I'd say that the main thing is to be flexible: both where you go, and when. If you think 3 above in KS is cold and you're looking at a post-Christmas hunt, check the forecast before you head to SD! Much better chance of finding it at least that cold. And very possibly with a whole lot of snow.
I've been to Iowa twice. I can't really recommend it for people who don't have access to private land, because Iowa has way less public land (or private land open to public hunting--walk-in areas etc) than do any of the other top pheasant states. And I had to change the timing on both trips to avoid bad weather. And I had to pick another area to hunt in one case because they got over a foot of snow where I'd planned to go. I was going alone and hunting with friends down there, which allows for more flexibility than if you're putting a group hunt together. But given pheasant numbers these days, you need to do everything you can to stack the odds in your favor.
I lived pretty much Ground Zero of the pheasant recovery in Iowa, after CRP got going and the total harvest jumped from about 700,000 in 1984 (which would be outstanding today!) to nearly 1 1/2 million in 1987. Back then, if you had a good dog and the desire to do it, along with decent private land access, you could shoot a limit just about every day you decided to try. It's a far cry from that these days. But I've been down there on two short trips, 2 1/2 hunting days each time. (I can get there in an easy day, so the short trips work for me. Last time, I got out of there with a limit in the truck by mid-morning the last day. If I'd waited until the next day, I would have had to deal with freezing rain.) But I shot birds every day but one, when it was real cold and windy and the birds really spooky. And one other limit--that one off public land--in addition to the one I mentioned above. So I've had two really red letter days, been able to hunt with good friends, and watch good dog work--by mine and my friend's. I could shoot released birds a lot closer to home--and I do--but the wild ones are a different challenge entirely. I'll likely make one more trip this season--two if I'm lucky. Unless Mother Nature rules it out.
Last edited by L. Brown; 12/07/18 11:06 AM.
