Hunting

From tracking the flight of a pheasant over an East River cornfield to stalking big game across the rugged West River plains and Black Hills, South Dakota truly offers hunters a land of infinite variety.

South Dakota hunting adventures can be as tame as taking aim at a prairie dog or as wild as tracking down a mountain lion. The state’s array of game animals also includes small game such as grouse, ducks, geese, fox, coyotes, and pheasants, and big game such as turkey, deer, antelope, elk, mountain goats and bighorn sheep.

In excess of 275,000 people – an amount that’s more than a third of the state’s population – obtain hunting licenses annually in South Dakota. It seems that whatever the time of year, there’s an animal to be hunted and an opportunity to hunt it.

Small Game Hunting

With nearly 5 million acres of land designated as hunting territory, South Dakota is a hunter’s paradise. At any time of the year, the state offers plentiful hunting of various prey.

While pheasant by far the most popular small game hunted in the state, it is rife with many other species that have their own designated hunting seasons. Some of those include grouse, partridge, quail, dove, rabbit and squirrel.

Big Game Hunting

South Dakota has an abundance of big game that can be hunted throughout the state.

Licenses are issued on a lottery basis for all of the big game. Many licenses are issued based on the region of the state as well. 

The big game available in the state are deer, antelope, elk, turkey, big horn sheep, mountain goat, and mountain lion. For some of them listed there are various restrictions on who is eligible, but check out the Game Fish and Parks website for more details.

Waterfowl Hunting

The South Dakota waterfowl hunting has been the best it has been in decades. Whether you are searching for ducks or geese you will not find a shortage in the eastern part of the state.

South Dakota is in the heart of the “Central Flyway” for many migratory waterfowl. Whether you are hunting for ducks, geese, swan or crane; you will find an abundance of them in the area typically in the spring and fall.

Licensing for waterfowl works very similar to small game licensing.