Hunters Gear Up For Opening Weekend

SIOUX FALLS, SD - The clock is ticking for hunters in South Dakota. The pheasant opener is next weekend for South Dakota residents, and Scheels in Sioux Falls is seeing an increase in foot traffic.

"Stuff's starting to pick up now, definitely," Scheels Optics Manager Josh Batchke said.

And for those in the store this weekend, hunting season is something they look forward to every year. 

"When you grow up on a farm, you get a gun when you're, probably five or six years old, and start shooting birds in your backyard and then you just grow up with it, so I've hunted my whole life," Wes Fergen of Huron said.

That's exactly why Scheels is noticing people coming out and getting gear this weekend, anticipating that first shot of the season in the coming weeks.

"You're seeing a lot of guys come in and buy ammo, cause you know the weather is getting colder in the morning," Batchke said.

And Batchke says it's not only exciting to see people come out and gear up for the season, but it's also fun to see people come from all over to hunt in South Dakota.

"You see all kinds of people, every state, sometimes foreign countries coming in, you know we're fortunate, we live in probably one of the best states for hunting there is," Batchke said.

And for lifelong hunters like Fergen, leaving the store empty-handed is not an option.

"I think I'm going to buy a gun today, I don't know, maybe it's just hunting season has come around I guess I have to buy something just cause it's hunting season," Fergen said.

And next weekend many of these hunters will be using their purchases out in the field.