when we were there for a lope hunt. Next week we head back out there to the same area on a deer hunt. We will bring he shotguns but I highly doubt we will end up bird hunting. The cost to enjoy a walk with the dogs is just so rediculous. May do it anyways and just leave the guns in the truck.

Last post, last bullet point from this thread with my thoughts on that

Thread 'Early fall Dakota Fun'

Oct 15, 2025

Wife and I arrived in the Dakotas early this morning before light.

We have the only two NR tags for buck antelope in this unit.

The goldens would like to chase after some sharpies and pheasants. Maybe a duck morning as well.

Keep you posted.

• seeth07
• Replies: 19
• Forum: Live Hunts

• 

 

[Forkyfinder]

I’d like to see a time before I die where there’s no benefit to being a non resident landowner from a hunting perspective.

Better to push and try to get it done asap in every state every where. Seems it starts as "providing incentive" and eventually its "im entitled to this, but its not enough"

Worse - you can create a whole 501c3 with that intent, now you employ people whos job it is to advocate for more (for who hired them).

Even if some NR landowner is satisfied - none of the people making a great wage doing nothing at said org are going to want to quit the cushy tax dodging existence.

 

[El Jason]

The cost to enjoy a walk with the dogs is just so rediculous

Just me, but I don’t think $150 to hunt birds is all that out of line. I get it if you’re just hunting two days, but even then I don’t think it’s astronomical.

 

[Gellar]

Haha! That’s probably true in most states anymore. In a perfect world, I’d like to see a time before I die where there’s no benefit to being a non resident landowner from a hunting perspective. Not gonna happen, but a guy can dream.

Every year here in Iowa our reps try to give more benefits to nonresident landowners, it’s so bad that even nonresidents who dont own land are against it. They know that alllowing more NR will lengthen their wait from every 4 or 5 years to 6 or 7 or longer and when they can hunt now, they might be able to find a private spot but kisss that goodby with more NR landowners.

 

[Forkyfinder]

Every year here in Iowa our reps try to give more benefits to nonresident landowners, it’s so bad that even nonresidents who dont own land are against it. They know that alllowing more NR will lengthen their wait from every 4 or 5 years to 6 or 7 or longer and when they can hunt now, they might be able to find a private spot but kisss that goodby with more NR landowners.

@Gerald Martin

Why dont you run through some incentive mental gymnastics for everyone. Its worth it - even with no definitive trade off according to you.

Curious if that only applies to your ideas in MT or if you think R everywhere dont deserve priority.

 

[seeth07]

Just me, but I don’t think $150 to hunt birds is all that out of line. I get it if you’re just hunting two days, but even then I don’t think it’s astronomical.

It is certainly on the high end and north Dakota is probably the only state higher? Most places we are used to having to pay $50 to $100 so the sticker price of $150 to have a chance to shoot a couple grouse was hard to stomach.

 

[seeth07]

Ill add on to that. Around here, you can go to a bird club on pen pheasants for anywhere from 20 to 40 per bird. I get not the same experience but for a couple like us spending 300 could be 15 birds released and we get maybe 8 to 12 of them. These types of "hunts" used to be the rich man's easy way to "hunt". Same price now?

 

[Nick87]

It is certainly on the high end and north Dakota is probably the only state higher? Most places we are used to having to pay $50 to $100 so the sticker price of $150 to have a chance to shoot a couple grouse was hard to stomach.

The time and money involved in fuel, vehichles guns, dogs, ammo, boots and so on and $50 to $100 is where you draw the line on traveling to another state to hunt?

 

[Gellar]

It is certainly on the high end and north Dakota is probably the only state higher? Most places we are used to having to pay $50 to $100 so the sticker price of $150 to have a chance to shoot a couple grouse was hard to stomach.

Dude you hunt 5, 6, 7 or more states a year. Your yearly trips are most people’s once in a lifetime trip. Cry me a river.

 

[Wild Bill]

Dude you hunt 5, 6, 7 or more states a year. Your yearly trips are most people’s once in a lifetime trip. Cry me a river.

Two five day periods for $150 is chump change. And you can buy a second license if you want to tack on another 10 days. Three birds a day for 10 days comes to $5/bird if a guy really needs to put a price on it to justify it.

Not all that bad.

 

[El Jason]

It is certainly on the high end and north Dakota is probably the only state higher? Most places we are used to having to pay $50 to $100 so the sticker price of $150 to have a chance to shoot a couple grouse was hard to stomach.

I pay (happily) $150 in OR and $170 in ID.

 

[El Jason]

Ill add on to that. Around here, you can go to a bird club on pen pheasants for anywhere from 20 to 40 per bird. I get not the same experience but for a couple like us spending 300 could be 15 birds released and we get maybe 8 to 12 of them. These types of "hunts" used to be the rich man's easy way to "hunt". Same price now?

I’d jump off a bridge before I would pay to shoot pen raised pheasants as an alternative to hunting wild birds.