Thanksgiving Weekend Bird Hunt?

[Birdbander]

I'm thinking of taking a Thanksgiving weekend bird hunting trip, weather permitting, with my two Llewellins.

I want to limit the drive to 12 hours from Grand Rapids, MI.

My options seem to be southeast SD, eastern NE, Iowa, or southwest MN for pheasant. If there are other places they're not coming to mind. Never hunted any of those places and have only limited experience hunting pheasant.

I'd be hunting only public ground wherever I went and finding a motel.

What say you?

 

[smw110136]

Eastern NE is pretty densely populated and there will be a lot of competition for public that specific weekend. That being said, don’t overlook Waterfowl Production Areas, just make sure you have “nontoxic” shot available to you. Especially if it’s cold, there’s a lot of good WPAs serving as thick thermal cover. I would bet in college we killed more pheasants and quail out of cattails than grass.

 

[Salmonchaser]

Presho South Dakota is 12 hrs 52 minutes according to google. Several cheap hotels in town, most post signs asking you don’t let the dog sleep on the bed. food fit to share with your dog and hunting good enough we traveled from Oregon for a number of years. My shorthairs turn 15 this year so we wont be going. We hunted National grasslands north of town and did ok knocking on doors for permission.

 

[Birdbander]

@smw110136 , I never considered the population density of eastern NE. I appreciate that input for consideration. I do only shot non-toxic so good there. Good tips about cover types, thank you.

@Salmonchaser much appreciated. Just a little further than I can manage driving in a day. Love on them senior dogs

 

[NoWiser]

It’s not SD by any means, but you’ll find birds in Minnesota. I don’t recall ever seeing this many in my lifetime and I’m in the south metro “poor” area.