South Dakota Big Game Seasons

 Print This Post

South Dakota offers spring and fall turkey seasons open to both residents and nonresidents. License options include a Black Hills license or a Prairie-turkey license. For harvest needs, some prairie units may offer two-tag options. The Black Hills offers only single-tag licenses.

South Dakota’s prairie turkey firearms licenses are limited in number and distributed by lottery drawings.

Black Hills spring turkey licenses are unlimited in number–each person may get one by application. Black Hills fall turkey licenses, if available, are limited in number and sold via lottery drawing. Hunters should either acquire and complete a paper application and mail it to the the Game, Fish and Parks license office on or before the indicated deadline, or apply online with a credit card. See the links above for applications, information and to apply online.

Custer State Park spring turkey licenses are resident-only. Fall turkey licenses are usually not available there.

Each year, paper application requests are accepted after January 1. Spring turkey applications become available in early February with a first deadline in late February. Fall Turkey applications are available in May/June with a mid-July first deadline.

Youths who are at least 12 years of age or will turn 12 before Jan. 1 may apply for or buy licenses and may hunt in any open season beginning on or after Sept. 1. Their hunter safety card is required when purchasing a Black Hills or archery license over the counter. A parents or guardian must accompany the youth when obtaining the license. A copy of their hunter safety card must be included with the application to get a prairie turkey license. Anyone younger cannot hunt in South Dakota.

BLACK HILLS TURKEY

The Black Hills reach an elevation of more than 7,000 feet. Thick stands of ponderosa pine, white spruce, aspen and bur oak cover the land. The terrain varies from rolling hills and prairies to high mountains, rimrock and deep gorges.

The hunting unit stretches 100 miles from north to south and 40 miles east to west. It covers 2.3 million acres. More than 50 percent is open to public hunting. Turkey hunting success here averages about 40 percent.

Road access to the area is very good. Almost any good hunting area can be reached by pickup truck. There are a few areas with limited access where a hunter can walk in and forget about being bothered by other hunters.

Most hunters stay in one of the many campgrounds or motels in cities like Custer, Deadwood, Lead, Hill City, Rapid City, Spearfish and Hot Springs. For information on accommodations write to the Black Hills Badlands and Lakes Association, 900 Jackson Blvd., Rapid City, SD 57702.

A Black Hills map is available for the U.S. Forest Service, 25041 North Hwy 16; Custer, SD 57730-7239. For price and how to obtain a Black Hills map, call (605) 673-9200. To order a map with a credit card, call (605) 745-7020.

PRAIRIE TURKEY

There are a limited number of both resident and nonresident licenses available for units west of the Missouri River. Licenses must be applied for and are issued through a lottery. Because much prairie turkey hunting takes place on private land, hunters should have permission to hunt private lands before applying for a license.

Tribal Reservations
State licenses are not valid on trust lands of an Indian tribe unless authorized by the tribal council. Individual tribes may require a tribal permit to hunt on their lands. Contact the individual tribes to find out what licenses they offer and the cost.

Not all the land inside the South Dakota reservations is under tribal jurisdiction. If you hunt on private land deeded to non-Indians, you must have a state license.

Lower Brule–605/473-5666
Pine Ridge–605/455-2584
Rosebud–605/747-2289
Cheyenne River–605/964-7812
Standing Rock–701/854-7236
Yankton–605/384-3804
Crow Creek–605/245-2187
Sisseton/Wahpeton–605/698-3911
Flandreau Santee Sioux–(605) 997-5123

Check with the Wildlife Office for specifics on the different hunting opportunities and seasons.

Division of Wildlife Offices:

Aberdeen: (605) 626-2391, 5850 East Highway 12, Aberdeen, SD 57401

Chamberlain: (605) 734-4530, 1550 E King Ave, Chamberlain SD 57325-2125

Huron: (605) 353-7145, 895 3rd St. SW, Huron, SD 57350

Mobridge: (605) 845-7814, 909 Lake Front Drive, Mobridge SD 57601-0099

Rapid City: (605) 394-2391, 3305 W. South St., Rapid City, SD 57702

Sioux Falls: (605) 362-2700, 4500 S. Oxbow, Sioux Falls, SD 57106

Watertown: (605) 882/5200, 400 West Kemp, Watertown, SD 57201

Webster: (605) 345-3381, 603 E. 8th Ave., Webster, SD 57274

Information: (605) 773-3485, 412 West Missouri, Pierre, SD 57501

Licensing: (605) 773-3393, 412 West Missouri Ave., Pierre, SD 57501