RE: SD or Iowa Pheasant
Havelock: I live and hunt in Iowa. Today was our opener and it was rainy and windy. Not much luck, and the crops are still in. However there are both lots of birds and lots of public land to hunt. The area around Spirit Lake Iowa has over 10,000 acres of public land. It's all clearly marked with signs designating which areas are state owned land open to public hunting. Be advised however, that most of the areas are designated as waterfowl production areas and require the use of steel or non toxic shot. There is decent duck and goose hunting as well since it's part of the prarie pothole region. The migration hasn't gotten started yet, but any week now and things will be going strong. This area is also shown by the Iowa DNR to have the highest pheasant population in the state. There is acres and acres of upland cover as well as small potholes and several lakes. Go to Iowa DNR and check it out. It may not be the "Holy Grail" for pheasant hunting like South Dakota, but you can hunt the whole year on your non-resident license, unlike South Dakota.