Gene,
You can never go too far to shoot pheasants, as far as I'm comcerned, it's one of the most fun & relaxing activities you can do. My boys are 12 and 9, the oldest one can legally hunt in SD this year (he has been able to hunt in Michigan since he was 10). They are both very small framed kids so I have a small 20 guage that the older one uses, the younger one goes along for moral support (and to skip school for the week).
Yes, there are pheasants in Michigan, but nothing like the Dakotas. I have been heading out there to hunt for the past nine years, I started going out west because I never found the time to hunt in Michigan, alway something else to do. Now when I'm in the Dakotas, I only have one thing to worry about and it's a yearly pilgrimage that I hope will last for many, many, more years. I usually spend on week in SD and one week in ND, it's the only vacation I take from February to December. Just typing about it is getting me all excited