South Dakota mule deer

[Shaghickory]

I drew a South Dakota tag for the first time this year and scored in the first hour of the opener

In that first hour this morning I saw 3 different 4 points cruising for does. Spent the afternoon window shopping since my hunt ended so quickly. Lots of deer in the unit I have which is SW


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very nice Andrew. Looks like the country on a ranch we hunted in Jackson Co some years ago.

 

[sodaksooner]

Lol I learned this the hard way years back my first time hunting AZ OTC. Deer like ease of access to food, shelter, and water just like us. They aren't going to go way back in unless they have to. Look in the spot's others aren't close to resources. I have found a lot of big bucks just off the road on a hillside, watching the road everyone drives in on. Smarter not harder.


looking.

Yeah, I have a pic of a really nice buck standing in downtown Hot Springs. They are where you find them for sure.

 

[AvgOtdrsmnLf]

Does anybody have any insight on the potential for SD moving back to allowing NR to hunt public starting Sep 1? I noticed looking at their website, that the tag description is defined a little differently this year as opposed to last year, but the 2025 regulation book hasn't been released yet for me to confirm.

 

[Beagle001]

One can dream, but given how much residents seem to adore non-residents there, I think those days are gone

 

[mdp22]

I usually pick up an OTC muzzy tag when home for the holidays and chase whitetail does at my friend's farms East River. We usually see around 100 deer throughout the day but this year saw 20. This past year they hadn't seen any dead around water sources so folks are wondering what happened if EHD didn't have a big impact. He had talked to three game wardens and they think possibly the hard winter in 2022 is the cause. They are recommending reducing tags in several counties.

 

[TheYukiYama]

Does anybody have any insight on the potential for SD moving back to allowing NR to hunt public starting Sep 1? I noticed looking at their website, that the tag description is defined a little differently this year as opposed to last year, but the 2025 regulation book hasn't been released yet for me to confirm.

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This annoys me because since I moved out of SD a few years ago, I liked taking a trip back over thanksgiving and get my rifle and archery deer in a single trip. I don't particularly expect this to change though. Once things get restricted, it seems unlikely to open back up.

 

[TheYukiYama]

One can dream, but given how much residents seem to adore non-residents there, I think those days are gone

You have issues with residents disliking nonresidents in SD? I've never had that impression before and I've been both..

 

[TheYukiYama]

I usually pick up an OTC muzzy tag when home for the holidays and chase whitetail does at my friend's farms East River. We usually see around 100 deer throughout the day but this year saw 20. This past year they hadn't seen any dead around water sources so folks are wondering what happened if EHD didn't have a big impact. He had talked to three game wardens and they think possibly the hard winter in 2022 is the cause. They are recommending reducing tags in several counties.

It'll be interesting to see what they do then. Deer number have seemed fine in the areas my family and I are familiar with West River.

 

[Fatcamp]

They need to stop all mule deer hunting in September. Really stupid idea that is not treating our herd well.

 

[Beagle001]

You have issues with residents disliking nonresidents in SD? I've never had that impression before and I've been both…

No, that was maybe a little unfair. Just the discourse on the internet (maybe my answer right there) is much more salty toward NR by residents than I’ve seen by any other state.
Heck, I’m in Wisco and we gripe about FIBs like you wouldn’t believe lol

 

[AvgOtdrsmnLf]

They need to stop all mule deer hunting in September. Really stupid idea that is not treating our herd well.

Is it more detrimental to hunt them during September or during the rut?

 

[Fatcamp]

Is it more detrimental to hunt them during September or during the rut?

Neither is a great idea but hunting mule deer nonstop with unlimited tags for 4 months is not sustainable. This state has always hunted the rut. Gonna be tough to change.

September archery and it's implementation never could have foreseen the popularity of archery or the increase in technology.

 

[Fatcamp]

No, that was maybe a little unfair. Just the discourse on the internet (maybe my answer right there) is much more salty toward NR by residents than I’ve seen by any other state.
Heck, I’m in Wisco and we gripe about FIBs like you wouldn’t believe lol

I'm a resident but am from the wrong side of the state. They dislike me too.

 

[TheYukiYama]

Neither is a great idea but hunting mule deer nonstop with unlimited tags for 4 months is not sustainable. This state has always hunted the rut. Gonna be tough to change.

September archery and it's implementation never could have foreseen the popularity of archery or the increase in technology.

I wouldn't be opposed to getting rid of December either

 

[Fatcamp]

I wouldn't be opposed to getting rid of December either

I didn't even hunt archery this year. We had muzzleloader tags and the number of out of state hunters with archery tags still out on public land was surprising.

 

[KurtR]

I had an any deer east river tag this year i get to hunt alot of good private land and alot of public. Didnt see one mulie that got me excited. Even the number of white tails was horrible. Its time to make archery for nr at a minimum draw i would even say residents. I would be all for rifle hunting out of the rut and quit killing mulie does till the population recovers. Its the same story across alot of the state with all the people i talk to. You here the random person say they seen deer but then talk to farmers and ranchers and they tell a different story being out in the country every day. My dad and father in law both been hunting lots of years and this is the worst they can remember even in the 70's before crp when it was a big deal just to kill a deer.

 

[Fatcamp]

I had an any deer east river tag this year i get to hunt alot of good private land and alot of public. Didnt see one mulie that got me excited. Even the number of white tails was horrible. Its time to make archery for nr at a minimum draw i would even say residents. I would be all for rifle hunting out of the rut and quit killing mulie does till the population recovers. Its the same story across alot of the state with all the people i talk to. You here the random person say they seen deer but then talk to farmers and ranchers and they tell a different story being out in the country every day. My dad and father in law both been hunting lots of years and this is the worst they can remember even in the 70's before crp when it was a big deal just to kill a deer.

Yup. Everyone I know who spends time on the landscape across South Dakota is reporting a herd that is really struggling.

Except SDGFP. Not a peep from them.

 

[KurtR]

Weak fronts and no mass best deer I saw all season.



between work west river and scouting every weekend and lots of week nights for waterfowl east river it’s noticeable how bad deer numbers are.

 

[TheYukiYama]

I had an any deer east river tag. Didnt see one mulie that got me excited. Even the number of white tails was horrible. Its time to make archery for nr at a minimum draw i would even say residents. I would be all for rifle hunting out of the rut and quit killing mulie does till the population recovers. Its the same story across alot of the state with all the people i talk to. You here the random person say they seen deer but then talk to farmers and ranchers and they tell a different story being out in the country every day. My dad and father in law both been hunting lots of years and this is the worst they can remember even in the 70's before crp when it was a big deal just to kill a deer.

There's always been fewer mule deer east river.
In 2023, there were ~30k resident archery tags and ~5k NR.
There were over 10k antlerless tags sold for youth/mentored
50k resident general rifle tags (ER and WR). 2k NR

25% success with archery: 8,500 deer 6000 bucks 200 does
45% success youth/mentored antlerless: 4,500 does.
45% success rifle: 24,000 deer 16000 bucks and 8000 does

My extended family (second cosuins) have around 12k acres in NW SD and have reported that deer numbers are fine. My trail cameras on my parents land (much smaller and borders public) have captured more deer than any other time in the last decade. (perhaps they've been placed a bit better?)

Seems hard to believe that deer numbers are sooo bad now that your dad and father in law say it is worse than back when it was a big deal to even kill a deer? How can that be when it isn't that hard to kill deer now? Must be better now..

I'm curious if you believe anecdotes. In one sentence you say 'random people say its good' as if to discredit them, but then use random 'farmers and ranchers' to say its bad. So which is it, are anecdotes reliable or not? Because I know many ranchers that say deer numbers are fine.

If you want more deer, the actual numbers would indicate to stop antlerless hunts and reduce resident rifle tags. The 2,000 deer (majority bucks) that nonresidents kill are not going to make a significant change to population levels. This is just a fact.
You suggest making NR archery a draw, but it already is a draw? So what are you even suggesting? Did you not know that NR archery was a draw?
Do you have any actual evidence to support this doomsday? I would honestly love to hear it. I think there are areas where deer numbers are down. I think there should be some rule changes to improve deer numbers. I absolutely do not support making decision based off of anecdotes and proposing rule changes that are not supported with data.

 

[NDGuy]

SD numbers or quality are not what they used to be that’s for sure!

Pretty much par the course these days. Thanks to our sellout representatives and the heavy loss of habitat.