South Dakota Non-Res Pronghorn hunt

[lowbow]

hi everyone

first off gotta say Eastmans forum has a large amount of information. thanks everyone who participates on here as hunters and wildlife conservation.

so with that said!.. has anyone had success in south dakota hunting antelope as non residents archery? from what ive read so far is there is a large herd in the south-west side of the state. never been on a non resident hunt before but would like to start exploring more of the country in its purist form.

any help is appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Tim McCoy]

Sorry, no archery hunts for me in SD. Have taken a couple in SD with a rifle. Happy to share what I know. If you are interested, PM me.

 

[siwulat]

Let me first say welcome!

I, like you, am from Minnesota and a newbie to western/non-res hunting. With that being said, I don't have much advice but I will tell you what I did.

Last season my Dad, Brother and I decided that we would like to get into western hunting. However, none of us felt comfortable dropping a large sum of money when we had absolutely no idea what we were doing. After researching, we determined that we would pursue pronghorn in WY. In an effort to keep our costs down while we learning, we put in and drew antelope doe/fawn tags that cost $48 each, in addition to the $12 conservation stamp. So we were looking at $60 to legally hunt Wyoming instead of about $300 for the non-res any sex tag. To us, the adventure is worth more than horns. We put in for tags in unit 16, which was identified by the G&F as difficult access. We chose this unit because it all but guaranteed we could hunt that year.

The first week of the season, we packed our vehicles and headed west to Wyoming. We camped on BLM land and hunted for a week, and it was one of the most humbling experiences in my life. The access was tough, but not impossible and studying the maps helped us alot. The terrain was something that no one was entirely prepared for. We ended up hunting the majority of the week on a State WIA and saw goats most every day. We tried to put a stalk on them several times, but never could quite get close enough. We ended up leaving after our hunt without a punched tag, but with having learned A TON about western hunting.

That being said, I am very happy that we chose to go doe/fawn only, because the learning curve is/was steep. Please keep in mind that this is just my opinion. I am sure you will be very happy with any decision you make. Hunting the west is definitely addictive!

Like I said, not a ton of experience, but I would be willing to help in any way possible.

 

[lowbow]

Thanks! sounds like wisdom to me! much appreciated!

 

[Hilltop]

I have friends that hunt the north west corner of Nebraska for archery antelope- basically the same animals just across the state line. They shoot some antelope but it is tough hunting. They probably average 25-50% depending on the year. The occasionally shoot a decent buck in the low 70s. Spot and stalk and decoys have been their best producers as water holes haven't produced like they do out west. It does sound like a fun hunt but I haven't made the trip yet as I prefer Wyoming.

 

[sodaksooner]

Tough hunting in SD right now. Herd numbers are pretty low due to the harsh winters lately. That being said, the SW corner might be the best as it doesn't get hit quite so hard with the weather.

I would only hunt SD personally because I have quite a bit of private land access, but if I were going cold, I'd go to WY.

 

[dead river]

I have pheasant hunted western SD and ND for at least a week every year for more than 10 years. They lost a lot of animals a few years ago (about 3 i believe). Having hunted NM, CO and WY and being an easterner that had to just go do it and learn, i would suggest eastern WY or eastern MT. I will PM you.

good luck

 

[marcusvdk]

I would recommend going the little extra drive and go into Wyoming. They have great antelope hunts and always been told hard to have a bad antelope hunt in Wyoming. I have also heard a lot about how the SD herd has been struggling to the point where they had closed the season for a few years. I would try out Wyoming personally just my two cents.