Pheasant
What is South Dakota known for? Pheasants and Mount Rushmore of course! Without a doubt, South Dakota is the pheasant hunting capitol of the world. Pheasants and pheasant hunting are solidly engrained in South Dakota culture for good reason. First successfully introduced in 1908, this game bird native to China thrives in South Dakota’s diverse landscape of grasslands, croplands, wetlands and shelterbelts. Since 1919, the tradition of pheasant hunting has brought friends and families together in holiday-like fashion. Every year opening weekend brings unprecedented enthusiasm, excitement, and activity to cities and rural communities across the state.
Traditional Pheasant Season
Daily Limit:
3 rooster pheasantsPossession Limit:
15 rooster pheasants, taken according to the daily limit. The limit accrues at the rate of 3 birds a day, and 15 birds may not be possessed until after the fifth day of hunting.Open Area:
All of South Dakota except the following: Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Brown County, Renziehausen Game Production Area and Game Bird Refuge in Brown and Marshall Counties, Gerken Game Bird Refuge in Faulk County and White Lake Game Bird Refuge in Marshall County are open Dec. 11, 2017 - Jan. 7, 2018.Shooting Hours:
Noon Central Time for the first 7 days of the season; 10 a.m. Central Time, to sunset the rest of the season. Central Time is used for opening shooting hours statewide.License Requirements:
Residents: Small Game License, any Combination License, Youth Small Game License or 1-Day Small Game License Nonresidents: Nonresident Small Game License or Nonresident Youth Small Game License (each valid for two 5-day hunting periods; start dates must be identified before license issued).Youth Only
Before the opening of regular pheasant seasons, resident and nonresident youth have an extended weekend to themselves for pheasant hunting. This is an opportunity for adults to take young people out to first-hand experience the joy of hunting as well as the responsibility. For safety, it is advisable that everyone wear at least one exterior garment of fluorescent orange. Youth must be accompanied by an unarmed adult while hunting.
Junior Combination License: Youth age 16-17
Nonresident Small Game Licenses Age 16 and above
Daily Limit:
3 rooster pheasantsPossession Limit:
15 rooster pheasants taken according to the daily limitOpen Area:
Statewide on private and public land. All public road rights-of-way are closed to pheasant hunting during this season, except for the one-half of the road right-of-way next to and part of public hunting lands.Shooting Hours:
10 a.m. Central Time to sunset.Eligibility:
Resident and nonresident youth age 12 (or turn 12 by December 31 of current year) through 17 and possess a valid hunter safety certificate and small game license. Resident youth ages 10-15 who are participating in the Mentored Hunt program may hunt during the Youth Pheasant season.License Requirements:
Residents must purchase and carry one of the following:
Youth Small Game Licenses: Youth age 12 (or turn 12 by December 31 of current year) through 15. Must have their hunter safety certificate with them and be accompanied by a parent or guardian.Junior Combination License: Youth age 16-17
NonResidents must purchase and carry one of the following:
Nonresident Youth Small Game Licenses: Youth age 12 (or turn 12 by December 31 of current year) through 15. This license is valid for two 5-day hunting periods. Five days may be used for this season and an additional five days must be identified for the regular season. Nonresident must have their hunter safety certificate or a valid hunting license in their name from any state when purchasing the license. Nonresident youth may purchase additional licenses for additional hunts during the regular season.Nonresident Small Game Licenses Age 16 and above
Resident Only
Daily Limit:
3 rooster pheasantsPossession Limit:
9 rooster pheasants, taken according to the daily limit. Limit accrues at the rate of 3 birds a day; 9 birds may not be possessed until after the 3rd day of hunting.Open Area:
Public lands, statewide, which include the following: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Waterfowl Production Areas, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers land adjacent to the Missouri River. U.S. Forest Service National Grasslands. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation land. State School and Public Lands. State parks, recreation areas, and lakeside use areas. GFP managed or leased property otherwise open to public hunting, including Game Production Areas open during the regular pheasant season. GFP managed and leased property designated as Walk-in Areas and land enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP).
Hunting on public road rights of way is limited to those contiguous to and a part of public hunting lands open for hunting.
Shooting Hours:
Noon Central Time to sunset.License Requirements:
Small Game, Combination, Junior Combination, Youth Small Game or 1-Day Small Game2017 Pheasant Outlook
Pheasants Per Mile (PPM) |
Change From |
||||
Local Area |
2017 Survey |
2016 Survey |
10 yr. ave. |
2016 Survey |
10 yr. ave. |
| Chamberlain |
4.05
|
7.01
|
11.68
|
-42%
|
-65%
|
| Winner |
2.52
|
4.88
|
6.94
|
-48%
|
-64%
|
| Pierre |
3.13
|
6.48
|
8.90
|
-52%
|
-65%
|
| Mobridge |
2.10
|
5.01
|
6.75
|
-58%
|
-69%
|
| Aberdeen |
1.02
|
1.89
|
4.63
|
-46%
|
-78%
|
| Huron |
1.85
|
3.10
|
5.51
|
-40%
|
-66%
|
| Mitchell |
2.52
|
3.78
|
4.92
|
-32%
|
-48%
|
| Yankton |
0.83
|
1.39
|
1.44
|
-40%
|
-42%
|
| Sioux Falls |
0.80
|
1.51
|
1.74
|
-47%
|
-54%
|
| Brookings |
0.80
|
1.63
|
2.50
|
-51%
|
-68%
|
| Watertown |
0.81
|
1.78
|
3.11
|
-54%
|
-74%
|
| Sisseton |
0.40
|
1.22
|
1.55
|
-67%
|
-74%
|
| Western SD |
1.37
|
2.43
|
2.56
|
-44%
|
-47%
|
| STATEWIDE |
1.68
|
3.05
|
4.82
|
-45%
|
-65%
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2016 Pheasant Economics
2016 |
Millions of dollars spent by |
Numbers of Hunters |
Pheasants Harvested |
|||||
County |
Resident |
Nonresident |
Total Spent |
Resident |
Nonresident |
Total |
Resident |
Nonresident |
| Brown | $4.3 | $10.1 | $14.3 | 2,980 | 5,234 | 61,752 | 21,799 | 39,953 |
| Tripp | $2.6 | $10.9 | $13.5 | 1,834 | 5,676 | 67,925 | 15,048 | 52,877 |
| Brule | $2.8 | $9.9 | $12.8 | 1,980 | 5,166 | 69,585 | 22,165 | 47,420 |
| Lyman | $2.6 | $9.4 | $12.0 | 1,834 | 4,877 | 64,606 | 17,997 | 46,609 |
| Spink | $2.6 | $7.4 | $10.0 | 1,834 | 3,840 | 45,451 | 14,316 | 31,135 |
| Beadle | $3.2 | $6.6 | $9.9 | 2,251 | 3,450 | 51,273 | 22,369 | 28,905 |
| Aurora | $3.1 | $5.7 | $8.8 | 2,167 | 2,974 | 43,021 | 16,532 | 26,489 |
| Davison | $1.6 | $6.2 | $7.8 | 1,125 | 3,212 | 34,169 | 11,042 | 23,127 |
| Hughes | $2.6 | $5.1 | $7.8 | 1,834 | 2,668 | 41,378 | 20,396 | 20,982 |
| Gregory | $1.3 | $6.4 | $7.8 | 917 | 3,348 | 37,272 | 5,918 | 31,354 |
| Hand | $2.2 | $5.2 | $7.4 | 1,542 | 2,702 | 36,422 | 10,778 | 25,644 |
| Charles Mix | $2.6 | $4.6 | $7.3 | 1,834 | 2,413 | 37,730 | 16,410 | 21,320 |
| Faulk | $1.7 | $5.3 | $7.0 | 1,188 | 2,770 | 39,726 | 10,839 | 28,888 |
| Edmunds | $1.9 | $5.0 | $6.8 | 1,292 | 2,583 | 32,988 | 10,351 | 22,637 |
| Perkins | $1.6 | $4.0 | $5.6 | 1,104 | 2,107 | 28,491 | 9,435 | 19,056 |
| Walworth | $1.3 | $4.1 | $5.4 | 875 | 2,158 | 24,544 | 6,873 | 17,671 |
| Sully | $2.3 | $2.8 | $5.1 | 1,605 | 1,461 | 33,267 | 18,586 | 14,680 |
| Clark | $1.8 | $3.3 | $5.0 | 1,230 | 1,699 | 21,446 | 9,232 | 12,214 |
| Miner | $2.2 | $2.7 | $4.9 | 1,500 | 1,410 | 22,577 | 9,924 | 12,653 |
| Roberts | $2.1 | $2.6 | $4.7 | 1,480 | 1,342 | 25,557 | 14,255 | 11,302 |
| McPherson | $0.9 | $3.7 | $4.6 | 625 | 1,937 | 18,816 | 3,172 | 15,643 |
| Hutchinson | $1.6 | $2.1 | $3.7 | 1,125 | 1,071 | 14,834 | 6,995 | 7,839 |
| Brookings | $2.3 | $1.3 | $3.6 | 1,584 | 697 | 13,364 | 9,090 | 4,274 |
| Codington | $2.0 | $1.6 | $3.6 | 1,417 | 816 | 13,348 | 8,297 | 5,051 |
| Kingsbury | $1.9 | $1.6 | $3.5 | 1,334 | 833 | 14,933 | 8,480 | 6,453 |
| McCook | $2.7 | $0.6 | $3.2 | 1,855 | 289 | 17,589 | 14,987 | 2,602 |
| Dewey | $0.7 | $2.4 | $3.0 | 479 | 1,223 | 14,762 | 4,677 | 10,085 |
| Campbell | $0.8 | $2.2 | $3.0 | 542 | 1,156 | 15,834 | 2,725 | 13,109 |
| Jerauld | $1.2 | $1.8 | $3.0 | 813 | 952 | 15,319 | 6,670 | 8,649 |
| Stanley | $1.3 | $1.5 | $2.9 | 917 | 799 | 14,600 | 8,012 | 6,588 |
| Pennington | $1.6 | $1.2 | $2.8 | 1,125 | 629 | 16,998 | 10,696 | 6,301 |
| Minnehaha | $2.1 | $0.8 | $2.8 | 1,438 | 391 | 8,759 | 6,040 | 2,720 |
| Jones | $0.6 | $2.0 | $2.6 | 438 | 1,037 | 13,060 | 4,901 | 8,160 |
| Day | $1.0 | $1.6 | $2.6 | 709 | 816 | 7,804 | 3,986 | 3,818 |
| Lake | $1.9 | $0.6 | $2.5 | 1,313 | 323 | 8,753 | 7,402 | 1,351 |
| Hanson | $1.5 | $1.0 | $2.4 | 1,021 | 510 | 12,771 | 8,683 | 4,088 |
| Hamlin | $1.6 | $0.7 | $2.3 | 1,125 | 374 | 10,086 | 7,890 | 2,196 |
| Douglas | $1.0 | $1.3 | $2.3 | 688 | 697 | 10,765 | 4,616 | 6,149 |
| Yankton | $1.3 | $0.7 | $2.0 | 917 | 357 | 7,636 | 5,490 | 2,145 |
| Hyde | $0.6 | $1.3 | $2.0 | 438 | 697 | 9,813 | 3,681 | 6,132 |
| Bennett | $1.0 | $0.9 | $1.9 | 667 | 493 | 7,691 | 3,620 | 4,071 |
| Marshall | $0.7 | $1.0 | $1.7 | 458 | 544 | 5,599 | 2,237 | 3,362 |
| Turner | $1.2 | $0.3 | $1.6 | 854 | 170 | 7,864 | 6,141 | 1,723 |
| Potter | $0.9 | $0.7 | $1.5 | 604 | 340 | 4,130 | 2,542 | 1,588 |
| Lincoln | $1.3 | $0.2 | $1.5 | 938 | 85 | 5,760 | 5,389 | 372 |
| Bon Homme | $0.9 | $0.6 | $1.5 | 646 | 289 | 5,879 | 3,396 | 2,483 |
| Moody | $1.0 | $0.3 | $1.3 | 709 | 153 | 5,619 | 4,555 | 1,064 |
| Corson | $0.5 | $0.7 | $1.2 | 333 | 374 | 5,199 | 1,973 | 3,227 |
| Deuel | $0.8 | $0.3 | $1.1 | 542 | 170 | 4,019 | 2,684 | 1,335 |
| Haakon | $0.7 | $0.4 | $1.0 | 479 | 187 | 5,675 | 4,087 | 1,588 |
| Buffalo | $0.5 | $0.5 | $1.0 | 354 | 272 | 5,413 | 3,233 | 2,179 |
| Grant | $0.6 | $0.2 | $0.9 | 438 | 119 | 5,081 | 4,169 | 912 |
| Clay | $0.6 | $0.3 | $0.8 | 396 | 136 | 3,187 | 2,461 | 726 |
| Union | $0.7 | $0.1 | $0.7 | 458 | 34 | 3,199 | 3,030 | 169 |
| Harding | $0.3 | $0.4 | $0.7 | 229 | 204 | 3,030 | 935 | 2,095 |
| Fall River | $0.6 | $0.1 | $0.6 | 396 | 34 | 1,287 | 1,118 | 169 |
| Ziebach | $0.2 | $0.3 | $0.5 | 167 | 153 | 2,510 | 956 | 1,554 |
| Meade | $0.4 | $0.2 | $0.5 | 250 | 85 | 2,489 | 1,728 | 760 |
| Oglala Lakota | $0.2 | $0.3 | $0.5 | 146 | 153 | 1,800 | 854 | 946 |
| Mellette | $0.1 | $0.4 | $0.5 | 83 | 187 | 2,252 | 427 | 1,824 |
| Jackson | $0.0 | $0.2 | $0.2 | 21 | 85 | 934 | 427 | 507 |
| Sanborn | $0.1 | $0.1 | $0.2 | 42 | 68 | 439 | - | 439 |
| Todd | $0.1 | $0.1 | $0.2 | 42 | 68 | 1,035 | 325 | 710 |
| Custer | $0.1 | $0.1 | $0.2 | 63 | 51 | 443 | 20 | 422 |
| Butte | $0.1 | $0.0 | $0.1 | 104 | - | 1,037 | 1,037 | - |
| Lawrence | $0.0 | $0.0 | $0.0 | 21 | - | - | - | - |
| Total | $88.8 | $156.0 | $244.7 | 61,746 | 81,141 | 1,170,596 | 478,099 | 692,497 |
*Rounded to the nearest $100,000