Are hunters bagging more pheasants in South Dakota the past 10 years?

The number of pheasants harvested by resident and non-resident hunters in South Dakota has increased gradually since 2017.

More than 1.3 million pheasants were bagged by hunters in 2024, the highest since 2012, when hunters collected more than 1.4 million.

After three straight years of hunters collecting fewer than 1 million pheasants from 2017-2019, South Dakota saw five straight years of more than 1 million harvested from 2020-2024

The state remains the best in the nation for pheasant hunting, with hunters harvesting more roosters in two weeks of October than any other state during the entire season.

Non-residents are allowed to bag three pheasants per day, for a total of 15. Hunters have collected an average of about nine pheasants per season since 2022.

While the number of pheasants harvested is increasing, it still lags behind the first decade of 2000, when numbers frequently exceeded 1.5 million.