New Pheasant Opener Dates

[Walleye_Chaser]

[h=1]New Law Moves Pheasant Opener to Oct. 7[/h]
Wed, 03/15/2017


A new law passed by the North Dakota Legislature will result in the State Game and Fish Department to propose Oct. 7 as opening day of the 2017 pheasant hunting season, one week earlier than what the department earlier announced.
Senate Bill 2318, signed into law March 14, requires North Dakota’s pheasant season to open no later than Oct. 12.
Game and Fish Department director Terry Steinwand said the new law means the pheasant hunting season will no longer always open on the second Saturday in October, which has been the case for more than 20 years.
With the regular pheasant season opening a week earlier, Game and Fish will propose that the youth pheasant hunting season also open earlier, on Sept. 30 instead of Oct. 7.
In addition, out-of-state hunters are reminded that state law does not allow nonresidents to hunt on Game and Fish owned or managed lands during the first week of pheasant season. Therefore, Private Land Open to Sportsmen acreage and state wildlife management areas are open to hunting by resident hunters only from Oct. 7-13. Nonresidents, however, can still hunt those days on other state-owned and federal lands, or private land.

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I'm wondering what the reasoning is behind this is....Why is this needed? The last few years have been so damn warm on pheasant opener it's almost not worth putting the dogs in the field. I just don't get it.

 

[SDMF]

I'm wondering what the reasoning is behind this is....Why is this needed? The last few years have been so damn warm on pheasant opener it's almost not worth putting the dogs in the field. I just don't get it.

I don't mind having an extra week of hunting before the tri-state (ND, MN, WI) teacher's convention weekend shitshow.

 

[LBrandt]

Just want our license money a week sooner.

 

[eyexer]

love it

 

[guywhofishes]

to make IDing young roosters impossible on the opener

 

[Duckslayer100]

Dumbest thing that's come out of Bismarck in a long time. Only bright side is there's even less chance of crops being down by then, which means 98 percent of the birds will be untouchable.

Won't change the fact that the best time of year will still be November and on.

 

[LBrandt]

That is so true Duck.

 

[labhunter66]

I think the legislature did it so non-residents could come opening weekend of waterfowl and hunt pheasants as well. In the past those two seasons opened different weekends. Now I bet they'll be the same weekend or at least closer together to make it easier to have a combo hunt. There are many legislators that are not resident friendly when it comes to hunting and fishing.

 

[5575]

As a bowhunter I think it stinks..., but I'm not an introduced chinese ditch parrot fan either.

 

[KDM]

Got mixed thoughts about this decision. On the one hand I'll be able to get Herc in the field a week earlier. On the other hand I wonder how many young birds he's going to grab before they can get airborne?? This one's going to take some time for me to mull over.

 

[Phill Latio]

I think the legislature did it so non-residents could come opening weekend of waterfowl and hunt pheasants as well. In the past those two seasons opened different weekends. Now I bet they'll be the same weekend or at least closer together to make it easier to have a combo hunt. There are many legislators that are not resident friendly when it comes to hunting and fishing.

This ^ Whenever a new bullshit bill passes it is always to benefit the nonresidents. Such F'n bullshit, why I am almost certain some of these legislators get money under the table passed in from across the ND border right into their pocket.

 

[zoops]

Sometimes the pheasant opener was October 8; this year it'll be the 7th - no huge difference here. Can't say I've noticed a difference in years the opener has been the 13th or 14th as far as bird ID and we all know crop harvest is totally dependent on the weather so the date doesn't guarantee anything there.

Only problem I have with it is I'm guessing this was probably pushed by the guide industry or others looking to make money off of NR.

 

[3Roosters]

I was looking forward to a little later start...more crops being off, less chance of too hot weather again, roosters a tad more color..etc etc.
Then again...come early September my dog Abby and me are both chomping at the bit to get out and chase Rudy. Grouse are fine for a couple weekends but the fever is for hunting roosters. As much as I love late season hunting, there is also something to be said about opener. You guys know..more traffic, hunters, yadda yadda yadda.
At at end of the day, I guess I am just fine with them moving it up.

 

[Bri-guy]

This sucks if/when you ever get a pronghorn tag. The past framework gave gun hunters a week before the SW part of the state was overrun with hunters. Most landowners were glad to let you on to hunt and there was no pressure. Now it'll be a massive shitshow.

 

[zoops]

This sucks if/when you ever get a pronghorn tag. The past framework gave gun hunters a week before the SW part of the state was overrun with hunters. Most landowners were glad to let you on to hunt and there was no pressure. Now it'll be a massive shitshow.

Never thought of that. That does suck.

 

[Timbuk-2]

The commercial interests win again.
That shouldn't really surprise anyone

 

[Kurtr]

so the pembina valley is going to suffer with this early opener

 

[remm]

Lotta Somalis have already been heading that direction from the cities, been walking around in fields and such. Now it's apparent they are just doing a little scouting for the early opener.

so the pembina valley is going to suffer with this early opener

 

[Kurtr]

Lotta Somalis have already been heading that direction from the cities, been walking around in fields and such. Now it's apparent they are just doing a little scouting for the early opener.

that or they are out there digging for diamonds like in the homeland

 

[espringers]

not a big deal. like said above, its a day or two earlier than it is sometimes. and the 14th is really late. so, i don't mind this being done on years when the opener falls on maybe the 13th and 14th. and i don't follow how this coincides with NR waterfowl hunting. can someone explain?