East River South Dakota Deer Hunt

[cesslinger]

Hey guys,

I am looking for some tips for hunting east river in South Dakota for Deer this season. I have hunted west river and down in Missouri, and in both places the deer populations are much higher. I have access to about 1000 acres of private land in Lincoln county. Any advice or suggestions would be great. Feel free to PM me. Thanks!

 

[NDGuy]

Hey guys,

I am looking for some tips for hunting east river in South Dakota for Deer this season. I have hunted west river and down in Missouri, and in both places the deer populations are much higher. I have access to about 1000 acres of private land in Lincoln county. Any advice or suggestions would be great. Feel free to PM me. Thanks!

Just a heads up but NRs are not eligible to apply for East River until the 3rd draw. I am sure you knew that though, good luck with your hunt.

 

[cesslinger]

Just a heads up but NRs are not eligible to apply for East River until the 3rd draw. I am sure you knew that though, good luck with your hunt.

I'm a resident. Just haven't hunted east river since I was a kid, and things have changed since that EHD die off.

 

[Jxferg7]

I'm a resident. Just haven't hunted east river since I was a kid, and things have changed since that EHD die off.

If you have that much private, you should be good to go. I would hunt them the same as I would central or west River. You could do some shed hunting and hike game/cattle trails and find where to hang a couple cameras. Not sure if there was something specific or not but your on your way there.

 

[cesslinger]

Is a tree stand the way to go do you think? Out west theres so many deer it's an easy spot and stalk or if you have a good idea of where they are gonna move you just get in there way. Over here I'm not so sure.

 

[Jxferg7]

Is a tree stand the way to go do you think? Out west theres so many deer it's an easy spot and stalk or if you have a good idea of where they are gonna move you just get in there way. Over here I'm not so sure.

I don’t think tree stands are ever a bad idea if you have what they need close...shelter, water, food....what kind of private are we talking about? Do they have crops, what kind of crops? I’ve heard of some flipping monsters coming out of those corn fields.

 

[cesslinger]

Thanks for being willing to chat!

It's all ag land. Spot I'm looking hard at has a old shelterbelt that I could throw a tree stand up at the edge that faces into a good sized field. I figure that's a good spot from the sign I have seen since I started visiting the property. I'm going to throw up trail cams in a few spots, but the landowner is still wintering in Arizona so I haven't had a chance to meet up with him and walk the property this spring yet.

 

[bjfoxhoven]

1000 acres of private is awesome to start with. The shelter belt is going to be good fore you to get up in. Is it all crops? Or is there some pasture also? Any sloughs? I would definitely hunt out of an elevated platform whether a saddle of stand. It just offers so many advantages when you can get up in a tree where deer will be.

 

[cesslinger]

1000 acres of private is awesome to start with. The shelter belt is going to be good fore you to get up in. Is it all crops? Or is there some pasture also? Any sloughs? I would definitely hunt out of an elevated platform whether a saddle of stand. It just offers so many advantages when you can get up in a tree where deer will be.

There are a couple sloughs. None of the land is pasture, its all agg. He also has another shelterbelt near the farm house that i have permission to hunt from as well, and that faces towards a creek that isn't on his property. Have you had much success calling in deer in SD? i feel like that is going to be important even if Im in the stand before sunrise. But i really have nothing to base that on because i haven't needed to call in animals before.

 

[bjfoxhoven]

There are a couple sloughs. None of the land is pasture, its all agg. He also has another shelterbelt near the farm house that i have permission to hunt from as well, and that faces towards a creek that isn't on his property. Have you had much success calling in deer in SD? i feel like that is going to be important even if Im in the stand before sunrise. But i really have nothing to base that on because i haven't needed to call in animals before.

Archery or rifle hunting? Yeah I’ve had success. Just depends on the situation and their mood if it is going to work. Definitely scout the area.. but try not to pressure it by benign in there too much. Glass the bean fields early august in the evenings, lots of bucks are visible then. Try not to put too much scent in there where it shouldn’t be. The big boys will know and it will change their movement and they will key in on you quickly.

 

[cesslinger]

Archery or rifle hunting? Yeah I’ve had success. Just depends on the situation and their mood if it is going to work. Definitely scout the area.. but try not to pressure it by benign in there too much. Glass the bean fields early august in the evenings, lots of bucks are visible then. Try not to put too much scent in there where it shouldn’t be. The big boys will know and it will change their movement and they will key in on you quickly.

Rifle. My calling in concern would be trying to bring them in from fields i dont have access to. as far as scouting it out i can see most all of it from the bed of my pickup if i stand from the road (joys of being extremely tall). plus the guy who lives out there always keeps an eye out for me since he doesnt enjoy hunting like i do.

 

[spur60]

My advice...get some cameras up in early august. Does the land owner farm the land too or rent it out? Make sure you know for sure if anybody else has permission whether for archery or rifle. Lincoln county bucks will cruise miles during the rut. PM me if you want to talk more, I live in Sioux Falls and rifle hunt within 1/2 hour of SF.

 

[cesslinger]

My advice...get some cameras up in early august. Does the land owner farm the land too or rent it out? Make sure you know for sure if anybody else has permission whether for archery or rifle. Lincoln county bucks will cruise miles during the rut. PM me if you want to talk more, I live in Sioux Falls and rifle hunt within 1/2 hour of SF.

He owns the land and rents the rest. No one else has permission on his property to hunt and it hasn't been hunted in probably 15 years. ill shoot you a pm

 

[bsnedeker]

I grew up East River so this might be a bit outdated, but the trick is to be hunting pheasants and have a rifle in the truck. Then when you scare up a buck you run as fast you can, grab the rifle, and start winging shots at the deer while it runs away. Make sure to tell all your hunting buddies to duck.

That's what I remember anyway!

 

[JimmyH]

Hey all, new here. I’ll be archery deer hunting east river for the first time also in October so looking forward to all advice and help I can get! Thanks!