Spent 3 days shooting pheasant with my son, brother and close friends at the Grand Lodge, I think my sixth trip there. Mike Soleberg and his family made this another fantastic week. Truly, hunting with Mike is like hunting with family, and I look forward to it all year.

I took along my 20-gauge Parker, a gun I bought in pieces nearly ten years ago and finally finished. Manufactured in 1909, I have no idea how long it’s been since it was in the field, but it is definitely back in service. I hope to see it in the field for many years to come.

Would you happen to have more pictures of this hunt? Beautiful shotgun btw.

Got a chuckle out of the last picture. I use to cruise around western Nebraska with a bunch of guys and gals in a broken down school bus. You guys have a little more class.

John thanks for the additional pic, I've not done any pheasant hunting but certainly want to someday, was/is this a good year for pheasant hunting, are these birds wild and are the pheasant populations doing well in SD and ND? Seem to recall a discussion a while back the pheasant numbers were down due to winter kill, predation and so on.

Jim

Pheasant numbers are down here in SD. Lack of habitat is the main culprit. You will read a lot of opinions about predation, winter kill,etc being the culprit. It all comes back to habitat. A lot of the shelter belts planted 90-100 years ago are being removed and not replanted. That's habitat. And there is very little CRP left. The powers that be are struggling with this concept. There are still birds to shoot, don't get me wrong. But not nearly what there was 10-15 years ago.

quote:

A lot of the shelter belts planted 90-100 years ago are being removed and not replanted. That's habitat. And there is very little CRP left.

That is a shame, is the land too valuable to replant, no interest in replanting or other?

My guess on the shelterbelts: that land doesn't generate any income/revenue for the farmers. But it's still subject to taxation. The old shelterbelts are dying off, so they clean them up and plant them for row crops that will generate revenue.

you are right about taxation,I have only 8 acres and my taxes have gone up 55% over the last 5 years and it sucks