South Dakota antlerless tag

[Cutler25]

So I drew an antlerless elk tag in a certain, less than desirable unit with not much public land. Anyone have any tips for the Hills hunting? Feel free to PM me for what unit. We have some family friends who live out there and they're going to see if they have anyone they know who has land that'd they be willing to let me hunt on.

Also going to CO in September to help my in-laws with their elk hunt for a week. That'll be my first time out elk hunting so I'm really excited and glad I'll have that as a test run without all the added pressure of getting something since I don't have a tag there. Thanks for any and all tips/info!

 

[spur60]

Any reason you applied for that unit specifically?

You can start with a call to the GFP; the increase in cow tags was in part due to depredation complaints from land owners. Maybe they can point you towards potential private land owners in the unit who've had issues. There are still a few land owners that will let you hunt on their land for elk with just a hand shake. Buddy's wife took a monster bull off private 45 minutes after knocking on a door last year. Get some scouting in, do some door knocking. Try to network with other hunters that will be rifle or archery hunting for bulls, as they will likely have cameras up on water holes. Offer to check/tend cameras for them in trade for intel on elk movement. Not sure if any of that will work but it's worth a shot.
I drew a hills cow tag in 2022 and had a blast.

 

[Cutler25]

Any reason you applied for that unit specifically?

You can start with a call to the GFP; the increase in cow tags was in part due to depredation complaints from land owners. Maybe they can point you towards potential private land owners in the unit who've had issues. There are still a few land owners that will let you hunt on their land for elk with just a hand shake. Buddy's wife took a monster bull off private 45 minutes after knocking on a door last year. Get some scouting in, do some door knocking. Try to network with other hunters that will be rifle or archery hunting for bulls, as they will likely have cameras up on water holes. Offer to check/tend cameras for them in trade for intel on elk movement. Not sure if any of that will work but it's worth a shot.
I drew a hills cow tag in 2022 and had a blast.

I'd love to say it was because I wanted a challenge, but it's all due to me not paying attention/doing enough research and just selecting one. Whoops. After finding out I'd be able to go help my in-laws with their hunt i just got excited and wanted to apply in state.

That's good to hear. I was going to call out there anyways and see first if GFP had an idea, but wasn't expecting much. But if landowners are having issues that's a different story. Ill try and get out there for some scouting. Exact opposite side of the state and a busy summer/early fall already.

I'm (obviously) new to this and didn't plan well so I'm just expecting a fun time in the Hills! Thanks for the tips!

 

[spur60]

There's a few black hills/west river hunting pages on facebook, might not hurt to see if anybody else drew that cow tag as well and see about teaming up. Be prepared to catch some flak though, there's people that get disgruntled every year with those that apply for tags then ask for info/locations/access after getting the tag.

 

[Fatcamp]

If you message me the unit and season I can possibly help.

 

[Cutler25]

There's a few black hills/west river hunting pages on facebook, might not hurt to see if anybody else drew that cow tag as well and see about teaming up. Be prepared to catch some flak though, there's people that get disgruntled every year with those that apply for tags then ask for info/locations/access after getting the tag.

I'll have to look those up. Thanks! Yeah, I get it. I'll do some legwork myself and see what I can get access to besides the national forest land.

 

[Cutler25]

If you message me the unit and season I can possibly help.

Ill have to wait for approval first! Thank you!

Update: called and talked to a CO and got some good info and people to talk to! Thanks for that tip spur60!