As you drive around the country this past weekend, you couldn't miss all the orange caps, vests and jackets. Pheasant Season Opening day of the 2019 pheasant hunting season in South Dakota was Saturday, October 19. The season then lasts through Sunday, January 5, 2020. Shooting hours are 12 noon (Central Time) to sunset for the first seven days of the season, and then 10 a.m. (Central Time) to sunset for the rest of the season.