Pheasants bring out every emotion for most upland enthusiasts, including awe, joy, and frustration. Add in the difficulty of hunting these regal birds on public lands where roosters can be more intelligent than an MIT grad, and your emotions might include astonishment and downright rage. 

Hunters spend thousands of hours chasing pheasants across public lands each year. State-owned wildlife areas, federally owned national grasslands and wetlands, and state-leased private lands in walk-in hunting programs provide hunters with an incredible amount of real estate to pursue the Midwest’s most prized game bird. If you plan on hunting public land pheasants this year and want to keep your frustration down to a minimum, try hunting good pheasant cover, using hunter pressure to your advantage, taking notes, and being stealthy.