a trip to `pheasant heaven` - Oklahoma Press Association

10B
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THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014
ED GODFREY’S
OUTDOORS
A TRIP TO ‘PHEASANT HEAVEN’
PHEASANT HUNTING IS BIG BUSINESS IN SOUTH DAKOTA AND ATTRACTS GROUPS FROM ALL OVER THE U.S.
BY HAL MCKNIGHT
For The Oklahoman
W
INNER, S.D.
— The
bright colors on the
rooster pheasant were
sparkling against a
bright blue sky. The bird
was gaining speed as it
passed directly overhead
at about 40 yards. Alas,
I was unable to catch up
to the target with my
over-and-under 12
gauge and the rooster
flew to the next county.
My 13-year-old black
Labrador retriever, William Wallace, gave me
one of his special looks.
It seemed to me that he
was saying, “It’s impossible for me to do my
retrieving job if you
cannot even get a shot
off. Please get your act
together.”
It was late November
and colder than usual
on my annual pheasant
hunt near Winner, S.D.,
just north of the Nebraska border. Temperatures were below
freezing but there was
little wind chill, which
made being in the outdoors a lot more tolerable.
Pheasant hunting is
big business in South
Dakota and attracts
people from all over the
country, including my
group of 10 hunting
buddies from Oklahoma, Texas, Alaska and
Minnesota.
We have met in South
Dakota every year during pheasant season for
the past 20 years to
chase the wild birds.
Our group is a small one
for pheasant hunting,
but it’s an experienced
group of hunters.
There were also two
Labradors and five
Brittneys among the
hunting party to find
and retrieve the birds,
and there are many
pheasant across the
Dakotas.
South Dakota’s
pheasant season opened
in mid-October and
runs through the first
few days of January.
According to the 2011
report of the National
Survey of Fishing,
Hunting and WildlifeAssociated Recreation,
there were 127,000 resident hunters and
144,000 non-resident
hunters in South Dakota, and 208,000 of
those resident and nonresident hunters were
there to chase pheasant.
There are a lot of
crops and a lot of cover
for pheasant in South
Dakota, and the state
promotes the hunting.
There are public lands
available for hunting,
but we were fortunate
enough to have access
to private land as one
member of our hunting
group was a good friend
of the land owner.
There are basically
two styles of pheasant
hunting dogs: pointing
or flushing. Will is a
Hal McKnight of Oklahoma City and Don Sitton,
Rockport, Texas, show off some of the pheasant
they bagged on a hunt in South Dakota, considered “pheasant heaven” by many bird hunters.
PHOTO PROVIDED
flushing dog who from
years of experience uses
his nose to locate the
bird. He then takes
great delight in pushing
the bird skyward. If his
partner’s aim is true,
Will gets to do his favorite thing, which is
retrieve.
The drought in the
Dakotas has greatly
decreased bird numbers
over the last several
years, yet, we were optimistic as we began our
hunt in a cut corn field.
The normal strategy
for hunting pheasant is
to divide the group into
walkers and blockers.
The walkers and their
dogs move in a line
from one end of the
field to the other, and
usually into the wind,
while the blockers wait
at the far end of the
field.
Because you have two
groups of hunters that
move within gun range
of one another, safety is
paramount and one
must be absolutely sure
of your shot line before
pulling the trigger. A
good rule to follow is to
see lots of sky below the
bird before firing.
Only roosters can be
legally harvested, and
the hardest bird to
identify is a pheasant
that flushes directly
away from you.
I was hoping for redemption after failing
on my first chance. We
were in the middle of
the cut corn field when
I noticed Will getting
very birdy. He was
working with his nose
on the ground when he
went all tippy toes adjacent to a huge tumbleweed.
Two huge roosters
exploded from the
dense cover. Both were
climbing vertically
about 20 feet and then
picked up speed as they
took off horizontally.
Luck was with me, and
I claimed a double. Will
retrieved both with a
special gleam in his eye.
I needed one more
rooster to complete my
daily limit of three.
Hunting was slow the
rest of the day but we
had one more final field
to walk before sunset.
The hunting field was
a dense cattail swamp
and Will and I were
both worn slick after
walking all day, but he
continued to run back
and forth about 20
yards in front of me.
Occasionally, he
would lose sight of me,
double back until he
scented my trail and
approach me from behind. He was doing
exactly that when he
flushed a ringneck 2 feet
behind me.
To say I was surprised
would be a gross understatement. As I turned I
whacked several cattails
that burst open so I
took a quick step sideways to avoid the debris
cloud. It was a long but
successful shot, and I
finally had my limit.
One of the closest
relationships in life is
between a hunter and
his dog. I am truly fortunate to have this bond
with Will.
I have never held
higher gratitude for this
connection than on our
recent hunting trip to
the rolling hills of South
Dakota.
Growing the shooting
sports, located at I-40
and Meridian. Visit
them online at
HHShootingSports.com.
OUTDOORS NOTEBOOK
Eagle watches
underway
Each winter, large numbers
of migrating eagles congregate
at Oklahoma’s lakes and rivers
to hunt fish and other prey.
Several organized public
eagle watches are held at
lakes, state parks and wildlife
refuges in the state during the
winter. January is normally the
month when the eagle population is at its peak in Oklahoma.
Prime locations in the Oklahoma City area for eagle viewing include Lake Thunderbird
State Park in Norman and
Arcadia Lake in Edmond.
At Thunderbird, organized
eagle watches are scheduled
Dec. 28, Jan. 11 and 25, Feb. 8
and 22 and March 8 and 15.
Call 321-4633 for more information.
At Arcadia Lake, eagle
watches are scheduled Jan. 2,
3 and 4. Call 216-7471 for more
information.
To see a complete list of
eagle watches scheduled at
various locations and dates
around the state, visit wildlifedepartment.com and click
on the link to the birds and
bats page.
DUCKS UNLIMITED
BANQUET SCHEDULED
IN CHANDLER
The Chandler Chapter of
Ducks Unlimited is holding its
fundraising event Jan. 10 at Bell
Cow Ranch Cabins in Chandler.
Doors open at 6 p.m. Ticket
prices are $45 for individuals,
$60 for couples and $20 for
ages 17 and younger. There will
be a dinner plus a raffle and
silent and live auctions for
various hunting products. Tickets can be bought at the door.
For more information, call Joe
Ready at 258-1526.
COMPILED BY ED GODFREY