Hunting land in South Dakota?
Whitetail Deer
I posted this in the state South Dakota section but I'll try it here for a better response. There are some many states with better whitetail hunting but I've narrows it down to south Dakota and Wyoming,( why because there's no income tax) leaning more toward SD. I know these questions can be vague but just looking for some additional info from actual hunters and guys that have done it. Thanks, J
I'm interested in purchasing a home and some land in SD within the next year. This would be a property to live and hunt on, been looking at Gregory and Charles Mix counties. what are your suggestion on whitetail hunting in the state, purchasing real estate in SD beside the typical agents that post on land.com or similar agents like whitetail properties. Thanks for ant suggestions.
Gregory is better than Charles Mix and you are going to need to buy a good-sized piece of property(if you can find one). This isn't NJ, small places here are 240 acres and you'll likely need more than that in the counties you listed.
There aren't near as many whitetails there as there were when I started hunting SD in 05'.
Thanks Brotsky! I've seen several properties listed in both counties mostly flat farmland with open fields not much wooded area with access to water. I do agree with the bigger the better.
Thanks Thornton, my first choice for a whitetail property wouldn’t be SD, was originally looking in Buffalo County, WI, then Kansas and Iowa. Best price for 125 acres through an independent seller in Buffalo County was $950,000. For that kind of money I can get much more in SD and think I can still hunt quality deer.
I don’t know anything about the tax situation in SD but some state with no income tax they make it with property taxes. Also sometimes if you live on vs being ag land the taxes can be a lot more expensive. Not saying that is the case, just suggesting you look at full tax picture. I’ll bet you will enjoy wherever you end up compared NJ.
RJR I made the move from ohio to SD in 2006 and have purchased land and we hunt like crazy. I think it was a great decision for us. Each county has different size acres needed to auto qualify for ag taxes which is a big break. Could be 40 acres or 240 acres. There are other ways to qualify on smaller but to detailed for here. Not easy. Your house does not get an ag break. Food is taxed. If you want to pm me I will tell you more. Doug
The right piece of river bottom or creek drainage could yield some excellent opportunity and not need a huge parcel many people are like minded in the sense of letting deer grow and get age on them I border Gregory county on the Nebraska side and it’s exceptional, we’ve always said that something in the dirt up there produces some slammers every year good luck in your search hunting/ recreational land prices are insanely expensive these days
Rjr, we have a hunting house in SD, bought in 98, abandoned town mostly, east river. We had great deer hunting.
But let me educate you a little, on Wis. Buffalo county was commercialized well etc. You will find places to the south Crawford Co, Grant Co, Vernon County, just as good. Locals don't want the attention. You do not need alot of land, for excellent hunting.
Advantages, close to Iowa, and SD. SD is a great state, great people, but more to do in Wis, ,,,,,
WY, expensive, I looked when I retired in 2007. And no way could I live in a subdivision, on the foothills.
I understand your tax concerns, but year round living your going to pay, one way or another, depends on your year long life stye.
I wish you well.
RJR- I bought 110 acres in OK last spring for $138k with option to buy an additional 50 acres for $85k.
I’m certainly not well educated on any part of SD, only upland hunting for a week a year.
My only comment is that road hunting isn’t an uncommon practice for deer from what I’ve observed and overheard.
Thanks Doug! I will contact you.
Thanks Murph! The scenario you mentioned is exactly what I 'm looking for preferably 200+ acres with a home.
Thanks Groundhunter! I've noticed that in most locations with great trophy deer hunting the local love the attention it drives up the property value.
You looked into property on the White River? In the West River region. I have always thought the white river would be a great place to hunt nice bucks!
Thanks KHNC, I looked into Mellette County, but I'll also look along the stretch White River. I'm still concentrating on south east region of Gregory County, as close to the Missouri river and the NB border i can get. I plan on heading out there eventually, but need to narrow down the search. Any additional suggests would help. Thanks, J
I hunt in the white river area. Yes there are some good bucks in the general area.
I hunt public from the NE border to the ND border west of the Missouri and East of Rapid City. I will second what Brotsky said. The bigger the acreage the better.
I hunted for a week and a half in the Kadoka SD area back in the first 2 weeks of November. Those deer put on done miles in a day. First night I seen a big 10 with a flyer off his right G2. The next night I seen him 3 miles south of where I seen him the first night.
As it stands now, I will be possibly hunting a 1700 ac parcel on the white river next year during the first two weeks of November. Hopefully it all comes together.
KHNC, you do more bowhunting or rifle? Not really applicable just curious. Thanks J
Michael same question to you. Bow or rifle? Thanks J
I am primarily a bowhunter. The only trees on this White River property are on the actual river. Some ag land and some draws or ravines scattered throughout as well. Leads to what can be a seeing but not getting a bow shot scenario. With some luck, decoys and calling can get them close though.
Been down that road a few years ago. Bought a house in the Sheridan WY area. Been looking for a decent piece of land ever since. Very expensive, especially creek bottom land. Looked at a few larger ranches (400-700 ac) that were “reasonably “ priced, but just didn’t fit the bill. There are some nice whitetails in WY. Most mature bucks will fall in the 120”-140” range. This one was 142”.
Best of Luck!
Rob in VT, I looked in Sheridan, Fremont and Crook counties WY. Very nice I sent you a PM.
I only bow hunt big game. So all my SD deer hunting is done before the rifle season kicks in.
I was hunting SD west river for coyotes last weekend which would have been the last rifle weekend.
Didn’t see any whitetail bucks but every mule deer doe group had a buck with them.
Stay away from areas with a lot of cedar trees. The get very thick and ruin the grass and it seems to drive the wild life out. It is also hard to rent the land out for grazing. If possible look at Arial photos of the area, or satellite images.
This year the deer got ehd .mostly southern . Gregory area and east is really bad
Some of the best hunting real estate I have bought and sold over the years were not always the largest.
Neighboring land owners are number one priority. Brown it’s down VS they don’t hunt at all.
You could own 40 acres between a wildlife refuge and a 10,000 acre non hunting piece. Or own 1000 acres surrounded by public roads and public land
Seasonal access, is your best hunting area accessible from public roads? Trespass issues.
Can the deer be seen from public roads or neighbors property? Year around water source during droughts. On and on
Try to negotiate leasing the land for a period of hunt season. Or ask if you can hunt during hunting season to learn about local pressure and neighbor issues
I will ad that what I learned was remote ownership ads many other issues. For whitetails owning less quality smaller pieces that you live on is more practical and enjoyable. Vs larger out of state pieces that cause stress.
Full disclosure, my remote, out of state chunks of land were for Mule deer and Elk not whitetail. So I needed to own larger and more strategically positioned pieces of land. Whitetail adapt better and tolerate human pressure so easier to find honey holes
A good area to buy is SW Kansas for pheasant WT and MD
Or SE Colorado
You can buy for $700-$1000 an acre in pretty remote areas
