South Dakota Archery Deer

[lopey15]

Can anyone tell me anything about a South Dakota any deer archery public land hunt?  Are these tags hard to draw?

[Kelly]

Can’t help with that draw but pretty sure non resident archery doesn’t start when residents does. It starts a month later.

[lopey15]

Yes…looks like it opens Oct 1. After looking at draw stats, looks like a little over 2800 people applied for 2200 tags. I’ve never hunted South Dakota but looks like I’m headed north to try my hand at an archery deer hunt.

[Trenton G.]

My dad and I both drew ours and will be headed out in October. I've never hunted SD so it will be interesting. I'm hoping with the capped licenses there won't be a ton of guys but I'm sure it'll still be pretty busy.
We'll be targeting mule deer for the most part unless a big whitetail shows up.

[Kelly]

So now SD is a draw for non resident archery deer?  No more over the counter archery deer?

[Trenton G.]

They changed it this year. Private land tags are still unlimited but public land is limited to 2200 tags. Western hunting is getting tougher and tougher as a nonresident. It's almost to the point that if I want to hunt stuff out there I'm going to have to move.

[lopey15]

Definitely agree on landing a western tag…I zeroed out on elk-deer-antelope in New Mexico this year so threw my name in the hat for SD and got lucky. I’ll still hunt mule deer and whitetail in Texas but I love the mountains. I was headed to Colorado if SD didn’t pan out. I’m still waiting on Antelope as well. I guess we will see what happens!

[BAK]

Hunted there with a few good friends over 20 years ago.  Just OTC then and had a great time.   They've all passed now.   

[Tim Finley]

South Dakota got completely over run by non resident hunters mostly from Minn. and Wis. I drove through the Slim Bittes and every spot that you could find level enough for a camper or tent waws taken the camp ground was full and people were driving through it constantly . It ruined the hunting for everyone it would take about 2 days for the deer to be driven onto private land the was inaccessible. The state had to do something and cutting the tags helped .

[lopey15]

I’m pretty sure there won’t be many Texans headed up there…hopefully with limited tags it will help the opportunity at taking a deer.

[Trenton G.]

Western public land is definitely getting worse and worse, and I do feel guilty since I realize that it's guys like me who are causing the problem. If they'd transplant some mulies and more elk in Michigan, then I wouldn't be quite as inclined to roam.

Nebraska was the same way last year. Saw very few deer, but made lots of unofficial new friends that were all trying to hunt the same area that we were. I'd love to find some decent private ground that I could pay a trespass fee on for a few days, but even that seems fairly undoable at this point with so many outfitters and hunt clubs locking down leases and paying money that I could never afford or justify for a week long trip.

[D.Rose]

Hunted South Dakota non resident archery opener past two years and only seen other hunters in passing. Must just feel crowded because everyone camps and stays in the same places. The amount of public ground is insane and we've yet to have any issue finding deer to hunt. Even when locals and regulars there say deer numbers are down terrible. Last few year it's been a guaranteed draw but idk about this year. Little overwhelming if you've never been in that type terrain but it's a dang fun place to hunt. I've been twice and killed nice bucks both trips. If you're use to public land and can think outside the box you can definitely have a great chance of success. 

[mnbwhtr]

D.Rose, in the last 6-7 yrs that's been my experience also when hunting Antelope in S.D. I've seen cars from all over the country but "overun" no. Get out and walk!

[Tim Finley]

Thats because they cut the tags back you should have seen it before .

[lopey15]

I hunt public quite a bit…this will be my first crack at SD. I’m in pretty good shape so putting miles on my boots shouldn’t be a problem. I’m pretty excited hunting new ground!

[mnbwhtr]

Tim, read my first post again, I've hunted there for many years without being overrun and this is the first year of cut backs. The only problems I've ever seen is Residents road hunting and trespassing.

[Tom0728]

I live in sd and hunt archery every year. There is a lot of hunters in some areas, but other areas are pretty empty. As long as a guy just goes exploring and keeps his eye sharp for sign you can get into deer. Also keep.watch for mountain lions and the occasional black bear if your in the black hills

[lopey15]

I live in sd and hunt archery every year. There is a lot of hunters in some areas, but other areas are pretty empty. As long as a guy just goes exploring and keeps his eye sharp for sign you can get into deer. Also keep.watch for mountain lions and the occasional black bear if your in the black hills

Will do…should be a fun hunt…can’t wait!

[4 point]

I hunted the buttes two years ago and probably won’t bother going back for a long time. The last two times I was up there I never saw a mature mulie buck. Guessing it’s increased hunting pressure along with sept 1 opener. It sad, use to be one of my favorite places to hunt. I experienced the same thing Tim did. Camps everywhere a person could fit a camper.