2012 Hunting Report

Going into the season, I knew it wasn’t going to be typical, as the summer was HOT, and the rains didn’t come, but the winds DID! Throughout a typical season, we harvest roughly 75% young birds, and we find them mostly in the food strips. This year, as a result of the now-infamous 2012 drought and its effect on the new hatch, we harvested 75% old birds, and the birds just weren’t in the food strips.

Everything looked good in June, as we had a nice amount of spring rains which made for a nice stand of cool season grasses which leads towards successful nesting and plenty of insects for the young chicks to eat for a good start on life, but as the days of drought and the degrees climbed, the watering holes got lower and fewer. By late September, most watering holes dried up, and the drought started to take its toll on the hatch. Many of the early-hatched birds survived but the later-hatched chicks got cooked.

The lack of rain also led to food plots being less leafy, thick and full of seed, but what really destroyed the hunting value of the food plots and crop strips was the wind. In mid-October, we had experienced a brutal windstorm that lasted for 48 hours with nonstop winds of 40+mph. The wind blew the plants down or shredded its leaves, leaving sparse cover that wasn’t sufficient for the birds to hide in. Typically, we harvest the majority of roosters from the crop strips. This year, however, we learned to spend our time in habitat other than food plots.

When hunting season arrived, we learned another abnormal characteristic in the year’s pheasant population. Instead of opening week bringing lots of “stupid” birds and easy shots, the birds were older, educated and WILD! It was quite a surprise to walk into virgin fields and see the birds flying away as the hunters were getting out of the vehicles.

Hmmm…all of these factors affected the hunting strategies significantly, and the hunting was certainly going to require more strategizing. Luckily, for everyone, that’s what we all enjoy doing.

Instead of the pheasants being contained in food plots, the birds were scattered about the land. We found early in the season that most pheasants were congregated in thick habitat around the limited water sources. As the frost and snow arrived, they dispersed from those water spots into dense grass and tree strips. We realized the significant advantage that larger groups would have because of their added capacity to contain! Also, noise reduction, dog control and being quick into the field were key components to successful hunts and having diverse habitat was crucial.

This past year brought a unique pheasant hunting season that was filled with strategy sessions, great learning opportunities, some challenging hunts, and lots of great new friends and memories!

Thank you all who shared their hunting vacations with us this past year of 2012!

Sincerely,
Stephan Stanley

Ringnecks, LLC
P.O. Box 268
Presho, SD 57568
(605) ROOSTER
(766-7837)
www.ringneckshuntinglodge.com

2011 Hunting Report

Greetings! I hope you had a very Merry Christmas, and enjoyed celebrating the New Year of 2012!

2011 was a very good year for Ringnecks Hunting & Lodging. Once again, we improved upon the lodge and its surroundings with repairs and paint, including 3 new murals. Also, we acquired more hunting acres. We hunted 752 guns this past year and bagged 2,215 ringnecks. The weather was beautiful all the way through the last day of the season—January 1st. During 2012, we plan to do more remodeling and adding on, which will include more bedrooms.

I’d like to share a few of my favorite memories (although there are too many to list) of the 2011 hunting season: There was the time John was shooting at a bird passing by and as he followed the bird with his gun barrel, he didn’t turn his feet, so he ended up cork screwing himself down into the ground.

Also, there was the group that was expecting nasty weather on Saturday (below freezing with snowfall and 30+ mph winds), so we took extra minutes strategizing how we could best surround a honey hole and get our birds early. That Saturday morning, however, was rather pleasant with a fresh couple of inches on the ground and calm before the winds started howling. We loaded into our vehicles, and when we got to the field, the vehicles all flew around to their positions and then hunters, dogs and guns began bailing out. After 5 minutes of non-stop blasting we began picking up the birds, and with the aid of the fresh snow, we found every bird they had shot, and we had our bag full before the wind started howling.

Another hunt I remember well was a hunt that started very slowly. It was the second field of the day, and enroute, one of the vehicles had gotten a flat tire, so while we waited not far from a patch of cattails, we ate our lunches and watched a couple of hunters and dogs hunt across the road (didn’t look good). We sat and waited for more than 30 minutes, and while we waited, we didn’t see so much as one, single bird. During the strategy talk that morning, I had told the group that there was probably going to be a lot of birds in this spot, called “the church”, and that it was important that we get into our positions quickly and quietly. So, we had a line of hunters on both sides of the cattails marching towards each other. Not a bird to be seen, even when there were a slew of hunters only feet from the edge of the cover. I think it was Eric (same guy with the flat tire) shaking his head as if saying, “we’re wasting our time; there’s nothing here.) Then a dog hit the brush and the cattails lit up with birds. There must’ve been 300+ birds fly up out of that little patch. It was pheasant mayhem!

Also, I remember young boy’s first hunt, and on day two he bagged his limit, but on his final day, his luck had turned, and he couldn’t bring a bird down. Every bird he missed caused his head and attitude to sink a bit lower. The group shot their last bird, but the young guy had no luck, and as he walked back towards the vehicle with his dad, he cried with disappointment. I didn’t want to see the boy go away like that, so when we all got back to our vehicles, I told them I’d like them to go on one more walk to give the boy another shot. They walked around a small hill, and at the very end, two roosters flew up, but only one got away, as his aim was right on. His smile was back.

Please check out our website at www.ringneckshuntinglodge.com. Through the website you can join us on Facebook, Twitter, My Blog, YouTube, Flicker and LinkedIn. We hope to hear from you soon, and also hope 2012 will be filled with many more good memories for you and yours. I really had a great time hunting with you all this past year, and I hope to see you again in the fall of 2012. If you haven’t already confirmed your reservations for the 2012 hunting season, call me or email me quickly before it’s too late. We’ve been growing considerably every year, and we’re expecting the 2012 season to fill up early.

Sincerely,
Stephan Stanley

Ringnecks, LLC
P.O. Box 268
Presho, SD 57568
(605) ROOSTER
(766-7837)
www.ringneckshuntinglodge.com