Prairie Chickens - Needle in a Haystack?

[Dean Weber]

Just completed a really special hunt which was a bucket item for me. Although I live in South Dakota and have hunted Prairie Chickens, I have never walked them up with dogs. Mostly I have pass shot at them when they are moving from feeding to roost. I have seen them taken as an opportunity bird, although this was my first time targeting them specifically to get a limit of Prairie Chickens and with no Sharptails.

Joel Vasek of SD Outdoors Unlimited, Scott Smith (Parker member) and John Lowry joined me for what I considered my epic hunt. The goal of a straight Prairie Chicken limit was nearly accomplished both days with only one Sharptail grouse on each day. We ended the hunt with a flurry of as many as a couple hundred Prairie Chickens flushed in a 5 acre roosting area over a 10 minute flurry. Craziest thing I have ever seen on the prairie.

We were fortunate for not running into any rattlers, but one coon did meet his demise in a dog fight. It is big and wild country in Western South Dakota, check out the pictures.

Special call out to Reggie Bishop. The 32" 16 gauge was on fire and it was blooded on the wild prairie and open skies with a very difficult bird. Most shots were between 40-60 yards. Our own Scott Smith was able to down the longest bird of the hunt, great shooting Scott!