Plan your hunt
Licenses and applications are available online by going to www.sdgfp.info. The site also contains general information for all recreational and hunting activities in South Dakota and the Black Hills. General hunting and fishing licenses are also available at local businesses and agencies, but big game licenses must be obtained through a lottery drawing. Below are the approximate application availability dates. No requests are accepted until after Jan. 1 of each year.
- Spring turkey — February
- Resident bighorn sheep/Mountain goat — May
- Special buck — March
- Resident Custer State Park — May
- Black Hills deer — late June
- Resident elk — May
- Nonresident waterfowl — June
- Resident muzzleloader deer — August
- West River deer — late June
- Resident youth deer — July
- East River deer — August
- Refuge deer — August
- Firearms antelope — August
- Fall turkey — late June
- Archery deer/antelope — July
- Paddlefish — May
The Hunting Handbook is available Sept. 1, and the Fishing Handbook in early December of the preceding year.