Black Hills NR Archery Deer questions
South Dakota
I have a colleague who owns 160 acres in the black hills that has a home on it and she offered to let me stay/hunt there.
I've gone over the GFP site some, but I've got some questions:
1. Does the archery tag allow me to hunt the Black Hills? It appears that the actual "Black Hills" tag is a november rifle hunt, correct?
2. How does the preference system work? I remember several years ago, that in Custer, you either had preference or you didn't, but it didn't accumulate. I'm having trouble figuring the system out exactly.
3. Assuming I get preference this year, I'm having trouble finding out what my draw odds would be next year for a 2016 hunt. Is that easy to figure out?
4. I see that not a ton of mule deer were taken. Should I bank on this being a WT hunt? When's the best time to hunt each species if I were targeting one or the other?
5. I see on the interactive map the amount of deer harvested, but it doesn't break it down by weapon type. Is there any numbers data for archery published? I'm trying to gauge the quality of the hunt and the success rates.
Thanx in advance,
Ike
So, after reading more, it appears the archery tags are OTC? Is that correct?
Looks like for the Black Hills, I could get a state wide archery tag OTC and also, possibly a western archery tag and could kill two bucks? Looks like I could also get an anterless white tail tag?
If you get a state wide archery tag, that is the only one you can get. You can however get one east river any deer and one west river any deer. I'm not sure if they will offer antlerless tags for the hills this year, but I hope not...the numbers seem to be down compared to what they used to be.
There is a Black Hills Rifle tag that runs the month of November. You can still archery hunt during this time, As stated above, for archery you will need a Statewide or a west river archery tag. You cant have both. They are not otc but currently are not limited for NRs. You can apply for the rifle tag and your odds are not real good at getting one but you can build preference for the future. The archery tag is good for either species either sex. The rifle tag will be specific whitetail or any deer. There are not many any deer tags. November is a good time to hunt the hills, the deer are in rut. It can be very difficult weatherwise. If I had an opportunity to stay and hunt at someones private property in the hills, I think I would pursue it. Not knowing where the property lies or the particulars, it would be hard for anyone except someone there to say just how good it might be. Usually private property in the hills with limited pressure is a good thing. Good luck.
