The areas we scouted were east of the Missouri River and due north and northeast of Pierre. If you have access to their Hunting Atlas we covered sections 3,4,west part of 5,8,9, and most of the school lands in 13 and drove down the middle of 14,19,24, and 29.

Supposedly that was the heart of S. Dakota pheasant country including Huron, Redfield, and Aberdeen. We actually spent the nite in Chamberlin which had one of the highest bird counts according to S. Dakota wildlife Dept.

Did not venture West of the Missouri River so that is an unknown to us. We saw about as many sharpies as we saw pheasants on the East side of the Missouri but the crops were still in the fields and that could have been misleading. From what I have been told West is good sharpie and hun country (especially the Fort Pierre National grasslands).
I would be interested to hear how you do if you go up there.

We'll definitely keep you posted. This could get interesting lol

I believe South Dakota has a 5 day maximum hunt for out of staters and can't hunt before 10 am for info

The way I understand it, you get two 5 day hunts as an out of stater. You have to declare the second 5 day hunt when you buy your license. There must be a break between hunts. You can only hunt on those declared days, first 5 days and second 5 days.
Early in the season, October, you can not start hunting until Noon. After the first two weeks, then you can start hunting at 10 o'clock. It may vary a little bit but it is clearly stated when start times are in their handbook. Makes for a leisurely start in either case. Or gives you time to scout after sunrise.

MSP24 you have a PM.

Pm returned.