Diy south dakota archery mule deer

[oTrexGray]

HI THERE,

New to the forum and for good reason! Heading west for a SD Muley hunt next October. Coming from West Virginia I'm a DIY public land bowhunter that loves mature mountain whitetails. I've harvested my fair share of good bucks in my home state with two exceeding that 160" mark! (WT) But I def consider myself a newbie to the aspect of spot and stalk western hunting. I've never been west of Kentucky!! Thankfully, that's about to change and I couldn't be more excited! I couldn't think of a better way for some tips or knowledge than to get on a forum. Looking for tips on what I should look forward to, gear, misc. things that I might overlook.

We're planning on a 10-12 day pack in hunt towards the NW part of the state. Looking at sections of the Custer National Forest as I've looked at it on Google Earth and it seems to have some decently rugged country with a lot of crevasses for a decent buck to hide. Maybe...... LOL

Any info would be great! I know our chances are slim on harvesting a good buck with stick and string. Especially in the time frame we have! So, I'm just trying to gather as much information ahead of time to possibly help our chances! We don't mind hiking back out empty handed as the adventure will be good enough in itself!

We're going to start applying for Wyoming pref points to be able to draw a decent tag in the future. But with SD archery being almost guaranteed (from what I've read) we're trying our luck there in the years to come!

Apologies for the long post
PS. I understand some don't like to give out information about public land deer for everyone to see. Like I said, I'm a public land hunter myself. Feel Free to PM me!

 

[HighPlainsHunter]

Black Hills are a lot of fun. I have spent more time on the South side but there are deer through the hills. I usually try to find some ag land ajacent to public land and then catch them coming/going.

Not sure there would be a good reason to "pack in" for many days at a time in the Black Hills as you will be lucky to find places even a couple miles from roads.

 

[oTrexGray]

Black Hills are a lot of fun. I have spent more time on the South side but there are deer through the hills. I usually try to find some ag land ajacent to public land and then catch them coming/going.

Not sure there would be a good reason to "pack in" for many days at a time in the Black Hills as you will be lucky to find places even a couple miles from roads.

Thanks for the reply HighPlainsHunter!

Is there campgrounds throughout these areas that would keep us within distance of huntable land?

Also, I keep reading about new Walk-In areas that open up each year? Would you happen to know any information on that and how I would go about seeing what places open up for the following year?

 

[HighPlainsHunter]

Thanks for the reply HighPlainsHunter!

Is there campgrounds throughout these areas that would keep us within distance of huntable land?

Also, I keep reading about new Walk-In areas that open up each year? Would you happen to know any information on that and how I would go about seeing what places open up for the following year?

There are dozens of USFS campgrounds in the black hills, plus lots of other options from private campgrounds to places like cottonwood reservoir which has a campground. Custer State park, angostora, etc. Here is the interactive map that shows the USFS campgrounds.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/blackhills/maps-pubs

And maps of walk in areas and other public hunting opportunities.
https://sdgfp.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=946eccdaadf84df6aa2bcf08e9fb1aaf

 

[oTrexGray]

Awesome! Thanks. Can I expect to have a hard time getting away from other hunters during the early parts of Archery season? If so, would the WIA'S maybe help with that in comparison to NF land?

 

[kesand72]

Welcome Trex! Hope you have a great hunt.
I'll be rifle hunting S Dakota for the first time this November. I'll be in Perkins County. Keep us posted on your adventure!

 

[BrettKoenecke]

Welcome to the forum and to the west. I hope your trip is everything you hope it will be.

 

[raspy]

There is some decent deer in Custer. It gets pressure pretty hard for bow season. Hunted down there last year and ran in to quite a few people. I would focus more on the prairie then up in Custer if your looking for a good Muley

 

[elvspec]

I've hunted South Dakota the last three years for both antelope and deer. Last year opening week of deer every road driven down and every pull over had hunters so it was pretty crowded. This includes those going after antelope. Was very hard to get away from people.

I agree that in S.D. there's no reason to pack in for an extended hunt. Most areas are only a couple of miles in at best as there's no real wilderness areas.

The S.D. Game Fish and Parks has an easy to use website with maps and hunting atlas's and app. you can download of all the hunt areas. Its a good tool to have in the field.

Good Luck!

 

[oTrexGray]

Welcome Trex! Hope you have a great hunt.
I'll be rifle hunting S Dakota for the first time this November. I'll be in Perkins County. Keep us posted on your adventure!

I think that's the county we plan to hunt as well. Maybe, head towards the SW part of the state though. That's why I've given myself plenty of time to prepare! Decisions, Decisions.
Thank you & Goodluck on your upcoming season!

 

[oTrexGray]

Welcome to the forum and to the west. I hope your trip is everything you hope it will be.

Thank you! Goodluck in your upcoming seasons!

 

[oTrexGray]

There is some decent deer in Custer. It gets pressure pretty hard for bow season. Hunted down there last year and ran in to quite a few people. I would focus more on the prairie then up in Custer if your looking for a good Muley

Thnks for the info! Trying to talk to as many people as possible to come up with a gameplan! Have a whole year to plan so hopefully we'll put something together!

 

[oTrexGray]

I've hunted South Dakota the last three years for both antelope and deer. Last year opening week of deer every road driven down and every pull over had hunters so it was pretty crowded. This includes those going after antelope. Was very hard to get away from people.

I agree that in S.D. there's no reason to pack in for an extended hunt. Most areas are only a couple of miles in at best as there's no real wilderness areas.

The S.D. Game Fish and Parks has an easy to use website with maps and hunting atlas's and app. you can download of all the hunt areas. Its a good tool to have in the field.

Good Luck!

Thanks for the information! Did you hunt the northern or southern part of the state? & I've already got the app download and trying to get as familiar as I can with it before the time comes!

 

[elvspec]

Thanks for the information! Did you hunt the northern or southern part of the state? & I've already got the app download and trying to get as familiar as I can with it before the time comes!

I've hunted both. Pretty much the same on both ends as far as people. Possibly more up North.

 

[HighPlainsHunter]

I've hunted South Dakota the last three years for both antelope and deer. Last year opening week of deer every road driven down and every pull over had hunters so it was pretty crowded. This includes those going after antelope. Was very hard to get away from people.

I agree that in S.D. there's no reason to pack in for an extended hunt. Most areas are only a couple of miles in at best as there's no real wilderness areas.

The S.D. Game Fish and Parks has an easy to use website with maps and hunting atlas's and app. you can download of all the hunt areas. Its a good tool to have in the field.

Good Luck!

Are you talking gun season?

I have a hard time believing there are that many people out for the archery opener.

OP is asking about archery season. I doubt he will have much issue getting away from other people, especially during the week.

 

[elvspec]

Are you talking gun season?

I have a hard time believing there are that many people out for the archery opener.

OP is asking about archery season. I doubt he will have much issue getting away from other people, especially during the week.

Yes, I’m talking about opening archery deer which also overlaps archery antelope. Combined Harding county is littered with archery hunters. Didn’t see a heck of a lot of reduction during the week as it seems most hunters are out if state. Just my observations.

 

[HighPlainsHunter]

Yes, I’m talking about opening archery deer which also overlaps archery antelope. Combined Harding county is littered with archery hunters. Didn’t see a heck of a lot of reduction during the week as it seems most hunters are out if state. Just my observations.

Interesting. I have done a lot of archery hunting just to the South of the Black Hills and have only ran into other deer hunters in the field on a couple of occasions. Never had any issue getting away from people. I guess it just depends on the area.

If that's the case and it's really that bad then it might make sense to head across the border to Nebraska as there is very little pressure during archery season when it comes to deer. The antelope get hit pretty hard on the grassland around Crawford due to cheap OTC tags but the areas around the Pine Ridge NF are all pretty good for hunting mule deer.

 

[go_deep]

^^^^ Solid advice ^^^^

 

[elvspec]

Interesting. I have done a lot of archery hunting just to the South of the Black Hills and have only ran into other deer hunters in the field on a couple of occasions. Never had any issue getting away from people. I guess it just depends on the area.

If that's the case and it's really that bad then it might make sense to head across the border to Nebraska as there is very little pressure during archery season when it comes to deer. The antelope get hit pretty hard on the grassland around Crawford due to cheap OTC tags but the areas around the Pine Ridge NF are all pretty good for hunting mule deer.

I’ve actually considered Nebraska myself just haven’t gotten around to it. May be a good time to do some research. Thanks.

For the O.P., If you have your heart set on Harding County the Reva Campground east of Buffalo is a good spot to setup. No running water but they have pit toilets which should be ok for you since you’re considering backcountry anyway. Best of Luck!

 

[sd_smith]

I live in the NW corner of SD and you definitely need to concentrate between Belle Fourche and Buffalo. Even a little east in line with Newell. The closer you get to the MT and WY borders the better the terrain gets and there are tons of muleys and antelope. If you're willing to walk a couple miles or more then you shouldn't have a problem finding deer.

You can camp on BLM land btw, if you didn't already know that and it's not a bad idea to hike in on walk-in ground to a small section of BLM to set up a tent. I've done it a bunch when I first started chasing them with archery equipment. Custer NF gets hunted hard from Day 1 and it isn't large enough to be hunting on top of other people. Lots of whitetails, but the mule deer get pushed out real fast to the ranches. The general area around Camp Crook, SD would be a heck of a starting point. Keep in mind the closer you get to the Little Missouri River the more whitetails there are. They can be very BIG and might be worth a stalk. 160+ is common and likely in that area along the river.

But finding the mule deer isn't hard. A spotting scope and a decent pack bag will set you up for success. Don't skyline yourself and bed the deer before you stalk them.