Dakota Pheasant Guide

The strip of woods beside the quiet, two-lane highway is hardly more than 100 yards long and 25 yards wide — a tiny island of trees and grass in a vast ocean of flat, snow covered, harvested grain fields.

Dennis Foster takes his Suburban with three hunters and four dogs to one end of the little patch of cover. Casey Weismantel drops one hunter off in the center of the patch and then carries two more hunters to the opposite end of the trees. Before he can load his gun, pheasants are popping out of the trees and gliding into the field across the road.

I know this may sound a little counter-intuitive to many pheasant hunters. Hunting wild game of any kind is always a bit of a gamble, but with pheasants, the timing of your hunt plays a big factor in your success. If you are truly interested in upping your odds for a successful hunt, later is generally your best bet.

Dennis Foster and Casey Weismantel hosted Gary Lewis, host of Adventure Journal and outdoor author, for his first South Dakota pheasant hunt as part of an episode for Frontier Unlimited.

Northeastern South Dakota is an often overlooked diamond in the rough, hidden amongst the State’s first class Pheasant Hunting areas. Too bad too as we have plenty of birds. Always have. This can be evidenced in the fact that the original and first recorded successful stocking of pheasants in South Dakota occurred just north of […]

South Dakota’s pheasant hunting heritage is rich. Her are some tips for making the most of your next day in the field.

Gary Lewis, host of Adventure Journal and outdoor author, recently joined Dennis Foster for his first South Dakota pheasant hunt. Take a look at Gary’s article in Shotgun Life for a recap of how the first day of the hunt went for the group.

As a native and having been raised right where the whole Ringneck revolution started right here in Spink County, South Dakota; I believe I can shed some valuable insight into where we have came from and where we are headed with the popular, plucky, and prettiest of all game birds. History: As the name would […]

2012 was a tale of two pheasant seasons for me. In early fall, I was invited by Dennis Foster, from Mellette, to join him as he hosted Baserri Shotguns, Honda and Focus Outdoors TV on a pheasant hunt near Doland. I arrived late, which comes as no surprise to those who know me, but I […]

I generally confine my writing efforts to subjects that I can comfortably say that I have a great deal of experience with and then pass along what I feel would be some helpful viewpoints and observations.  Concerning the topic of Dove hunting, I must readily attest to be being for from anything resembling an expert, […]

Thoughts of Pheasant Hunting may not be your highest priority until the leaves are falling. But, if you are serious about the sport and want to get the most out of your hunting experience…you should be doing something about it right now. I know many of you feel all you need to do is grab […]