Alsatian

My first hunting experiences were hunting pheasant in rural Illinois where I grew up. I now live in Texas, north of Dallas. I would like to do some pheasant hunting but wouldn't have any idea where to go or get back to it. I don't have a dog (and didn't in Illinois, I just walked fence lines and kicked up birds from likely cover in morning and evening hours). Is there any good public pheasant available? What kind of outfitted pheasant hunting is available, ballpark costs, what facilities (dogs?) are provided?

Maskellrascal

Are you wondering about in Texas or about anywhere. I hunt in Nebraska and have never been on a guided hunt. In Nebraska and South Dakota most prices are about $300 dollars a day with a dog, some provide lodging for a night as well. Kansas also has some good pheasant numbers as well.

Well have fun and good luck

Alsatian

Maskellrascal:

No, I don't have to hunt in Texas. Because I have to drive a long ways to get to pheasants in Texas -- probably about 480 miles from my near-Dallas location to Texas pheasants -- I might as well just lift the distance constraint and leave the door open: Iowa, Nebraska, S Dakota, Colorado, Kansas could all be destinations for me, though closer is always better.

If I go on my own, are their public lands to pheasant hunt on and if so where? Can any kind of a dog -- a minature schnauzer for example -- be used for hunting? I suppose the critical issue is how close the dog will stay by your side. If the dog runs out 100 yards in front of you and won't stay pretty close, they damage your hunt. I recall when I grew up this was a problem taking our dog out, that he ran out and flushed pheasants in front of us out of range -- very irritating as you might imagine.

What are the typical daily bag limits for pheasant?

Maskellrascal

Well I guess you do have a ways to drive to find pheasants. The shortest trip for you might be to go to Kansas, but Nebraska and SD also are good choices. The cost of traveling to NE or SD would be quite substantial. Kansas has a lot of public ground available for hunting, more than NE has, I believe it is right around 800,000 acres of public land. Some people will be able to take any dog out and work for them, but most ground anymore can hide a dog very easily. My German shorthair could easily be lost if I don't keep a close eye on her. Kansas would be the state for you to visit, because of the distance and price. Kansas is cheaper than SD, but about $15 more than NE. Kansas also has the highest bag limit per day I believe as well, 4/day and 16 in possession. Look on all the state's websites. Nebraska's is www.ngpc.state.ne.us to get you started.

Good luck and happy hunting.