While pheasant strongholds in the West might not enjoy the fame and notoriety of Midwest destinations, hunters will find roosters throughout the region. (Shutterstock)
December 02, 2024
By Scott Linden
A trickle of water wound down the middle of the lush swale, and just as I hopped across it, a ringneck cackled into the air in front of my young wirehair. Upon landing, I closed my side-by-side, planted both feet and raised the gun to my shoulder. BAM! BAM! Yeah, it took both barrels, but the rooster fell, landing in the streamside brush. My dog stood on his hind legs to wrestle the bird from a tangle of thorny branches before proudly prancing back to deliver it to my waiting hand.
South Dakota? Nope. Iowa? Afraid not. Kansas? Wrong again. That bird dropped from the clear, blue Big Sky of Montana, though the same scene could’ve played out in a number of Western states with huntable populations of pheasants. They’re perhaps not as well-known as the hotbed states of the Midwest, but they’re closer to home for you and me—in many cases, just a tankful of gas away. With that in mind, here are some starting points for a pheasant outing if you’re restricted to your own area code and public-access lands.
CALIFORNIA Until the late 20th century, northern California had a well-deserved reputation for bountiful pheasant hunting. Populations have dropped since then, and while the days of skulking rice checks and irrigation canals may be distant memories, there still are birds to be flushed if you’re willing to scout, walk and adjust your expectations.
A lot of the best pheasant habitat across the West bears a striking resmblance to the cropland of the prairie states. (Shutterstock) Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area between Davis and West Sacramento is one good bet. The terrain and habitat are a dead ringer for some parts of Iowa I’ve hunted. You’ll need a Type A hunting pass in advance, and hunting is only permitted on Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays. A combination of cultivated ground, water and cover make for very good pheasant habitat. Don’t quit until your shotgun is in the case at Yolo. I’ve had more than one bird launch from shrubs next to my parking spot.
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Post-hunt, West Sacramento’s Jackrabbit Brewing Co. has a great selection of Belgian-style ales, kölsches and pilsners. You can hunt pheasants in the Golden State through Dec. 22; just be sure to bring your non-toxic ammo.
OREGON Pheasants were first successfully introduced in the U.S. in Oregon, but changing farming practices have shoved ringnecks onto tucked-away pockets of private land in most of the state. A unique public-land hunt worth the drive (only 16 gallons of gas from Eugene) puts you on the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns. Portions are open to upland hunting that offer the trifecta of water, crops and cover.
Most of the hunting is near the Buena Vista area, where you might find valley quail, too. Avian predators keep birds on their toes, so explore marginal habitat when the usual spots don’t pay off. This country resembles parts of Montana, where desert and lush agriculture meld. I’ve shot birds on sage flats and in head-high grass. Non-toxic shot is required. While you’re there, you might as well cross to the west side of the state highway and climb for chukars. The nearby hamlet of Frenchglen offers a rustic hotel and other artifacts of the Cattle King era. The statewide season closes Dec. 31.
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Montana’s Block Management program opens thousands of acres of private land statewide to public hunting. (Shutterstock) MONTANA The closest you’ll come to a pheasant mecca in the West is Montana. A well-managed walk-in program opens thousands of acres of ranch and farm access with a variety of habitats. Check the department’s maps, then e-scout to find water, cover and edges between crops and CRP. Grain crops are not as prevalent as in the Dakotas, but if you find some, hunt hard. I must have been living right a couple seasons ago, jumping sage grouse, sharpies and a rooster on the same piece of Block Management property (I missed).
Headquarter along the eastern half of the Hi-Line (Highway 2) in towns such as Glasgow and Malta, where the vegetation looks a lot like the grasslands of South Dakota. Search the Fish, Wildlife & Parks Department’s Region 6 map for concentrations of walk-in parcels, roam the area’s wildlife refuges or seek out land administered by the Bureau of Land Management. In any case, riparian areas are a pheasant magnet. Another good bet is the Block Management land near Lewistown, a two-hour drive from Bozeman where you can watch trout swimming under the Montana Tavern via a glass-topped counter. You can hunt pheasants through Jan. 1, 2025, in Montana.
WASHINGTON The southeast corner of Washington has amber waves of grain and some adjacent private land open to public access (visit privatelands.wdfw.wa.gov for a list of properties). E-scouting will dial you into the habitat on each, with your best prospects being in Grant, Whitman and Walla Walla counties. While wheat and canola are principal foods, wheatgrass and berries can also be found in the local birds’ crops. If you’ve ever wanted to hunt western Kansas, this is a pretty good analog, with vast grain fields and subtle folds in the landscape. And you’re not crossing six states to get there!
Pheasants are stocked in some parts of the West, but wild and wily birds abound in many areas. (Shutterstock) Investigate the breaks of the Snake River and other major streams (I like the slopes just off the top, where sage meets stubble). Birds are often pushed to the edge, where they hunker until hunters are gone and their crops need filling. The season typically closes at the end of the second week in December.
If you like wine, you’ll love the town of Walla Walla, barely four hours from the Seattle area, with hundreds of wineries, tasting rooms and restaurants to match the gourmet vibe. Uber to the Airport District, now an incubator for young vintners. The laid-back atmosphere is a pleasant change from the nose-in-the-air, Napa-like scene in town or at the “big” wineries.
COLORADO Many Coloradans head to western Kansas for their ringneck fix, but a 2 1/2-hour drive from Denver puts you on walk-in ground near the Nebraska border off Hwy. 113. CRP ground next to cornfields can hold a smattering of birds. I counted more coyotes in one day there than anywhere I’ve hunted, but I bumped two birds from a fallow terraced field. You can hunt Colorado until the end of January.
Kick your way through crop fields and CRP ground to raise roosters in northeastern Colorado. (Shutterstock) WYOMING Southwest Wyoming’s pheasant population is mainly put-and-take on public ground, but the chukar and Hungarian partridge numbers near Torrington make a ringneck detour to that burg worthwhile—and it’s just a 2-hour drive from Laramie. Springer Wildlife Habitat Management Area, 15 miles south of Torrington, is typically a solid pheasant hunting spot. Another choice is Thunder Basin National Grassland in northeastern Wyoming. The season closes on New Year’s Eve.
IDAHO The farm-rich region of southern Idaho holds a few birds and a smattering of public access. The Magic Valley can pay off, too. A pheasant stocking program puts birds in some wildlife management areas around the state. Consult the Idaho Fish and Game Department website (idfg.idaho.gov) for locations. Find walk-in ground (Access Yes! is the name of the program) near irrigated fields, and if there’s a creek or river nearby, bust the brush. My favorite campground in Idaho is Three Island Crossing State Park near Glen’s Ferry, with an Oregon Trail museum and riverside setting. The season closes Dec. 31.
There is no shortage of prime Western habitat where you and your dog can stretch your legs in search of pheasants. (Shutterstock) So, if you’ve only got a weekend, a day or an afternoon to get out, pheasant hunting is perhaps closer than you think in the West. It might not be the stuff of legend, but in many cases it’s just down the road, and it’s up to you—and your dog—to make the most of it.
This article was featured in the November 2024 issue of Game & Fish magazine. Click to subscribe .
