Pheasant Numbers Looking Good for This Year’s Hunting Season
Game, Fish and Parks is out with its prediction for the upcoming pheasant hunting season in South Dakota - and the numbers look good. In fact, they look great! The number of pheasants in South Dakota is actually on the rise.
According to GF&P's annual pheasant brood survey, pheasant numbers experienced a 47% increase from last year's numbers. The 2018 statewide pheasants-per-mile index is 2.47, up from 1.68 last year.
How they come up with their yearly bird prediction is they drive 110, 30-mile routes across the state's pheasant range to estimate bird numbers per mile. This year's report showed 85 of the 110 routes had a higher pheasants per-mile index than 2017.
And the season is not that far off. This year's youth-only pheasant season runs October 6-10, the resident-only season runs October 13-15, and the traditional season for everyone else runs October 20 through January 6 of 2019.
You can find the full report on the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Department's website.
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