South Dakota offers a variety of hunting opportunities across different landscapes including forests, grasslands, mountains, and river bottoms. Hunters can pursue pheasants, waterfowl like ducks and geese, wild turkey, and big game such as whitetail and mule deer. The document provides recommendations for hunting different species, including using shotguns with smaller gauges for pheasants, having a discreet blind and decoy strategy for waterfowl, scouting turkeys to get close, and using rifles like the 270 Winchester for deer.
2. South Dakota offers a variety of settings for you to hunt in, there are forests, grasslands,
mountains, and river bottoms. While South Dakota is known for pheasant hunting there is
also a vast amount of other small game, waterfowl, and big game animals to hunt as well.
3. Upland: Pheasant
.Pheasants tend to be on the ground under heavy coverings #
. Typically a shotgun is used with a smaller gauge, 16 /20 / 28
4. Waterfowl: Duck and Goose
. Ensure you have a discreet enough blind, and decoy strategy in place#
. 12 and 10 gauge shotguns are recommended
5. Wild Turkey
. Scouting your turkeys is probably the most important element, try to get within 100-200 yds of them#
. Single-shot, a variety of gauges would work 12/16/20
6. Whitetail and Mule Deer
. Magpies can be helpful when scanning for mule deer, use a flawn beat as a trick#
..270 Winchester and .280 Remington