South Dakota Hunts
04-02-2007, 01:39 PM
#1
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Dewitt, Michigan
Posts: 310
South Dakota Hunts
Here is some basic information. This outfitter has mule deer, whitetail, merriman turkeys, antelope, buffalo, prairie dog and upland game. He offers rifle black powder, archery and pistol hunts. The hunts are semi or fully guided, your choice, plus you will know our boundaries and where the best hunting spots are.
Our hunting strategies are spot and stalk, drives, tree stands and water hole blinds.
Hunter can expect mature animals with mule deer scoring 150 inch, whitetail 130 inch, antelope 65, and buffalo 115 inch. These are average scores for both rifle and archery hunts. There is a local taxidermist available to mount your trophy.
Archery licenses are guaranteed if correctly filled out and dated on time. They have no deadline as long as you have them before the hunt. Rifle deer hunters can apply for a license one of two ways. A license through a lottery drawing is available at a cost of $155 or a special buck license can be applied for at a cost of $505. The difference in these tags is the general drawing is species specific and tougher to draw. I urge hunters to apply for the special buck tag. The general drawing application deadline is in June and the special buck application is due in May. Antelope applications are due in August. Turkey applications are due in February. We also have a fully furnished ranch house.
Bedding, stove, microwave, toaster oven, fridge, kitchen utensils, and outdoor barbecue grill are provided along with a fully furnished bathroom. I also include tree stands and blinds if needed. You can cook for yourselves or we can cook for you (note price difference above), but we plan on treating you to a great meal at a local restaurant and a meal at the ranch house. Please remember that we can design a hunting package to fit your time as well as physical needs. Last but not least, you can expect some great hunting and great western hospitality.
-Deer hunts are a five-day package with the costs running $2250-2500 and a $500 deposit.
-Antelope hunts are a three-day package with the costs running $1550-1750 and a $250 deposit.
-Turkey hunts are a three-day package in both spring and fall with the costs running $750-1000 with a $150 deposit.
-Pheasant Hunts are a three-day package with cost running $600 with $100 deposit.
-Buffalo hunts are a two-day package with cost running $1500-2500 with a $500 deposit.
-Prairie dog hunts are $75-125 per day depending on package with a $25 deposit.
Group, youth, senior and handicap discounts available upon request. Several combo hunts are available. Deposits are not additional and archery hunters get extra days.
First of all, it is a family/friend group of guides. All of my guides live in the immediate area and are hunters themselves. This gives them a great advantage in learning how the animals in the western states act. I do not go out and hire guides from other states to come in just for hunting season. Most of the hunting is done in fairly wide country. Although there is not a lot of timber, these animals have learned how to use what cover there is very well. Many of my clients question me on how in the heck there are any animals in such vast and open land. I think there are two main ingredients to the abundance and variety of wildlife. The first key is the lack of hunting pressure. I take a limited number of hunters and the state also limits the number of hunters by releasing a limited number of tags. Archery tags are guaranteed but all rifle tags are offered on a lottery draw (except buffalo). The second key is the land itself. The land is a lot rougher than it looks and our grass is a little bit different. A person can look for miles at one time and it looks flat as glass. Once you get out in it, there are many dips and draws that you can not see until you are in them. Our grass is a very healthy grass and filled with valuable nutrition that the animals do very well on. All of the land is also private. If my family does not own it, I have the exclusive hunting lease rights.
If you are an archery hunter almost all of it is done from treestands and blinds. For deer, I use the Little Missouri River and the Pine tree covered hills. The stands will be on proven trails that go to and from the feeding grounds to the bedding grounds. We do have alfalfa fields that attract an abundance of wildlife. The antelope archery hunting is done from blinds that are on water holes and fence crossings. If you are here during the antelope rut we do have antelope decoys that work great. All buffalo hunting is spot and stalk. Most rifle hunting is also spot and stalks. The guides take you to a spot that is likely to have trophy animals and after spotting the animal of your choice the stalk is on. We also have great luck with drives and the travel route trails for ambushes. Good optics and flat shooting guns are essential for our hunts. Powerful optics can save your feet and legs many miles of walking. If you can tell the animal is a definite trophy before you use your energy on a stalk the better off you will be. Archery shots are usually close but rifle shots average around 200 yards. Hunter orange is required for rifle hunters.
Our hunting strategies are spot and stalk, drives, tree stands and water hole blinds.
Hunter can expect mature animals with mule deer scoring 150 inch, whitetail 130 inch, antelope 65, and buffalo 115 inch. These are average scores for both rifle and archery hunts. There is a local taxidermist available to mount your trophy.
Archery licenses are guaranteed if correctly filled out and dated on time. They have no deadline as long as you have them before the hunt. Rifle deer hunters can apply for a license one of two ways. A license through a lottery drawing is available at a cost of $155 or a special buck license can be applied for at a cost of $505. The difference in these tags is the general drawing is species specific and tougher to draw. I urge hunters to apply for the special buck tag. The general drawing application deadline is in June and the special buck application is due in May. Antelope applications are due in August. Turkey applications are due in February. We also have a fully furnished ranch house.
Bedding, stove, microwave, toaster oven, fridge, kitchen utensils, and outdoor barbecue grill are provided along with a fully furnished bathroom. I also include tree stands and blinds if needed. You can cook for yourselves or we can cook for you (note price difference above), but we plan on treating you to a great meal at a local restaurant and a meal at the ranch house. Please remember that we can design a hunting package to fit your time as well as physical needs. Last but not least, you can expect some great hunting and great western hospitality.
-Deer hunts are a five-day package with the costs running $2250-2500 and a $500 deposit.
-Antelope hunts are a three-day package with the costs running $1550-1750 and a $250 deposit.
-Turkey hunts are a three-day package in both spring and fall with the costs running $750-1000 with a $150 deposit.
-Pheasant Hunts are a three-day package with cost running $600 with $100 deposit.
-Buffalo hunts are a two-day package with cost running $1500-2500 with a $500 deposit.
-Prairie dog hunts are $75-125 per day depending on package with a $25 deposit.
Group, youth, senior and handicap discounts available upon request. Several combo hunts are available. Deposits are not additional and archery hunters get extra days.
First of all, it is a family/friend group of guides. All of my guides live in the immediate area and are hunters themselves. This gives them a great advantage in learning how the animals in the western states act. I do not go out and hire guides from other states to come in just for hunting season. Most of the hunting is done in fairly wide country. Although there is not a lot of timber, these animals have learned how to use what cover there is very well. Many of my clients question me on how in the heck there are any animals in such vast and open land. I think there are two main ingredients to the abundance and variety of wildlife. The first key is the lack of hunting pressure. I take a limited number of hunters and the state also limits the number of hunters by releasing a limited number of tags. Archery tags are guaranteed but all rifle tags are offered on a lottery draw (except buffalo). The second key is the land itself. The land is a lot rougher than it looks and our grass is a little bit different. A person can look for miles at one time and it looks flat as glass. Once you get out in it, there are many dips and draws that you can not see until you are in them. Our grass is a very healthy grass and filled with valuable nutrition that the animals do very well on. All of the land is also private. If my family does not own it, I have the exclusive hunting lease rights.
If you are an archery hunter almost all of it is done from treestands and blinds. For deer, I use the Little Missouri River and the Pine tree covered hills. The stands will be on proven trails that go to and from the feeding grounds to the bedding grounds. We do have alfalfa fields that attract an abundance of wildlife. The antelope archery hunting is done from blinds that are on water holes and fence crossings. If you are here during the antelope rut we do have antelope decoys that work great. All buffalo hunting is spot and stalk. Most rifle hunting is also spot and stalks. The guides take you to a spot that is likely to have trophy animals and after spotting the animal of your choice the stalk is on. We also have great luck with drives and the travel route trails for ambushes. Good optics and flat shooting guns are essential for our hunts. Powerful optics can save your feet and legs many miles of walking. If you can tell the animal is a definite trophy before you use your energy on a stalk the better off you will be. Archery shots are usually close but rifle shots average around 200 yards. Hunter orange is required for rifle hunters.
