First Time Mule Deer Hunt - DIY West River South Dakota

[jse5019]

Heading out in 11 days for the west river deer opener. A buddy and I have our first SD deer tags and are embarking on our first mule deer hunt. We have been e-scouting a ton and have talked to the local GFP officer for some additional information on our unit. We plan to pack in across a large section of BLM land and glass our eyes off to find deer but we will try and knock some doors for permission before season opens. I guess you never know unless you ask, right?? This weekend I’m packing and hitting the rifle range for the last time before our trip. Any general advice for a first time DIY, public land, tent camping mule deer hunter in SD?


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[Beagle001]

Good luck! Don’t be married to one spot, hopefully you get decent weather. My last WR tag, we had 80 degrees… we also had a pile of residents hunting deer like they were pheasants. Expect pressure first couple days then you may have the place mostly to yourself

 

[Plainsman79]

The weather in SD in November can be beautiful or brutal. I’d definitely have a backup plan for cold and snow. Have fun and be safe.

 

[huntngolf]

E-scouting is a good tool but won't show you what the activity on the land was this past year cattle wise. You can find some good areas and you can find areas that would have potential but if cattle were in there all summer there won't be much cover left for deer. Western SD did have a very good year moisture wise though so that has definitely helped

 

[TheYukiYama]

Headings out in 11 days for the west river deer opener.

Any luck? Interested if you were able to get away from the craziness or if there were still a lot of hunters around? Seem like a lot of public gets hammered pretty hard these days

 

[jse5019]

We chose what seemed to be the toughest access in our unit and saw 20+ hunters yesterday. Talked to a few who were leaving by Monday and today I have only seen 3 other hunters. We spotted one nice buck Friday night but have only glassed up does since. One group was packing out a solid muley buck yesterday afternoon. I found a shed this morning. We haven’t found any drinkable water and only have enough to get through two more days. After that we will probably relocate to another access. Definitely a challenging hunt but we still have 5.5 more days of hunting.


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[TheYukiYama]

Talked to a few who were leaving by Monday

I’ve killed 40 or so deer in SD and a lot of hunters are SD residents and only hunt opening weekend. Week days are often comparatively ghost towns and the rest of the season is significantly reduced compared to opener. Also rug usually starts to pick up more and you get more deer movement. Good luck. Please follow up after!

 

[jse5019]

Well, sometimes things change in an instant!

I was headed back to our campsite right at sunset, following a cattle path. I came around a bend and there was a buck standing on top of a small hump, on the same cattle path, looking straight at me. I couldn’t get a shot off before he bolted but I was able to catch up as he stood broadside on the side of a draw looking down at me. I missed (twice!) but he only moved slightly up the hill after each shot. Third shot I ranged him at 211 yards, had a better rest, and dropped him right where he stood. My first ever mule deer!

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[Fatcamp]

Well, sometimes things change in an instant!

I was headed back to our campsite right at sunset, following a cattle path. I came around a bend and there was a buck standing on top of a small hump, on the same cattle path, looking straight at me. I couldn’t get a shot off before he bolted but I was able to catch up as he stood broadside on the side of a draw looking down at me. I missed (twice!) but he only moved slightly up the hill after each shot. Third shot I ranged him at 211 yards, had a better rest, and dropped him right where he stood. My first ever mule deer!

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Awww, jealous! I want a big fork horn. He's a dandy!

 

[Rich M]

Excellent! Nice buck, good story - way to stick with it.

 

[eperro]

Congrats, my buddy hunts SD and some of the bucks he sends me pictures of are absurd. Hope to make it out there one day.

 

[jse5019]

Thank you all. I couldn’t be happy with this buck and the story to go with it. 13.1 miles later and all the meat is in coolers in the truck. Now to find one for my buddy!


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[sierracharlie338]

Way to keep at it and persevere! Congrats man

 

[TheYukiYama]

Thats SD mule deer for ya. Whitetail will run to the next county if lightly bumped but muleys seem to show up at the truck and be generous is giving additional opportunity. Nice job!

 

[jse5019]

Haha yeah I couldn’t believe he gave me so many chances!


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[hoyt-guy]

Nice job! Congrats on a successful DIY hunt!

 

[MGustin23]

I realize this was from a few years ago, but is there any chance you could list some of the most essential gear you needed obviously aside from the obvious (bow, arrows, clothes, etc.) . As you and your friend did, my buddy and I are planning a Muley Archery hunt in September of 2025. DIY camping style. Just looking for some items that may be forgotten in the planning stages of this archery hunt. Thanks!

 

[KurtR]

Heres my take. I dont see anything gained by camping here. If you like to camp i guess its something to do but i would rather take a shower every night and eat something decent. Your not going to camp out in the walk in area thats illegal and most places you get to an hour before sunrise and you get anywhere. Its not like being in the real mountains where you can pack in and it makes sense. You could pm where your going and I could give a little more detailed lay of the land.

 

[TheYukiYama]

I would agree with the above. Few places are more than 2 miles from a road. Only exception would be some areas along oahe where the only access is by boat and getting in and out daily could be enough of a pain to make camping worth it.
As for gear, range finder, binos/spotting scope, backpack that can haul meat/game bags, layers as weather can change, mapping capability such as OnX, cooler, idk there’s a bunch of things.

 

[KurtR]

Leaving a boat tied up on Oahe could get dicey. One of our storm rolls in might be walking along ways been on one of those recovery missions.