From the moment we arrived at Wagon Wheel Ranch in Kimball, South Dakota my expectations were exceeded. The lodge was beautiful, the rooms were more than comfortable, the food was great, and the owners Curt and Maureen and their son Michael were awesome right form the get go. We arrived on the evening of the 6th and were scheduled to hunt the next morning. Because of regulations we were not allowed to start hunting until 10am (I don't know why the regulations are set this way but when your cousin wakes you up at 5am it makes for a long morning). Before we headed out Curt went over some safety rules and explained how we would be hunting. Curt also explained to Jay and I that it was only legal to shoot roosters (male pheasants) and the rest of the crew all chimed in on how you could tell the difference between the two. They said there was nothing to it at all... roosters make a clucking sound when they get up to fly, roosters have longer tails, roosters are way more colorful, roosters flap their tail when they take off ect (sounds pretty easy). Curt gave the best tip and said that the easiest way to tell the difference between roosters and hens was that roosters had a thick white ring around their neck and hens do not. We would be walking rectangular food plots, driving the pheasant with walkers and dogs while each side of the food plot would be occupied by flankers, and blockers at the end of each.
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After our pheasant orientation we hopped on a school bus painted like a tiger and headed out to our field. On the first drive Curt and Michael set me up at the end of the plot blocking. Once again I wasn't sure what to expect but as soon as the drivers started walking around 300 pheasants kicked up out of the field. It was remarkable! Just to clear things up a little bit, despite what Indiana boys may say, when you are pheasant hunting for the first time and 300 pheasants are flushed out of a field it IS NOT easy to determine roosters from hens. In fact out of the 200 birds that flew within shooting range of me all 200 made it out safe and sound. I was so in awe that I didn't get a single shot off. Fortunately for me, one rooster stayed in the field about a minute longer than his buddies and when he flushed up I was ready and able to make a good second shot (note: Curt was right. The white ring on the neck of the roosters is one of the best ways to distinguish roosters form hens). The rest of the day was filled with similar action. Every field was filled with life. Lots of birds and the occasional deer. We had 10 guys hunting in our group, and with the limit of 3 pheasant per-person, our group limit was 30 birds. We had our limit by 12:30 despite me going 2 for 10 on my shooting... It was crazy. We hopped back on the bus and headed back to the lodge for a great lunch. After lunch we walked out to the skeet shooting range they have at the ranch to brush up on our trap skills.That night we had a great dinner, shot some bull and headed off to bed to do it all over again.
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Day two, three, and four were almost identical the the first day. There wasn't a day where we didn't have a limit before 1:00 pm. It was one of the best hunting trips I have ever been on in every way. I highly recommend the Wagon Wheel Ranch and this trip to anyone who loves the outdoors (I will definitely be making another trip). Curt, Maureen, and Michael are amazing at what they do and their hospitality is second to none. Last, I have to put my foot in my mouth and admit that South Dakota is beautiful and flat.
Sorry about the pictures. They were taken from my I-Phone but I will put better ones up as soon as I get them.
Wagon Wheel Ranch
www.dakota-pheasant-hunting.com/index.htm
curt@dakota-pheasant-hunting.com
(605) 830-2925
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