Experts Journal

No other big game animal embodies the wide open spaces of our country’s Western prairies and high desert steppe better than the pronghorn. Pronghorns are actually a uniquely American species that once used their incredible vision and speed to evade now-extinct Ice Age cheetahs.

South Dakota is home to more than 7 million pheasants and is consistently the best state in the country for bird counts and harvests. In 2021, the traditional season opens on October 16 and runs through January 31, 2022.

Take your wild game and turn it into wildly satisfying jerky. Making your own jerky from game meat not only saves money but also frees up space in your freezer, since packaged jerky takes up less room than unprocessed game meat.

Many of you have asked which month you should go on your first elk hunt. In Western states, elk seasons can run anywhere from August to January. When you go will have a big impact on your style of hunting as tactics change from one week to the next. For instance, calling works very well during the rut, but it may not work at all once rifle seasons begin.

Sage grouse are symbols of the unique and diverse habitat of the American West. These upland birds make their home in the sagebrush, as do 350 other species and thousands of ranchers who rely on Western rangelands for their agricultural operations.