Spent the last week in Gregory, S. D. They call the place "pheasant central" based on a quote from Fortune Magezene a few years ago. In fact it's inscribed on the front of the stone under the pheasant in the picture.
Even though it rained for 4 of the 5 days we were there we still had a great time. Plenty of birds. The outfitter and the guide were great folks. I even spent the last afternoon, when it was blowing 30+ with gusts to 40 and a bit of rain, walking the tree rows and field edges with the guide. No dogs we just worked along on foot. Covered a couple of miles of area. The outfitter let us just go, both of us with guns. I enjoyed that a pile.The weather was so bad that there was not another shot heard the whole time we were out.
And let me tell you about the airport. As you exit your plane at the Sioux Falls airport there is a BIG sign that says "Welcome Hunters". As you walk through the terminal with your gun case people don't pay you any attention.....imagine that in New York or Miami or L. A.!!
More than that, on Friday afternoon as we were leaving, the airport was packed with hunters arriving for the weekend. I mean hundreds of them. And in the terminal there are set up about a dozen manned booths giving out coffee and snacks and all sorts of information about hunting in S.D.
And this is really something..........they were selling, a hundred feet from where you pick up your bags, shotgun shells!!! I'm not making that up. There INSIDE the terminal you could buy shotgun shells!!!
Tell me that is not God's Country. The whole thing made it clear how wonderful a place America can be when we are FREE and the people are trusted and treated like adults.
That last picture is from inside Pete's Taxidermy. The place is amazing! He has 10,000 feet of showroom. They do the big displays for the likes of Cabelas. To get to the display you go right through the workshop. He and his wife and his wifes sister do the critical work and they have more family and a number of employees finishing stuff up. It was so good that we had to go back for a second look.
Even though it rained for 4 of the 5 days we were there we still had a great time. Plenty of birds. The outfitter and the guide were great folks. I even spent the last afternoon, when it was blowing 30+ with gusts to 40 and a bit of rain, walking the tree rows and field edges with the guide. No dogs we just worked along on foot. Covered a couple of miles of area. The outfitter let us just go, both of us with guns. I enjoyed that a pile.The weather was so bad that there was not another shot heard the whole time we were out.
And let me tell you about the airport. As you exit your plane at the Sioux Falls airport there is a BIG sign that says "Welcome Hunters". As you walk through the terminal with your gun case people don't pay you any attention.....imagine that in New York or Miami or L. A.!!
More than that, on Friday afternoon as we were leaving, the airport was packed with hunters arriving for the weekend. I mean hundreds of them. And in the terminal there are set up about a dozen manned booths giving out coffee and snacks and all sorts of information about hunting in S.D.
And this is really something..........they were selling, a hundred feet from where you pick up your bags, shotgun shells!!! I'm not making that up. There INSIDE the terminal you could buy shotgun shells!!!
Tell me that is not God's Country. The whole thing made it clear how wonderful a place America can be when we are FREE and the people are trusted and treated like adults.
That last picture is from inside Pete's Taxidermy. The place is amazing! He has 10,000 feet of showroom. They do the big displays for the likes of Cabelas. To get to the display you go right through the workshop. He and his wife and his wifes sister do the critical work and they have more family and a number of employees finishing stuff up. It was so good that we had to go back for a second look.