NR Custer Area
Contributors to this thread:South Dakota
From: RDHunts
08-Aug-18
I am a non resident and will be archery hunting the Custer area this coming oct. (1) I am wondering what are the road conditions like in the national forest area? (2) Are there plenty of places a person can go and camp with a 20 ft long camper? (3) Is there a decent deer population around Custer? Are there mostly Whitetails or mule deer in this area. (4) I am looking for some suggestion on where to start scouting and hunting. Not looking for anybody"s hot spot . I would appreciate any help or advice from some archers out there. Thank You
From: Griz34
08-Aug-18
There are people who have more experience in this area than I do, but I have elk hunted around Custer 3 different times. 1. You can get down most of the roads in all of the Black Hills with a 4 wheel drive truck. There is plenty of road access, I don't think it'll be a problem. If you don't already have one I'd pick up the vehicle access map that the forest service puts out. Some roads are closed to vehicles. 2. You won't have any trouble finding a place to park your camper. The few times we've had a camper out there we just pull off a forest service road and set it up. 3. There is a good deer population throughout the hills, I've found the Custer area to be better for mule deer. You will also find a couple million NR hunters. I see your profile says you're from Colorado, I'm pretty sure you have better mule deer hunting there but there is nothing wrong with trying another state. 4. I hesitate to share specific locations on a public forum, but if you have Onx maps there are some layers that can help you find where the deer will be hanging out. Good Luck.
From: RDHunts
14-Aug-18
Griz34 Thanks for the reply. Yes I am from Colorado and I did not draw a Mule deer tag this year. I am also looking at extending my hunting season, as South Dakota extends into October/November/December thus giving me additional opportunities Colorado archery season ends about the last weekend of September and I feel my hunting time ends to soon. So I am looking at hunting the wonderful state of S.D.