Back in 1960 when I first came to South Dakota, road hunting for pheasants was a very popular activity. It amounted to driving country roads, spotting a rooster in the ditch or the first few corn rows, getting out of the car and flushing the bird, and then taking the shot. The driver watched his side, the passenger his respectively. At first it was very frustrating for me as I was looking for whole roosters. When one of the guys spotted a bird, I would look and look and see nothing. Eventually I learned how to spot a ringnecked head, a tail feather, or even an eye.

For the past two or three years, my pheasant hunting has amounted to an opening weekend hunt with a close farmer friend and his guests, a large group hunt with Mitchell area friends, a local preserve hunt hosted by the son of a late friend, a large group hunt with former students, and a hunt with my son-in-law and grandson from Wisconsin. As my walking is seriously hampered by peripheral neuropathy, I had become a very happy blocker.

With Corona Virus putting these last three hunts on hold, it became readily apparent that if I was going to pheasant hunt, I’d have to do it by myself. As much as I was outspoken about the lengthening of the season by Game, Fish, & Parks, a full January of pheasant hunting might prove to be a blessing in disguise…..especially with the warm December’s ice making ice fishing a dangerous proposition.

This got me to thinking about a 40 acre field of CRP that was once full of pheasants. I obtained permission to tramp through it although without a dog I knew my chances were slim. At this same time I dreaded trying to walk it with my crippled legs, but anything was better than watching old TV shows.

I grabbed my new shotgun, a Franchi 20 gauge over & under, and headed for the CRP. I labored through the quarter mile of twisted cover, fell a few times, and then trudged the quarter mile back to my pickup through the same stuff. Not a bird! Not even a hen or an old roosting place with pheasant droppings! I was exhausted and deeply disappointed. Now, back behind the wheel, even though I hadn’t road-hunted in fifty years, I decided to road hunt my way home.

A mile later I saw the miracle of miracles! In my driver’s side ditch a rooster stuck his head up! I drove to the end of the mile, turned around, and passed where the rooster had been. I then turned around again and slowly approached where the rooster had been. I stopped, climbed out of the pickup, and stepped into the ditch. Two cackling roosters erupted! Miraculously I dropped both of them! I should have reloaded right then and there, for when I went to retrieve the birds, two more roosters got up. I could have had my four bird limit, but I was thankful for what I already had.

I’m telling you this because it is something you can do right now. Call a friend and take to the backroads. If you never see a bird you still have stimulating conversation, but chances are you will see a bird – especially if you go later in the day.

I do have a pheasant hunt goal for the remainder of the season. I want to bag a bird or two with my recently acquired antique double barrel 16 ga. shotgun. With components from Mitchell’s Precision Reloading, I was able to reload some black powder loads of 1-1/8 ounces of shot over 75 grains of FFG powder using a quarter inch over the powder wad.

Last September, the bankrupt Remington Arms Corporation was sold off in seven different lots for $155 million. Ruger acquired Marlin, which had previously been purchased by Remington, for $30.1 million. I personally see this as a step in the right direction. Marlin firearms will be manufactured at Ruger’s Prescott, AZ facility.

In spite of having Black Hills elk tags, my partner and I decided to forego a return trip to the Hills because of the surging Corona Virus. It was a difficult decision as we had 17 preference points invested in the tags. Making matters worse, our private land host was seeing numerous elk on the property and adjacent areas.

See you next week.