Hey Y'all to my friends around the world,
As I sit here in the middle of my hunting season I can't help but think how lucky I am to be a resident of South Dakota. Now before you go and call me biased, hold on to that thought and read the rest of this. I seriously think that SD is one of the most underrated hunting states in the country. Non-residents have an opportunity to hunt several different species of big game, at a price that is still affordable, and without an outfitter as public lands, BLM lands, and School lands are never far away. What follows is a quick list of the sport huntable species in South Dakota and the best counties and areas to find them. I hope this helps anyone who is considering hunting for these species.
Whitetailed Deer: The whitetailed deer can now be found in every nook and cranny of eastern and western SD. They have invaded lands that were previously home to only mule deer. Big deer are shot every year in almost every county but historically the best counties are Gregory, Brown and the counties that contain the Black Hills. Recently big whitetails have been harvested in Harding, Kingbrook, Davison, and Marshall. The South Dakota deer season system is broken up into West River and East River seasons. This makes it possible to have a deer tag for each part of the state. If you draw a East River Special buck tag you are allowed to hunt in any county in the east of the Missouri River, the same goes for a West River Special buck tag. I draw each, a west and east river, special buck tag annually. It is possible to harvest about 4 bucks per year in SD: East river, West river, archery, and muzzeloader. Now is that awesome or what?
Mule Deer: The population of Mule Deer is up in SD and this is great news as there have been serious questions about the general health of the herd. I have hunted mule deer for years in the eastern unit of Pennington county in the Cheyenne River Breaks. Every year at least one deer is harvested the breaks the 30" mark. Years that are not drought years (like this one for most of the state), the antler potential should be good. I recently hunted pronghorn in Butte county and was pleasantly surprised by the numbers of mulies. We saw and videotaped several mature, shooter bucks. This year some of the best mule deer will be taken in Lawrence, Butte, Harding, Perkins, Corson, Stanley, Jackson, Pennington, Haakon, and Meade. Checking out the availability of tribal lands for hunting is a real advantage.
Pronghorn Antelope: Butte, Harding, Perkins, and Ziebach are hands down the best places to find big speed goats especially for the non-resident as these units have the largest tag quotas and most public lands. This year the GF&P were distributing triple tags (1 buck, 2 doe) to hunters. Unfortunately, I don't think this was warranted as where I hunted in southern Perkins county it certainly did not seem as though the population was above average. Another benefit is that most of the land in these counties is owned by large ranchers and it is very easy to get permission to hunt large tracts of private lands. All you have to do is ask and be respectful. Close gates if you open them, don't harass the cattle, and don't litter.
Rocky Mountain Elk: The elk herd in western SD is growing and deciding what unit to put in for is always a difficult decision. The Black Hills have a lot of different terrains and usually going to an area that burned the previous year is a good idea, only every other hunter is thinking the same thing. The southern hills unit has always been a good bet especially the area around Jewel Cave National Park. Residents should put into the Custer State Park bull elk tag every year for this once in a lifetime tag. Building preference points is worth it, as when you are finally lucky enough to draw you are almost guaranteed to see a monster. Unfortunately, it may take 15+ years to draw. Drawing cow elk tags are relatively easy and is a good way to scout out the hills for a future bull hunt. Also there is a Prairie Elk unit that is seperate from the Black Hills unit. There is a unit in Bennett county, as well as Gregory county which extends down into Nebraska on the Missouri River.
Rocky Mountain BigHorn Sheep & Mountain Goat: There is a very limited amount of tags handed out every year to residents only. I guess you will have to move and live here long enough in order to draw a tag:)
Bison: There are several ranches that offer Buffalo hunting. Some are better than most as far as the hunting experience goes. Custer State Park offers a trophy bull bison hunt every year where they harvest 10 super bulls. These are the only bison found in South Dakota that are eligible for the Boone & Crockett record book. It is a lottery draw and the cost is $5,000. It took me three years to finally draw one and my hunt starts on December 29th. I am extremely excited as hunting a bison should be on everyone's list of trophies.
The SD Game, Fish, & Parks department will send information out and answer any questions that are offered. You can request a public lands & walk-in area plat book that shows exactly where all the public lands are that can be hunted by anyone. I encourage you to visit the GF&P's site at http://www.sdgfp.info/.
I plan on adding more to this blog entry in the future along with prices and more links to useful SD info. I also will add information on Pheasant, waterfowl, predator, and varmint hunting.
