South Dakota elk wait

[Brushcreekbill]

anyone with experience hunting elk in sd wanna help me clarify something?

from the 2025 elk application Info page:
“If you draw your first choice in the first drawing,
you will lose eligibility for the specified duration in future years.”

“Those applicants who choose to use their preference points in the second draw and are successful in the draw will lose any accumulated preference points and eligibility to apply for that season for nine years.”

The way I’m reading this I can apply for different cow elk units/hunts in consecutive years.
But once I draw say a black hills tag BHE-H4B. I would not be eligible to draw that for either “future years” or nine years.
BUT I could draw other units/seasons the next year?

 

[PredatoronthePrairie]

No. It is my understanding if you use PP for cow/bull for any unit in any season. You are on the wait list. Essentially making it a once in a lifetime draw for bull. Once a decade for cow.

But you can then apply for a different season bow/rifle/prairie/Custer.

 

[Sodak_Lewno]

I believe if ever you use a Preference point and are successful you will enter the dead period of 9 years. There are 6 groups of tags (black hills, prairie, archery, etc) and if you draw 1 from that group, no matter the unit, you get to hunt but enter the dead period.

You accumulate points during the dead period but can't apply for anything. There looks to be some ambiguity for 2nd drawings, so to me it looks like you can apply for those leftovers that fall into the 2nd drawing.

DO NOT USE POINTS ON COWs (unless you are no longer going to be a resident of course)

 

[Brushcreekbill]

Well I’ll only be a resident for 3 years.
So it’s time to hunt some cows while im here

 

[Sodak_Lewno]

I would not take what I said as gospel, but I believe I am pretty close. SD is not innocent in writing perfectly understandable Regs, and my interpretation may be imperfect.

 

[jhoff04]

It's my understanding you only enter the "dead period" for that type of tag/ group. For example, if you draw on PP for BHE rifle, you can still apply for archery, custer, prairie, etc. in the coming years.

Also, contrary to what @Sodak_Lewno said, I do not believe you can accumulate any PP's during that 9 year wait, though.

That being said, I could be wrong. I don't have any first-hand experience with this but thought I had my head wrapped around it pretty good.

 

[Sodak_Lewno]

I may have the word "subsequent" throwing me off. I believe SDGFP does a pretty solid job of keeping you from applying for a license you are ineligible for, so the conversation may be mostly moot.

You are right you can still apply for other groups, my bad for not making that clearish.