Pheasant Statistics
South Dakota has the highest pheasant population of any state in the U.S. According to South Dakota Fish and Game, hunters regularly harvest over1million ringnecks and the total preseason population in the state is estimated at 8.2 million birds.
The pheasant population in other popular pheasant hunting destinations including Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas, has declined, mainly due to habitat loss. Many hunters who hunted in these states are now coming to South Dakota. The south central region of South Dakota where our ToriLil Farm is located continues to breed staggering numbers of pheasants because of the excellent habitat, primarily the large tracts of land enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (“CRP”). Habitat is key and we manage our farm to provide the best wild pheasant habitat.
The Hunt
We have exclusive private access to over 6,000 acres of private, natural grasslands (CRP), food plots, creek bottoms, shelter belts, ponds and draws. We focus entirely on the quality of the hunt. We don’t run a lot of hunters through our property like others operations do. Our professional guides provide outstanding personal service.
Your group will be guided by experienced, friendly guides using well trained flushing Labs. We do not mix groups or add people to your group. Our hunters aren’t walking through fields of standing corn or fields that have been hunted by other groups on the same day like at many other operations. Our fields of CRP provide excellent bird habitat that provide hunters with the pleasure of seeing the dogs work. We strongly emphasize good sportsmanship, safety and respect for the South Dakota game laws.
Current limits are 3 Roosters and 3 Sharptail/Prairie Chicken combination per day. The pheasant season typically opens on the third Saturday of October and closes in early January. Shooting hours under State law are10:00 a.m. to sunset.
In addition to Pheasants, we also have a population of Sharptail Grouse and Greater Prairie Chickens. These should be considered bonus birds and are incidental to the pheasant hunting. You never know when the prairie grouse will show up, but we do see them from time to time. Our farm is located in one of only two places in the world where it is possible to shoot both Prairie Chickens and Sharptails. The unique habitat in our area allows both of these indigenous birds of the prairie to cohabit.