Hunting South Dakota pheasants

Hunting South Dakota pheasants

Outdoors Columnist Think about a cool crisp fall afternoon, following flushing dogs and the excitement of a long tailed ring- necked pheasant flushing just in front of you with a lusty cackle! That’s the picture most of us have seen on the cover of Field & Stream, but have never had the opportunity to enjoy. Around home, we simply do not have wild pheasants. Pen raised pheasants can be hunted at hunting preserves, but they do not offer the excitement of wild birds.

Attorney Tyler Ginn, Dr. Keith Criner, Dr. J.W. Catt, all from Crittenden County, Dr. David Bailey from Jonesboro, and five other hunters joined up to hunt at Kimball, South Dakota. Kimball is a small town of a few hundred people with the larger town of Mitchell about 30 minutes away where the hunters stayed. Kimball did have a gas station and general store and a GREAT NUMBER of pheasants.

Nedved Guide Service, a farming operation growing corn, milo, and sorghum on massive two mile long fields, is the headquarters for the hunters. This is an old established guide service that provides lunch, ammo, and processes the birds for a cost of $350.00 per day.

There were three different groups of hunters and Tyler said they could barely hear another group shoot. They arrived for opening day that started at noon with the rest of the hunts beginning about 9 a.m. The hunters started out in a straight line with the labs and the group divided into drivers, wingers, and blockers. The blockers were at the end of the field and usually manned by older hunters that had trouble walking. The limit was three roosters per hunter per day and everybody limited each day. The pheasants were so plentiful that they only shot long tailed roosters and finished their limits in less than two hours. Several of these beautiful birds are being mounted at Lakeside Taxidermy.

When hunting was over for the day, they spent several hours at Cabalas and a local sporting goods store in Mitchell. They stayed at a Hampton Inn in Mitchell and it was about a 30 minute drive to the hunting grounds. There was not much to do in Kimball except pheasant hunt, which they did for three days.

On the way home to breakup the 18 hour drive, they stopped in at Springfield at the Bass Pro Shop Flag Ship. Tyler said you could put the Memphis Bass Pro in the Flag Ship and lose it. It was several times larger than the Memphis store with a large museum containing over 2000 guns, many rare and unique, and owned by famous people like Teddy Roosevelt and other presidents.

Ginn said the weather was in the 60s and overcast with a strong wind. It was cool enough for pleasant walking. When asked if he would go back, Tyler said he had marked his calendar for next year and that it was definitely worth the long trip and expense. If you have an interest in going, call Tyler Ginn at his law office, 870-739-1810.

In about two weeks, these same hunters, with the addition of Papa Duck, will go to Cherry Circle near Chandlerville, Ill., for our annual duck hunt with old friends. This will be the 28th trip for Dr. Keith, the 15th for Ginn, and 30 something for Papa Duck. We hunt and visit with old friends that really mean a lot to us. That first night we stay up way too late reliving hunts from the past. This really kicks off the hunting season for us.

Muzzle loader season is over and I did not hear about many deer being taken and did not get any pictures of that big buck. Send me some pictures and hunting stories and let all our readers share the good memories. If that young hunter or fisherman gets a trophy, please tell me about it. Everybody loves a good kid’s story.

The Presidential Election is drawing near. If you have guns for hunting, or recreation, and most important, home protection, think seriously about whom you support. One of the candidates is definitely against the 2nd Amendment. You need to vote!

When you get your trophy, send it to Lakeside Taxidermy for fast service and reasonable prices. Remember it is no longer legal to take deer into Tennessee without some serious processing. Keep Arkansas deer in Arkansas.

Papa Duck Lakeside Taxidermy 870-732-0455 or 901-4823430 jhcriner@hotmail.com

John Criner