Hunting pheasants in South Dakota as good, as pleasant as promised

It was 42 years ago this month when I first traveled with my dad and some others to South Dakota to hunt pheasants. I had just begun my sophomore year at St. Gregory’s College (two-year then, now a university). Also, the month before, I had started working here at the News-Star, embarking on what has turned out to be a long term career.
That hunt was near the small community of Bonesteel.
Twenty years ago I returned to South Dakota, with John Patterson, Jim Bowles and some others, hunting near Huron, which natives said was the pheasant hunting capital of the world.
Last weekend, I made my third trek to South Dakota to enjoy pheasant hunting. I had the good fortune to join Terry West, his two sons Brad and Bart, along with Mark Schneiter and Steve Buoy, all from the Shawnee area.
We also were joined by a couple of others from Norman, Jim Loftis and Greg Barnard, and Mike Polloc from Purcell. The latter three I had never had the pleasure of knowing.
Also on Monday, Paul Hale, from Shawnee, and four others from the Oklahoma City and Norman area joined us to hunt before eight of us (all but Terry) made the return trip, arriving home in the wee hours Tuesday.
Terry initially invited me on this trip a couple of years ago, asked again last year, but both times I had conflicts. This year when he invited me I steered my way clear to ensure I could do it, and my wife, Pat, really encouraged me as well.
I’m really glad I took a few days and did it. The camaraderie is terrific, and hunting really was good, and the hospitality of the family we stayed with, Gary and Michelle Iedema, was second to none.
Michelle is an elementary school librarian in the Platte School District and Gary works for Northwest Energy Co. there. Gary also is on the Platte city council and he is in his second two-year term.
Terry, Mark, Steve and I stayed with Gary and Michelle at their house while the other five who had gone up at the same time stayed with Gary’s brother Dennis and his wife Darlene.
Terry began making this annual trek to the Platte area more than 40 years ago when he and the late Charles Henry (Gov. Brad Henry’s father) joined Dick Jones and his father and a group. Dick, who owned and operated W.R. Jones here for so many years and his father have since died.
Dick passed away in January of 1998.
Terry said he and Charles continued to make the trip, and Charles had to quit once his health began to fail. He and Charles had formed their own group, and they began bringing their sons, Brad and Brad, once they turned 14. The two Brads are just several months apart in age.
This was the 28th year Terry has stayed with Dennis and Michelle.
The land we hunt on is owned by Trent and Angela Strand, outside of Platte, and Trent also guides and hunts with us. He has two Labradors, Elvis, about 7, and Bear who is less than 2.
Central South Dakota has received more than normal rainfall this year, especially through early fall.
It’s been good for the crops, except it has slowed the harvest, especially of the corn and Milo, and it made hunting a little tougher too.
You can’t start hunting pheasants until noon each day. That’s good if it’s cold, like it was on the Saturday opener, because by the time we began it was in the 50s, the sun was shining, although it was windy.
On Sunday, by the time we began it was in the 70s, sunny and windy, and on our final day of hunting, Monday, it was in the 60s, with sunshine and a brisk wind.
It’s amazing how the bird know which way to go with the wind.
Hunters can shoot only roosters and the daily bag limit is three. But our group managed its limit each day, and we experienced good hunting.
South Dakota game officials indicated the pheasant crop was down in the region by about 26 percent, and hunters were averaging about two birds apiece.
Fortunately, we did better than that, bagging the daily limit allowed.
Terry had promised me the hunting would be really good, and even went so far to ensure we’d get our limit. His prediction was right on target. The others and I were not disappointed.
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