South Dakota Archery Trip

[BTT]

Hi all,

I am planning a DIY trip to archery hunt whitetails in South Dakota this fall. We will be hunting in the southern part of the state, near the Missouri river. I am from Michigan and have never hunted in SD. Does anyone have any tips as to how the deer will be behaving in late October, or what types of habitats they like at this time of year? We will be hunting public land with saddles, so plan to be mobile and move around as much as needed.

Thanks for any tips!

 

[huntngolf]

My only advice is find where pheasant hunters haven’t been or won’t be. If you are hunting an area that has a lot of pheasant hunters the deer will be pretty much nocturnal late October

 

[BTT]

My only advice is find where pheasant hunters haven’t been or won’t be. If you are hunting an area that has a lot of pheasant hunters the deer will be pretty much nocturnal late October

Thanks Huntngolf, I hadn't thought of that.

 

[EastTNboy]

Good luck. I have never been but hope to in the coming years.

 

[Wireman07]

I grew up here, numbers are way down for whitetail and mule deer. EHD has been terrible the last couple years. If I didn't have private land to whitetail hunt on, I would try either North Dakota or Nebraska.

 

[yoopshoot]

I grew up here, numbers are way down for whitetail and mule deer. EHD has been terrible the last couple years. If I didn't have private land to whitetail hunt on, I would try either North Dakota or Nebraska.

I share the same sentiments . I’ve hunted areas along the river that lost 80% of their herd from EHD . Definitely not what it used to be . I’ve since paid for access on private and have had better luck.


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[Fatcamp]

I can honestly say that the area I scouted this weekend has very low deer numbers. So low I wouldn't kill a deer here. Huge difference from two years ago.

 

[Jeterry]

PM me and I might be able to help you out

 

[JimmyH]

BTT, will you be in the east or west? I am also making my first trip out that way from Kentucky, the first or second week in Oct and will be hunting East River. Trying to plan around the Pheasant hunters is pretty difficult that time of year from what I've read but that's the beauty of being mobile.

 

[WRM]

Is there a square inch of SD that doesn't have a bird hunter on it in the fall? I'm from Florida. Ran into fellow FSU guys bird hunting in the exact spot I park to muley hunt. Local specialty retailer I was talking to brought up bird hunting. When I asked where it was exact same place in SD---1,700 miles from us.

 

[WCB]

Is there a square inch of SD that doesn't have a bird hunter on it in the fall? I'm from Florida. Ran into fellow FSU guys bird hunting in the exact spot I park to muley hunt. Local specialty retailer I was talking to brought up bird hunting. When I asked where it was exact same place in SD---1,700 miles from us.

I've hunted South dakota a ton archery deer and also upland hunted it. I have never ran into anyone actively hunting the other. A couple years ago as I was leaving a spot some upland guys drove up and asked about pheasants (this was extreme western SD) told them the truth that I have never seen a Pheasant in the country in multiple years out there and the two weeks I was there that year, unless it was in direct vicinity of a farm lot.

If you get anywhere away from crop land or Pheasant populations not very many people do any upland hunting in SD for Sharptails.

 

[WRM]

I've been somewhere near you then. I can get away from the bird guys cuz they are not going into where I'm ending up. And I can get away from pretty much all of the other archery hunters, with a LOT of effort. One of the farmers I met did acknowledge I may be crazy. The FSU guys were hunting with a local who was related and had a truckbed full of sharptails and a couple of ringers for good measure. The other guy has been going to that same spot for years. I can only assume he is quite successful--I've never actually seen him out there. There is not a lot of farming operation in the area.

 

[BTT]

PM me and I might be able to help you out

PM me and I might be able to help you out

Hey Jeterry, I might be an idiot but I cant figure out how to PM someone, it's my first time using this forum. I'd like to chat about SD archery hunting though if you have some time.

 

[Moserkr]

Ive hunted birds in SD for almost 25 years and always see a lot of deer but mainly on private. Some walk-in land could hold bucks too even with pheasant hunters - we kick em up all the time, but this is middle of the state hunting areas. This is also after most the corn is out - if the crops are in, deer can disappear into the maize. Just remember pheasant hunting starts at 10am so you have a great morning window on public before the sh!t show starts.

You may be surprised by asking permission to hunt too. We have luck for pheasants so long as they arent deer hunters. Older farmers who dont have any deer hunters using their land already can be very kind to the respectful hunter who asks nicely with a good hand shake n smile. Not sure how covid has f’d up that last part though lol.

 

[BTT]

Ive hunted birds in SD for almost 25 years and always see a lot of deer but mainly on private. Some walk-in land could hold bucks too even with pheasant hunters - we kick em up all the time, but this is middle of the state hunting areas. This is also after most the corn is out - if the crops are in, deer can disappear into the maize. Just remember pheasant hunting starts at 10am so you have a great morning window on public before the sh!t show starts.

You may be surprised by asking permission to hunt too. We have luck for pheasants so long as they arent deer hunters. Older farmers who dont have any deer hunters using their land already can be very kind to the respectful hunter who asks nicely with a good hand shake n smile. Not sure how covid has f’d up that last part though lol.

Thanks Moserkr, that's great info! We planned to hunt near the the Missouri River. There's a lot of WIA land there, so hopefully some good deer in late October when we'll be there.

 

[tbowers]

I've hunted ND and SD , western side in both. Despite all the pessimism here that EHD somehow killed all the public land deer but spared those on private is funny. PM me if interested, plenty of good spots.

 

[jmez]

Still shaking hands in SD. Covid hasn't changed much here.

Has some recent EHD. Was fishing two weeks ago and we're two big WT bucks dead in the pond.

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[JimmyH]

I've hunted ND and SD , western side in both. Despite all the pessimism here that EHD somehow killed all the public land deer but spared those on private is funny. PM me if interested, plenty of good spots.

Tbowers, do you have any experience in SD East River? I’d love to pick your brain if so. Making the trip in two weeks and have some questions about a couple areas.

 

[Sethhinz]

If you are hunting the large rolling river hills, saddles make great ambush points. And always throughly glass the base of south facing cut banks when it is cold and windy.