Traditional Pheasant Hunting
Traditional field hunts have been our specialty at Ringneck Ranch for over 38 years. With our cover development and over 10,000 hunting acres of prime upland game bird habitats, we are able to provide an opening day experience every day. Pheasant season at Ringneck Ranch runs from October 1 through the first week of March. Each hunting party is allocated one of our staff that acts as a guide and dog handler along with a 4 door four-wheel drive truck for the duration of your stay at Ringneck Ranch.
Download our brochure here: Ringneck Ranch Brochure
Kansas Pheasant Hunting vs. South Dakota Pheasant Hunting
How we compare to our northern neighbors:
- Milder weather all hunting season
- Longer pheasant hunting season
- On-site quality lodging, accommodations & dining
- Price comparable
- Closer for most guests from the lower, midwest and coastal states
History of the Pheasant
The Chinese Ringneck Pheasant was introduced to Kansas early in the last century and it has thrived in the agricultural environment of the north central portion of Kansas. The advent of the conservation reserve program of the 80’s in establishing large tracts of warm season grasses for brooding and nesting generated the last great surge in harvested populations.
Native Pheasant
We are beginning to see a continuing recovery of our native pheasant numbers after 4 years of severe drought, which stifled successful hatching and brooding. We are seeing this improvement again this year as the KDWPT pheasant crow index has returned above pre-drought averages, and north central Kansas is above the long-term average. Winter typically is not a factor in Kansas as winter weather is rarely severe enough to cause any populations effect. Weather and habitat fluctuations cause annual variations, but Kansas consistently ranks among the top states as a pheasant hunting destination.
Historically, best regions are the northcentral, northwestern, and southwestern parts of the state although some good pheasant hunting can be found in the central and northeast, as well. Local populations in a given year are largely dependent on weather. Upland hunters are likely to encounter pheasants throughout Kansas, except in 15 southeastern counties where pheasants are absent.
Habitat Development at Ringneck Ranch
We continue to work on new habitat development projects around the ranch. We are establishing new quail buffer and filter strip CRP (Conservation Reserve Program) grass areas at the ranch! Extensive network of food plot plantings are managed throughout the area that we regularly utilized for our upland gamebird hunting. Also, we have undertaken a significant program to embellish habitat development at the Blue Hills Lodge area as well as some new properties. Our guests have become comfortable in our established areas, but we are delighted to be able to provide some new hunting adventures!
