SD/NE Mule Deer Archery

[PaKL2188]

Hey guys,

I am new to the forum and forums in general, so I appologize in advance if this topic is beat to death or in the wrong place.

I am planning my first out of state hunt and first ever Mule deer hunt for 2019. I am currently heavily leaning towards SD but would also be open to NE as well.

I was just looking to maybe get some tips on spot and stalk hunting, where to look for mule deer. As well as some of your experiences in different parts of the states, and how the terrain differs from region to region.
I'm not looking to try to get anyone to give up any certain spots or anything, I am not that naive, and I hunt Pa public ground so I know about pressure and the sin of asking another man about his hunting spots lol.

Anyways, I'm leaning toward SW South Dakota. I've read the NW part of the state has more deer but also more pressure. I have also read some decent things about the breaks just west of the Missouri river, as well as NW Nebraska. If anyone could give me am idea of what these areas are like and your experiences that would be great.
I plan on camping on NF or NGL and getting out away from the roads as far as I can, and even hitting the walk in areas.

A few other questions I have are, can I get by with a good set of 10x42s or do I NEED a spotter. Also would I be better off being there for the opener or maybe wait a week amd hope the pressure dies off some, and what kind of weather am I looking at for the beginning to mid sept.

I'm keeping my expectations low, and can't wait to get out and enjoy some new country and learn a new style of hunting and animal.

Thank you
Kyle

 

[PrairieHunter]

I would recommend spending some time getting familiar with the draw in SD. Tags are much harder to get there versus NE which is essentially OTC until October in most cases.

NW Nebraska deer numbers had been going up since 2012 but took another down turn this year.

If you really want an enjoyable hunt to start with look at Western Kansas. Second week of Nov in Kansas with a bow is amazing but you are not guaranteed a mule deer tag, that is drawn on top of your whitetail tag but for archery you have the best odds. Lots of great public access including walk in that has ag as well as pheasant hunters moving deer. Much better hunt than Nebraska due to better management.

 

[PaKL2188]

PrairieHunter I will definitely check it out again. I was told SD west river archery is a draw but almost 100% draw. I may have gotten some bad info though, thank you! As for Kansas, I will look into it as well, always wanted to hunt Kansas!

 

[warmer]

SD archery is all OTC. Send in your money, get your tag, simple as that. You can get a west river any deer tag and an east river any deer tag, or you can get a state-wide any deer tag.

 

[PaKL2188]

SD archery is all OTC. Send in your money, get your tag, simple as that. You can get a west river any deer tag and an east river any deer tag, or you can get a state-wide any deer tag.

Warmer, thank you for clearing that up for me

 

[beagle001]

I'd say you're already on the right track with your research. Mule deer are more sporadic than whitetails in SD. Also, I don't believe you can camp on any/most Walk-in Areas, and some NF lands have designated roads for dispersed camping, so just be aware of that.

Your 10x42s will be fine, just make sure you have them on a tripod, and don't be afraid to be mobile. Your truck will be your friend

 

[PrairieHunter]

SD archery is all OTC. Send in your money, get your tag, simple as that. You can get a west river any deer tag and an east river any deer tag, or you can get a state-wide any deer tag.

I must have been thinking rifle tags as opposed to archery. Aren't SD mule deer rifle tags much harder to draw for NR's?

Also why there is a PP system in SD and not NE.

And the draw is being tweaked in SD.
https://brookingsregister.com/article/commission-modifies-deer-proposal

3. Nonresident deer hunting opportunities would be pushed back to the fifth draw, giving resident deer hunters an increased opportunity to acquire multiple licenses ahead of nonresidents.

 

[Flatrock]

I must have been thinking rifle tags as opposed to archery. Aren't SD mule deer rifle tags much harder to draw for NR's?

Also why there is a PP system in SD and not NE.

And the draw is being tweaked in SD.
https://brookingsregister.com/article/commission-modifies-deer-proposal

3. Nonresident deer hunting opportunities would be pushed back to the fifth draw, giving resident deer hunters an increased opportunity to acquire multiple licenses ahead of nonresidents.

Wow that would be a dagger to non residents. That would basically eliminate non resident deer tags. I need to send out some emails.

 

[ZBB]

Mule deer tags are hard to draw for everyone in South Dakota, unless you apply for a unit that has terrible public access, R and NR. Honestly I think NR have a better chance at an any hill deer tag over residents but I haven’t seen a mulie in the hills worth waiting that long. If the new changes go through for the draw archery won’t be effected. It is over the counter but you need to apply get the tag and go out. You can’t go to wall mart or another authorized dealer and by a tag. Get online, apply for your tag and the. Send it in the mail, give yourself a couple weeks leeway. I grew up in lead archery hunted the hills, made an occasional trip to the buttes, joined the army when right after high school, got out, and moved to rapid. The buttes, or where EVERYONE that goes to the northwest corner goes gets a lot of pressure. I always wanted to go to the southwest corner, down around edgemont but honestly I got in to deer every time I went west of rapid with my bow so I never saw the need. It does look like cool country though. In the four years I lived in rapid I saw one guy archery hunting that was out of his truck and one guy rifle hunting out of his truck. There are tons of road hunters, but I’ve seen deer hold tight while people are driving around and stay in vehicles. Don’t put much stock in a road closed sign out on the prairie, you’ll either see tracks going around it or some asshole will drive right over it. South Dakota is a fun place to archery hunt, I’m sure I’ll make my way back there while I’m away.

No idea on Nebraska, but when I was looking at it I would’ve went around chadron, right across the border

 

[PaKL2188]

Thanks for the input guys, i appreciate it.
ZBB, down around edgemont is actually where ive been looking. I found some NF that boarders the back side of a big chunk of walk in. What kind of country is it down there, pretty flat or alot of hills? Kinda tough to tell from the map, ill have to check out a topo.

Beagle, I just had someone else tell me the same thing tonight. He said its something like a 4:1 ratio of whitetail to mulies. I am ok with it, being from Pa we dont see alot of big bucks, most are lucky to see 3.5yrs. So if I came across a good buck I wouldn't discriminate.

 

[ZBB]

Not really flat, more like rolling hills with some juniper and jack pines mixed in. If you google angostura resivior and look at the images, you can get a feel for what the terrain generally looks like. It looks flat on google earth but there’s plenty of terrain.

 

[PaKL2188]

Awesome, thank you!

 

[warmer]

I must have been thinking rifle tags as opposed to archery. Aren't SD mule deer rifle tags much harder to draw for NR's?

Also why there is a PP system in SD and not NE.

And the draw is being tweaked in SD.
https://brookingsregister.com/article/commission-modifies-deer-proposal

3. Nonresident deer hunting opportunities would be pushed back to the fifth draw, giving resident deer hunters an increased opportunity to acquire multiple licenses ahead of nonresidents.

SD has several different rifle tags. "Any Deer" tags in the Black Hills are very difficult to draw. "Any Whitetail" in the Hills is much easier. Some of the West and East River rifle units also have both tags.

 

[warmer]

Wow that would be a dagger to non residents. That would basically eliminate non resident deer tags. I need to send out some emails.

As resident, I only draw my "preferred" unit every 3-5 years. Non-resident Special Buck tags are unaffected by the new rules. I understand the financial ramifications of shutting out NR, but it's tough to see NR with access to dedicated buck tags while I spend the hunting season videoing deer.
Stepping off my soapbox now, the floor is yours.

 

[Wulffhunter]

Nebraska might be your only option next year because they are really looking into limiting non resident archery hunters. Lots of really good public areas get hit with way too many guys and the in staters are complaining about it, like Sand Lake and the Custer forest in Harding. I for one am for it because why should our state allow otc archery mule deer and have better odds to draw rifle mule deer tags than me?

 

[warmer]

Nebraska might be your only option next year because they are really looking into limiting non resident archery hunters. Lots of really good public areas get hit with way too many guys and the in staters are complaining about it, like Sand Lake and the Custer forest in Harding. I for one am for it because why should our state allow otc archery mule deer and have better odds to draw rifle mule deer tags than me?

Nothing I have read indicates limiting NR archery, care to share your source?

 

[beagle001]

I think I heard they would like to limit the amount of NR to hunt the popular areas like The Hills and the NW corner

 

[Sandpounder]

Well shoot. I will have to keep an eye on this issue. I was also looking into either South Dakota or Nebraska for next year. I liked the long archery season into December when I can get time off easier. Thanks for the information and starting a good thread. I was also looking into the Buffalo gap grasslands or the Custer area. Both look like deer areas to me , but just passing through. I guess if I had to drive an extra hour to chadron it wouldn’t kill me though.

 

[bmt99]

The new proposal to be discussed by the SD GFP commission on January 10-11 for next year didn't include NR archery. It should and some are pushing for it but it is not included at this time.

That said, yes NW has more pressure. SW is less pressure but I have not hunted there recently and can't comment on deer numbers. Used to hunt antelope down there to get away from people and it was fun.

A lot of people (NR and R) just drive around in their vehicles in SD. You can get away from them though.

 

[Flatrock]

As resident, I only draw my "preferred" unit every 3-5 years. Non-resident Special Buck tags are unaffected by the new rules. I understand the financial ramifications of shutting out NR, but it's tough to see NR with access to dedicated buck tags while I spend the hunting season videoing deer.
Stepping off my soapbox now, the floor is yours.

Yea I hear ya man. And it's tough for me to say much because ND is incredibly stingy when it comes to giving out rifle deer tags. Only 1% which is ridiculous. And yet I've heard a number of guys here say that NRs are getting too many tags. I can't imagine having my head buried in the sand that deep. Anyways, I certainly wouldn't expect SD to give out more tags to NRs but at least for rifle, I hope they don't reduce tags for NRs. For archery though, having them be OTC tags is pretty silly to me and I certainly wouldn't be opposed to having those tags pared back. Could also make it so that a guy can't get a rifle AND archery tag.