SD Whitetails

[Kyle]

Im from MN, and I would really like to hunt SD for whitetails. Im looking for big bucks though. Im sure that they can be anywhere out there, as with most states, but what part of the state would you say would be worth spending the time and money on going to? Im only trophy hunting, not meat hunting, and this would be self guided. thanks

[prov1900]

Southeast if you are looking for whitetails. Yankton area is a good start, keying in on the Mo River.

[carpshooterdeluxe]

big white tails can be had in any part of the state. just like any hunt it takes doing your home work. ive seen some nice shooters this summer from aberdeen down to winner. my buddy is head guide at a lodge near chamberlain; his trail photos he's posted of mulies and whitetails makes me drool.

[paul pachowicz]

being from South Dakota I'd say that your best bet for the big boys would be east river. West river just simply doe not have the forage for big bodies or horns. Sure, there are a few nice bucks around in the "Hills" but, on the prairie it's hard to find a place to hunt. The Cheyenne River breaks in the Wasta/Wall area produce some dandys now and then. There are a few outfitters around there that'll take your check. Non-res tags are really limited and if ya don't have one by now I'm afraid you're outta luck because there are no over the counter tags and they are county by county lottery draws which took place in July. You could look at the SD GF&P site to see if there are any leftover tags.

[Rost]

East River is your best bet. However, getting drawn will be a problem. Go to the SD GFP site and you'll see the drawing results.

SD gives the buck tags to the land owners first, then the SD guys with preferance points, then the SD guys that are applying for bucks, then finally non residents. Plain and simple... a non resident rarely gets drawn.

I hunt Marshall co in NE SD. We have 2 MN guys that have hunted with us for 6 years and have yet to draw a buck tag.

[paul pachowicz]

I'll try to explain a few things about the SD lottery. Each county/area is allocated so many tags. 50% of those tags are set aside for qualified owners owning 110 acres (I think. An owner must be on the land. So, if a landowner leases his land out and lives in Florida they do not qualify for the land owner tag. I'm guessing the number of landowners that do apply is low. Non res "seldom" getting tags is completely wrong. For instance, in my area thee were 250 resident tags for "any deer any doe & 11 non res. Now, an application envelopes may include 6 applicants and is counted as 1. So, theoretically 66 non res folks could draw tags and if they were double tags that would equate to 132 deer. Of those 11 tags all can be sold. Preference points can be accumualated if you do not draw your 1st choice (you can apply for a 2nd choice) or you can pay 5 dollars for a point and accumulate them for when you do apply. My son now lives out of state and has drawn non-res tags 4 years in and row and 2 guys from Good Thunder, Minn have drawn for years and years. They have hunted on the same ranch that I do for over 30 years as have I. If all the tags in an area (res & non res) have not been sold they will be offered for a second draw and if not sold they can be applied for by anyone even if you already have tags. We do have a "favorite son" provision which allows a SD military resident serving outside SD to walk in and pay for a tag in the area of his choice but, they do not affect the allocated numbers. Now, those tags that are not applied for by landowners go into the lottery of that county/area. I don't have an east river tag handy so I couldn't say what is offered in those parts. Hope I haven't muddied the waters trying to give some insight on how our lottery works.

[SDPROV]

Those stats on license must be for west river. In East river Rost is right about non res not having much of a chance for a any deer tag. Most of the east river any deer tags are gone after the first drawing. I could be wrong but i don't beleive a non resident can even apply for the first drawings for east river!

[Rost]

Please take a look at the leftover licenses for the second drawing available to residents only (non-residents have to wait until the third drawing). You'll see that very few counties have leftover buck tags. The counties that do have a lot of leftover tags are usually reservations.

http://www.sdgfp.info/Wildlife/hunting/Leftovers/ERDeer.htm

[DonBo]

Archery tags are unlimited.

[Rost]

Good point DonBo.

Archery is definately a NRs best bet for SD Bucks.

[paul pachowicz]

Boy fellas, I was way off base on non-res tags for the east side of the state. Just for the heck of it I stopped at the GF&P and picked one up. I was surprised to see how it works over in the democratic side of the state. According to the application all tags are resident only until after the 3rd drawing which ends on 28 Oct and then opens on a 1st come 1st served basis. This process begins on the 31st. However, what I explained about west river (the republican side) stands true. I had NO idea that it worked that way til today. Mia maxima Copa. By the way, I had a great time fishin Big Winnie all last week

"Pac"

[Kyle]

Thanks everyone. Im an archery hunter, so its all about the bow for me. Im not looking to go until next year so I have some time. thanks again.

[norpikeman]

Hunting the Corp of Engineer land on the west side of the river also is a great option if you are rifle hunting be prepared to walk and hunt hard but their are some nice deer in the river breaks