2024 Grouse Harvest Highest Since 2000
June 26, 2025Pierre, S.D.-The South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks (GFP) today announced the 2024 grouse season harvest numbers. Nearly 99,000 grouse were harvested throughout the 2024 season.
The 2024 season was also the first time the grouse season was open throughout the month of January, which provided an extended opportunity for hunters to hit the field.
“This is the highest harvest we have seen since 2000,” said Alex Solem, Senior Upland Game Biologist. “Perhaps more importantly, this is the highest birds per hunter since 2000 as well.”
Birds per hunter is one of the best metrics to determine success, as this is the easiest way to determine at an individual level how a hunter fared over the course of the season. The average birds per hunter for 2024 was 5.15.
“A high overall harvest number is one thing,” continued Solem. “When you’re seeing individual hunters have more birds harvested, that’s when you know you had a really strong season.”
To support this note, the 2024 season saw a 42% increase in harvest from 2023 with the same number of average days hunted as the last two years.
“Hunters were getting out and they were finding success,” concluded Solem. “South Dakota is indeed the greatest state to pheasant hunt, but you’re missing out if you aren’t enjoying the grouse hunting opportunities as well.”
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