OUCH!!!

[creepworm]

http://www.keloland.com/newsdetail.cfm/commission-expects-drop-in-south-dakota-deer-tags/?id=163756

[carpshooterdeluxe]

Glad I have preference points. I actually wanted to hunt deer pretty hard this fall. Might just have to buy my points and keep duck hunting.

[rundrave]

this doesn't surprise me at all. I am not a deer hunter but I didn't see near as many deer as I usually would last fall. In fact I can count on one hand how many deer encounters I had upland hunting last year and that was all over the state.

[creepworm]

I actually wanted to hunt deer pretty hard this fall.

I did as well. Thankfully, I bought a bow a few months ago. I too will probably just purchase a preference point this year instead of applying for a rifle tag.

I guess I did not pay enough attention to the deer population driving around this fall/winter. Did not realize the population was down enough to warrant a 40% drop in tag numbers this fall. Seems to be enough hit along the roads, but that is an extremely small sample size.

[DonBo]

I'm hoping this won't affect archery tags.

[rundrave]

some more info here:

http://gfp.sd.gov/agency/commission/archive/2014/May/info-materials.pdf

[Take 'Em]

Not surprised at all. Extreme habitat loss over the last 5 years along with disease in portions of the state. Whitetails are pushing out mule deer in central and western SD as whitetails follow the expansion of fall crops like CORN.

I hope they actually start drawing for archery mule deer tags in central SD. Way too many people along the counties near the Missouri