Pheasant Season Opens Oct. 13, Good Conditions Expected

Pheasant hunters can expect good hunting opportunities in North Dakota, as late season roadside counts indicate the pheasant population is higher than last year, according to Stan Kohn, upland game management supervisor for the state Game and Fish Department.

The roadside survey, conducted in late July and August, revealed total pheasants and brood observations were both up 14 percent from 2006, and average brood size was essentially the same. Average brood size was down slightly from last year in the northwest and southeast, but up slightly in the northeast and southwest.

"This was somewhat expected in the southeast where heavy rains may have caused pheasants to renest," Kohn said. "There were so many nesting hens, and almost all brought off broods. Hunters should have another good pheasant hunting season."

Hunters in northwestern North Dakota should see similar numbers to last fall. "The population was good in this area of the state last year," Kohn said. "Hunters should again find plenty of birds and good habitat conditions."

The northeastern portion of the state should have hunting conditions similar to 2006, Kohn said, with the better areas found in the counties bordering Interstate 94.

The southwestern part of the state will likely have an excellent pheasant population, Kohn said, at least by North Dakota's standards. "Late summer counts indicate better pheasant numbers this fall than in 2006," he added. "The southwest will be quite good."

The 2007 regular pheasant season opens Oct. 13 and continues through Jan. 6, 2008. Limits are three roosters daily and 12 in possession. Hunting hours are one-half hour before sunrise to sunset each day. Hunters should refer to the North Dakota 2007-08 Small Game Guide for regulations.

North Dakota's two-day youth pheasant season is Oct. 6-7, when legally licensed residents and nonresidents ages 15 and younger may hunt roosters statewide. Shooting hours, the daily bag limit, licensing requirements, and all other regulations for the regular pheasant season apply. An adult at least 18 years of age must accompany the youth hunter in the field.

Hunters are reminded that Private Land Open To Sportsmen acreage and state wildlife management areas are open to hunting by resident hunters only from Oct. 13-19. Nonresidents, however, can still hunt those days on other state-owned and federal lands, or private land.

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