SD ARCHERY ANTELOPE

[Cheezhunter]

Looking at doing a public land hunt. Any input on general area? Nw /Sw. This will be my first trip Out of state. Not necessarily looking for a wall hanger just opportunities

 

[huntngolf]

Generally speaking, the further west you go will have more antelope. But anywhere west of the Missouri River will have them. On the South Dakota GFP website you can look up tag allotments for specific counties, that should give you a pretty good idea of what areas have the most antelope.

 

[spur60]

Most guys either hit the NW corner of the state or the SW corner of the state. Fair amount of pressure.

 

[Cheezhunter]

I'm used to hunting pressure. I live in Michigan. Looks like a fair amount of public in the nw

 

[Manimal]

I hunted them last year. Lots of goats and public access. Only guys that were successful hunted water holes. Very tough hunt to try and stalk them in ankle high grass. I'm from Michigan and didn't want to sit water because I can do that at home. I got close on several stalks but it was a humbling experience. It was a lot of fun and will do it again if all my elk applications strike out

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[Cheezhunter]

Same here. If I wanted to sit in one spot I would stay here. Just wanting to try something different and new. I love hunting but thirty years of the same drill is getting a little boring

 

[Cheezhunter]

Any thoughts on what week of the season? Opening week or wait till mid Sept. I would imagine a fair amount of pressure opening week.

 

[huntngolf]

Mid September is when they will be rutting, so that would be your best chance to use a decoy. Opening weekend pressure usually isn't too bad, as a lot of guys wait for the rut to come. Opening weekend your best tactics would be sitting a water hole or finding one bedded in a good spot and then making a stalk. Mid august in western south dakota can be really hot so keep that in mind too

 

[Cheezhunter]

Thanks for the info. Not really wanting to sit water holes. So maybe my best bet would be mid September then

 

[WCB]

If you want to do some combat hunting go mid to end of Sept. Everybody and their brother will be running around with an antelope hat or decoy. It is an absolute zoo anywhere close (within 1hr) to a town/hotel or designated camping spots.

There is a lot of time in between opener and mid sept. That is the time I would target to avoid people. I know you say you don't mind pressure but western hunting was much more enjoyable when you didn't have to deal with people which is getting harder to do.

 

[Pezboat]

It is pretty busy mid September, but 90% of the people don’t go more than a few hundred yards off the road.

 

[Krem]

So how was it? Thinking of making this trip this year.

 

[kpk]

So how was it? Thinking of making this trip this year.

I'm curious how it looks this year too.

I was out for rifle last year and numbers seemed very low. I've considered going archery this year, but if the numbers didn't improve, I think it could be pretty tough.

 

[KurtR]

numbers are still pretty low is what my friends who ranch out there have told me.

 

[Muddawg]

Numbers are very low. Our gfp mismanaged the herd by not doing a 2021 survey and issued to many licenses which resulted in over harvest. I wouldnt spend my money on a tag this year.

 

[huntngolf]

Agree with everyone above on the low numbers. There's still antelope around, but areas that used to have herds of 50+ now your lucky to see 10

 

[Krem]

Hmm, that's a bummer, I am debating trying to squeeze in a trip I live in AR but will be in MN end of Aug. I think I would only really have 3 or 4 days of hunting in the first week of Sep. This would be my first antelope hunt, I'm really on the fence now.