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Last week we went to SD to go pheasant hunting with a friend.
Our host is Dennis. Back in 2003 we were talking at his FIL’s funeral, and he mentioned that I should come out and go hunting. I have hunted pheasants all my life.
I have known Dennis for 30+ years but he lives 8 hours away and we haven’t had much contact over the years. But we just click when we do get together.
So the next year we went out to his land in the Chamberlain area. We slept in tents and he stayed with his son in an old camper that he got for free. This was the building we used for hanging out and outdoor cooking. I took this picture in 09 so that trailer is now gone. The bathroom was an outhouse with a view of the stars.
At that time he mentioned his dream of building a lodge. I drew up some plans when I got home and we went out in 2005 to help him build it.
That was 4 days of 100+ temps with no shade in sight. My son Levi and I helped Dennis and a friend lay the floor, frame the walls, set the trusses and install the plywood. We laid tar paper on sunday afternoon and drove home. (4 hours)
This is the lodge in 2008.
The lodge, (his wife calls it Little House on the Prairie) stills about 3/4″ of a mile off the gravel road. It overlooks the White River.
On the back side of the lodge I took these pics.
I will post some more pics in the following days. Maybe even some pics of pheasants.
Rich
Replies
nice...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
IMERC
OK, back up. Now you know where and why we are going hunting. We have been going since 2004. One years it was too dry and there were no crops and several years one of us has not gone out there. I have been there hunting 3 times and working only once.
We left home at 4 AM so that we could get a good day of work in on the cabin. We arrived at the hunter shrine Cabelas in Mitchell at 6:40 AM. There were already about 40 people gathered outside for the 7 AM opening.
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The exposure is not good on this photo but you can see the big shotgun shell. Later in the day the place is like pregame around a stadium with vendor tents all around.
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We went for breakfast and came back about 7:15 and the place was like a mall after thanksgiving. I didn't take any pics of people because I felt ackward knowing I was going to post them later.
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The place was decked out in Orange.
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There were pheasants everywhere.
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Rich
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Then we drove another hour to Chamberlain. I always like the descent into the Missouri River Valley at Chamberlain. Too bad we had a garbage truck in our view.
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We got to the cabin at about 9 AM.
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That is the pile of sheetrock that we had to install. It has been there for about 3 years. Dennis had the place fairly cleaned up. Last year it was just a path around the sheetrock, with bags of insulation, boxes of screws, tools, hunting gear and all the things a guy needs when he gets away from the DW for a weekend.
Then we went to work sheetrocking the catherdal (4/12 scissor rafters, 2/12 on the ceiling side) and then then the walls.
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This is the only interior pic I have from last year.
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Rich
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This is the view out the kitchen window.
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Then cropped closer. Which I already posted.
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Looking straight east we could see a couple of deer. My point and click camera couldn't pick them up. Hence forth the camera thread.
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Showers moved in and out all day. It was fun to watch the showers move across the valley.
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During the afternoon the boys went out to shoot a prairie dog at a nearby town. They got one before they scurried into their holes.
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Tha't all for now.
Rich
Nice pictures Rich.
Dave
a treee a tree, I saw one tree in a picture, not a very tall tree but still a tree. Do yall have tree hugger up there, what they do on saturday night, run to the big city so they can hug a tree in a shopping center parking lot.
bb
You want trees?
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This is the lane to the farm. About 1/2 mile long all planted by Dennis's father.
Great are to hunt.
These are trees that Dennis planting to the east of the cabin. He has planted about 4 different windbreaks. These trees are about 8 years old.
The tall green plants in the background are sorghum that was planted as a wildlife planting. Left to stand all winter. This pic for 08.
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Rich
all imports....
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
"Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints"
IMERC
On the plains the only trees are man planted on on the river valleys. But I don't have to tell you that.
BB wanted sto see some trees.
Rich
i've been on the plains....
what got me thinking the most is I wundered what the settlers could have been thinking while they were headed west across all that...
'specially when the could see the mountiains right there in front of them for weeks on end and never seeming to get any closer to 'em...
next time yur out on the plains.. try it from horse back and do some really basic camping at the while...
one pack horse per three people...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
"Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints"
IMERC
OK enough Vapor Barrier talk.
How about some hunting pics.
Back at camp.
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We shot about 22 birds that 1st afternoon.
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Luke with his Lab and 3 birds.
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Luke and I with 6 birds.
The crew without Dennis, he is behind the camera.
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John, Levi, myself, Luke, don, and Dennis's son Evan.
Dennis replaces Don
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Rich
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So after cleaning the bird it's time to play.
The boys get out the 4 wheelers and go for a ride.
All
Sorry I hit post early.
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Don Challenges dennis to a pull off with fourwheelers.
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It was a draw but it was fun.
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I went out to the west side of the cabin to call DW and I shot these pics.
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As I look back at the camp several of the guys are riding 4 wheelers. Dennis had his bobcat out and he was moving the wood pile. He had seen a rattle snake the day before go under the pile. So Evan is watching the pile with his pistol waiting for a shot at the snake. LOL
The we shot trap. In this pic we had 2 throwers throwing at the same time.
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Then we had supper. A campfire. Listened to the coyotes and looked at the stars. Coming from a town with alot of light pollution the sky was beautiful. The Milky Way was at it's best.
After cleaning the birds someone suggested that we should take a pheasant on a stick and put it in the ditch out by the road.
Don jumped all over that one. As he left with this trick bird, John told us that " this is right up Don's alley. He has 75 cents GB welded to his sidewalk." LOL
Don was fun 65 years old going on 14.
Rich
All
I got to sleep early so I missed all the snoring. but in the morning I caught this pic.
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Don and Dennis stayed busy making bacon, sausage and eggs. I made coffee, english muffins and cleaned up the cabin. The kids slept in a little. The snoring must have keep them up late. What snoring?
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Then we went out after sharp tail grouse.
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We posted blockers and 2 guys to drive. Birds were in the wrong place and the blockers scared them up and they flew toward the drivers.
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2 sharp tails
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Sharptails on the left and prairie chickens on the right.
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Rich
other than insighting envy....
JWD...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
"Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints"
IMERC
JWD ??? Means what?
job well done..
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
"Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints"
Great story and pics. I don't normally browse through this section but I saw "pheasants"
About 2o years ago the wife and I were travelling around central England. We happened to stop for some reason outside a small village when a Land Rover pulled up and a man got out wearing a cap, green jacket and rubber boots. (very typical farmer clothes). He also pulled out a shotgun. After a small conversation with us he explained that he and a bunch of others were going pheasant hunting and that he had been pheasant hunting the day before also.
I asked him how many pheasants they shot the day before and he said something around 150!!!! Thinking I must have misunderstood the answer I asked again and got the same answer and he wasn't kidding.
Living in Canada I have seen lots of wild animals and plenty of pheasants but I have to admit that I have never seen so many wild animals, including soooooo many wild pheasants as I have in England. Strange but true.
Whenever I read about pheasants I remember that conversation with that English hunter.rogerroger
Edited 10/25/2009 10:53 am ET by roger g
Roger
I am glad you are enjoying it.
150. Our limit is 3 per day per license.
Rich
150!!!!
there is something plain wrong with that...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
"Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints"
AND they were going hunting again!!
Of course I don't know how many hunters there were. Remember that these hunts are always on someones private property and the hunters pay BIG TIME to hunt there. The property owners also raise the pheasants to be hunted because hunting can be a big source of income.
Even so it was common to see literally flocks of pheasants in the country side. In Scotland there were hundreds of deer grazing near roadways as the snowline came down the mountains.
Lots of rabbits also.
I'm not sure what the difference between a jack rabbit and a European hare is but here is a little story: I can't remember if we were in England or on the continent but as we were driving along I noticed a funny looking rabbit running parallel with us in the field. It's ears were very long and big at the ends which looked like ping pong paddles.
Anyways this rabbit is running beside us (over a fence) and it starts to pick up speed. As it picks up speed it's legs straighten a bit which makes the rabbit higher. The legs are very long in fact it looks all legs and ears. All of a sudden as it is running it lowers its ears onto its back and it's GONE!!! I thought it was going fast before. I have never seen a jack rabbit go that fast or look like that.roger
ummmm.... you wouldn't happen to be cluasticphobic would you???
looks like a hellava place to be.... nice dude...
but which one of ya's uses the puffs...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
"Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints"
IMERC
but which one of ya's uses the puffs...
Some of us have a softer side.
We hung SR until about 9:30 or 10 PM. Had brats and burgers for lunch and steaks for supper.
In the morning we had breakfast of bacon, eggs and coffee.
Then we went out to hunt for some sharptail grouse.
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We didn't shoot any grouse but we got a read on where they were and what their pattern was. We also hunted some green clover. Very wet.
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Rich
when I saw the Puffs I was wunderin' which one of ya need to turn in their man card...
we have what we call a Chucker...
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you have them there???
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
"Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints"
IMERC
No chukars in Iowa, and I don't know about SD. They probably have them further west.
Rich
Edited 10/26/2009 12:09 am ET by cargin
very good eating...
not much different from a cornish hen...
if yur sneaky... a rock or sling shot is all ya need...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
"Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints"
we have a Ruffed Grouse too...
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some here call this a chucker also.. I've always know it as a thumper... some from the east call it a grinch or a partridge...
kinda like how may different species of fish are called "Specks"...
this is another one you can get with a sling shot... not often but it can be done...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
"Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints"
All
About 10:30 the other guys showed up.
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We will be hunting with Dennis's son, his friend John and John's step father Don.
Season starts at noon for the 1st 2 weekends. You can see the new SR.
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Then we went over to Dennis's brother's farm (rented out) and we hunted some fallen cane (sorghum). It fell over about a week ago because of all the rain and delayed harvest. The cane is generally cut for silage.
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It was hard walking. All the can was laid over and difficult to walk thru. Alot of birds in the cane. We almost always hunt with drivers and blockers. In this case the blockers got most of the shots.
We hunted to different cane areas and we shot perhaps 10 birds. We also lost downed birds in the cane. For those of you who have never hunted pheasants. I have seen pheasants hide where there is almost no cover. and the can was almost impossible to find dead bird in.
Then we went back over to Dennis's farm and hunted some milo.
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Blockers. Nearest one is Dennis's brother with his bolt action .410.
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Morfe milo next to the lane and trees.
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Heading back to the cabin I shot this pic over the valley.
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Rich
walk with that cane... you'll zig zag alot but life will be easier... quieter too...
the hunting will be more productive...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
"Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints"
is that a true valley or more of a wash???
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
"Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints"
Cool . . . South Dakota is nice.
Beautiful pics Rich. When I first moved to Colorado in 2004, we took the back roads into Greeley and the pheasant were running along the old roads like crazy. Not sure if they were still there when the season opened, but I bet it would have been fun to watch. They are beautiful birds. We raised them in Florida as kids, never thought I would get to see them in the wild!
Ernie
It is fun to watch the birds take flight. The more the merrier. It can get wild, birds flying in all directions.
Rich
Hey Rich,
Thanks for sharing the pictures. On my yearly trip to the Black Hills last year, I helped a farmer in Holabird in exchange for pheasant hunting privileges. I remember hopping on rt.47 at Reliance to head north, and within a mile saw about half-dozen hen pheasants along the side of the road. '08 was a record year for pheasant numbers in SoDak.
That area around Chamberlain is beautiful country, I'm guessing your friends place is west river? It's amazing how the landscape changes once you cross the Missouri.
I'm hoping to get out there this year, with my Vizsla, but it won't be until after Thanksgiving.
Look forward to seeing some pheasant pics.
Mitch
http://www.rdwoodworks.com
http://www.freewebs.com/glenndalepedalplane/
mitch
You are welcome.
How about some pics of the Visula.
I have had Germany Shorthair (2) and Wiemaraners (2) and our family had a Viszula back in the 1960s.
This is a pic of my current shorthair. His last year of hunting. He didn't hunt much. He still hunted pretty hard when he was 13. He is 15 now and he moves pretty slow.
He used to be a greyhound that points birds.
We went to the dam for fishing one evening and he got tuckered out.
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Rich
Hey Rich,
Sorry it took so long, I was waiting on getting these from GF Jenni. These are recent pictures of my Vizsla(or as Jenni says "Mitch's princess") Tess:
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Mitchhttp://www.rdwoodworks.com
http://www.freewebs.com/glenndalepedalplane/
Mitch
She looks like a small dog. That can be good.
I was looking for a smallish GSH, and Beau turned out to be a thin, but tall dog.
Drop clothes on the couch?
Dog on the couch?
Who is running this house? :)
Rich
Rich,
She's about 40 lbs. and 21" at the shoulders. All muscle. And like a brick when she's laying next to me, won't move for anything. I've hunted the last few years with a friend who has a big GSP, and that dog will bust brush like nothing else. Tess is getting good at it, but when it's thick she finds another way around.
That picture was taken at Jenni's, she has a black lab mix and a sheltie mix that shed profusely...thus the couch covers. One of the many things I like about Tess, you can't tell when she sheds.
Mitchhttp://www.rdwoodworks.com
http://www.freewebs.com/glenndalepedalplane/
WOW, that's great. i remember when we use to have pheasant in Illinois, now all we have are Canadian honkers. one of these years I'm going to make it out to SD for a pheasant hunt.
dont yall have trees up there?
bagg
It ain't called the great plains for nuthing.
Rich
yea but you pee outside, your neighbor would see you 12 miles away
Did my thesis in the SD Badlands. Those pictures remind me of 'em. Especially the last one.
Beautiful place. Purple sky and singing coyote country.