# Where is the best pheasant hunting in the eastern part of ND



## sctvlk

Where is the best pheasant hunting in the eastern part of the state?


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## 870 XPRS

Latitude: 46.729N 
Longitude:-98.873W


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## Field Hunter

Who's Asking???

Guide?
Outfitter?
NR?
resident?
Kid?

Quite a question? I'm hoping it's on the up and up and you're sincerely asking for yourself. Stay south of the interstate and out to the area east of the Missouri....quite a bit of federal land. Get in that area and do a little scouting instead of asking for specifics. Part fo the hunting is scouting. Good Luck.


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## DeltaBoy

Like FH said, scout a little bit and you will birds and meet land owners, etc. Get a plot map and you will be able to mark the land you find huntable this fall. Should be a good year this year, let's hope!


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## GooseBuster3

:lol:


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## Miller

sctvlk said:


> Where is the best pheasant hunting in the eastern part of the state?


we're kind of gunshy of this question if you haven't already noticed. 

Get a plots book from the G&F. Anything in the south part of the state has potential.[/img]


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## sctvlk

Thanks for the responses. I'm a ND resident and I've always hunted in the central part of the state (where I'm from) never on the eastern (where I live now). I picked up a plot guide the other day and I was just hoping to get some suggestions as to where some good areas are in the eastern part of the state. Thanks again for responding to my post. Thanks FH for your suggestion. I appreciate it.

Scott


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## Nodak Duke

And I thought it was the area just south of Grand Forks??  Man do those roosters dig potatoes and sugar beats!!


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## drjongy

Although I did shoot a couple roosters fairly close to the Grand Forks area this year while doing some grouse hunting. I can't believe how far East we are starting to see pheasants. Sure is nice, though, saves me long trips to the in-laws in Beulah. One real bad winter and the Eastern hunting will all be over but the cryin'!


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## Dick Monson

Scott, where do you live now?


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## Rick Acker

Any pheasants shot near Grand Forks are courtesy of the local pheasant farm! My dad told me in the 50's, south of Grand Forks all the way to Fargo was loaded with birds! Farming practices are the biggest reason the Northern parts of N.D. can no longer support pheasants. NO COVER, NO BIRDS! And the Winters do not help either!


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## drjongy

I didn't shoot them right near Grand Forks, but in the region. They could be from a game farms, but I don't think so. I've seen some pheasants from the game farm outside GF and they don't even like to fly.

I do believe the mild winters we have had recently have allowed some population to move across the state. Cover is certainly key, but I think an even more important fact is that pheasants are not native to the region and are ill-equipped to handle winters compared with native upland birds. One real bad winter and I think all the pheasants we are seeing out East and especially Northeast will be wiped out.


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## njsimonson

That and GF is the armpit of ND. It smells, and the weather is the worst in the region. I did see a few west of GF, just outside of town...near the gamefarm.

Also saw a few when I went to Channel A this spring, just outside of DL on Hwy 2. Where'd they come from?

As a general Rule, you want to be SOUTH of I94 in the eastern half of the state, there's not a whole lot of roodies north of it from Bismarck on east.

Whoever mentioned the PLOTS guide map is right on. Look for PLOTS and other state areas where you can hunt south of I94. If the pheasants made it through this half-assed summer, you'll find em.


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## Nodak Duke

So Slimer, can you tell us how you really feel about Grand Forks??!!  

I'd have to agree with Nick. I too had many more encounters with pheasants in the NE portion of the state this past fall while scoutting for waterfowl, but still not anything close to huntable numbers. Cover is pretty poor for the most part and the winterkill is tough on 'em. I don't think there is all that much for great food supplies either. :roll:


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## fishunt

drjongy said:


> Although I did shoot a couple roosters fairly close to the Grand Forks area this year while doing some grouse hunting. I can't believe how far East we are starting to see pheasants. Sure is nice, though, saves me long trips to the in-laws in Beulah. One real bad winter and the Eastern hunting will all be over but the cryin'!


u say u went Beulah? That is where I lives . it is very good pheasants hunting here


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## Maverick

After this weekend of scouting, I can't recall seeing this many roosters on the eastern side of the state! Man the #'s are up! Way up! Really don't even need plots maps, just get out and drive. Let me tell you this though, the west is going to be jealious of the east this fall!


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## djleye

HMMMMMM, Lets see, hunt the east for free and be done by 10:00 or hunt the wets for $200 a day and be done by 9:00. That's a no brainer!!!! :wink: :wink: :lol:


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## drjongy

Too bad it won't last. If the hunting remains good in the East, I bet anything we will see a lot more posted land this fall.


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## MOSSBACK

I would say hit the residential areas of Grand Forks, Fargo and West Fargo not sure about birds but none of it is posted.


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## Decoyer

Anyone want to give me specific directions to there favorite honey hole??? Oh and while you are at it, it sure would be nice if you called the landowner and got permission for me. Thanks in advance. :eyeroll:


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## 4CurlRedleg

And next week we will all post our waterfowl honey-holes, including maps, gps coordinates and if that doesn't help we will talk you in with a cel phone!! :withstupid:

End this thread here, PLEASE!! :eyeroll:


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## Bobm

You might as well tell them the truth there are almost no pheasants in SE North Dakota, Go to SW ND for pheasants!! Most all the pheasants migrate there in late September.


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## Drixmein

bob hit it right on the nose. After the first frost, you will find almost no pheasants east of the missouri. They all group up and then start their march west. They just have no cover like "sloughs" in the eastern part of the state for the winter. You might get lucky and set up in a travel corridor and "pass shoot" these migrators, its quite a sight. Your best bet in october is to just not even hunt unless you are in sw part of the state.


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## djleye

Which call do you guys prefer for the migrators????


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## 870 XPRS

The foiles pheasant flocker works pretty well. I've had some troubles with my reeds but they'll get them fixed in a hurry.


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## strand

That's funny 870, i just put that point in my gps software and it came up in mongolia.  After reading some recent pheasant surveys the G&F have determined the pheasant numbers to be way down almost 50 percent from average in the SW corner. They are predicting the best shooting to be just south of I-94. I am originally from the western side of the state but i am currently going to school at UND, and our numbers are down 34 percent from last years record highs. With a tough spring and a harvest of around 600,000 birds it should be an interesting season.


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## njsimonson

Drixmein -

Coffee on the keyboard buddy...thanks a lot!


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## strand

I apologize, pheasants are down approximately 35 percent in the sw corner not 50. but it should still be a good season


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## Bobm

Strand, don't worry the population will come back up when the migrators get there! It always does. Sure wish they would stay in the SE until hunting season.


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## strand

I agree Bob.


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## Field Hunter

Bob, 
Do you find that the roosters migrate first and then the hens? Seems like the roosters don't the cold as well.


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## Bobm

Of course that's why you commonly see more hens as the season goes on, the hens like all females only move when they absolutely have to :lol:


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## Remmi_&amp;_I

Good work Bob, I think I'll forward these comments onto your wife!


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## Bobm

Thats OK an old hen like her is really hard to get moving :lol: :lol: I can still outrun her!


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