Submitted "West River Special Buck" yesterday.
Has been 14 years since last time hunting there & looking forward to spot & stalk during rut.
Has been 14 years since last time hunting there & looking forward to spot & stalk during rut.
South Dakota, Rev 1 2022
- Thread starter tellico4x4
- Start date
turk870
Well-Known Member
Good luck,
AT Hiker
Well-Known Member
Good luck!
I assuming you have private land? Hoping for a whitetail or mule deer?
I assuming you have private land? Hoping for a whitetail or mule deer?
Yep, access to 8k private. Whitetail is preferable, killed several mulies over yrs & have a couple good ones on wall.
Drew the tag!
waynesworld
Well-Known Member
What area you hunting? I use to live in Aberdeen so hunted all over east river. Friend of mine that lives up here still maintains SD resedency and has some land in Pierre. Was thinking about going up with him if he gets some tags. I will go fishing and hunt pheasants.
Good luck though I see picts of some of the monsters they get every year.
Good luck though I see picts of some of the monsters they get every year.
Joe2Kool
Well-Known Member
Congrats on drawing a tag! I think/hope I can still buy a point for SD.
I bow hunted near Herrick on a west river tag last year, during the winter storm, and temps in the single digits. Saw about 50 deer a day, most of them within 50 yards. And that's not counting the ones from a distance in the alfalfa fields. Exciting hunt. Survived the storm better than I expected.
Good luck and post pics!!
I bow hunted near Herrick on a west river tag last year, during the winter storm, and temps in the single digits. Saw about 50 deer a day, most of them within 50 yards. And that's not counting the ones from a distance in the alfalfa fields. Exciting hunt. Survived the storm better than I expected.
Good luck and post pics!!
Got a brother to that lives in Pierre but I'm going all the way to NW corner near Buffalo. Probably try to tack on a pheasant hunt while there since been a few years.
Believe pref points can be bought til Dec, only $10.
Believe pref points can be bought til Dec, only $10.
AT Hiker
Well-Known Member
I mule deer hunt across the border from Buffalo, West toward Camp Crook.
That little diner in Buffalo has some good "steak tips" and cold beer.
Thanks, will be sure & try it!
Well this trip is shaping up to be quite the challenge. 20 degree above average temps, drought, fires & now EHD in unit I'm hunting next month. Talked to rancher Sunday & they've recently found 7 dead deer and just waiting on rain and/or freezing temps to knock it back. Game & fish canceled 1100 doe tags last week in two counties in NW corner where I'm hunting.
Upside may be the three weeks I get to spend out west knocking around. Plan on doing some scouting in NE on way out & a couple diff areas in WY. Also going to Teddy Roosevelts old ranch in ND as well, which will check off state #49 for me.
Upside may be the three weeks I get to spend out west knocking around. Plan on doing some scouting in NE on way out & a couple diff areas in WY. Also going to Teddy Roosevelts old ranch in ND as well, which will check off state #49 for me.
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AT Hiker
Well-Known Member
Its crazy how dry it is out there.
We spent a lot of time in a premo antelope unit and didn't see any "whoopers". I really believe it's a direct affect of the drought and believe we will be dealing with the fall out next year. Hopefully the winter will be easy on those and plenty of the right moisture will follow.
Good luck and keep us posted. I'm sure you'll do well and have a blast.
I too want to visit that Ranch. Post up some pics if you can.
We spent a lot of time in a premo antelope unit and didn't see any "whoopers". I really believe it's a direct affect of the drought and believe we will be dealing with the fall out next year. Hopefully the winter will be easy on those and plenty of the right moisture will follow.
Good luck and keep us posted. I'm sure you'll do well and have a blast.
I too want to visit that Ranch. Post up some pics if you can.
Got another email from Game & Fish and they've pulled more tags bringing total above 1800. I'm going to return my license & tag to get pref points reinstated and push hunt back a year. Talked to landowner & they have now found 10 dead last week, all whitetails, no muleys.
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Hate to hear that, was looking forward to the hunt details , always wanted to go out there pheasant hunting, had a uncle that use to go every year, glad I didn't have to buy his bullets, he couldn't hit a rabbit for yugo and bet he was no better on a bird but I loved him a lot lol
Just the way it goes sometimes. Looking forward to next year.
Pheasants are a lot of fun especially when it gets cold & they are all bunched up. Pretty exciting with a bunch of roosters in air at one time.
Hopefully they'll get some moisture out west & the deer will be okay. Understand that a lot of West River licences are being turned back in. That coupled with all the antlerless tags G& F are pulling should bode well for the herd.
Pheasants are a lot of fun especially when it gets cold & they are all bunched up. Pretty exciting with a bunch of roosters in air at one time.
Hopefully they'll get some moisture out west & the deer will be okay. Understand that a lot of West River licences are being turned back in. That coupled with all the antlerless tags G& F are pulling should bode well for the herd.
AT Hiker
Well-Known Member
Good thing SD is proactive in this manner.
I heard some areas in MT just West of there had gotten some moisture over the last few days, hopefully this becomes a positive trend.
I heard some areas in MT just West of there had gotten some moisture over the last few days, hopefully this becomes a positive trend.
Dean Parisian
Well-Known Member
GLASGOW-Over the last several weeks, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks has received reports of dead or dying white-tailed deer in the major river drainages in eastern Montana. Early indications showed patterns and symptoms similar to epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD), and several dead deer had samples submitted for testing. Early results indicate that at least some of the sampled deer tested positive for EHD.
In northeast Montana, the furthest western extent of the disease appears to be along the Milk River near Saco, then east along the Milk and Missouri Rivers to North Dakota, with varying degrees of whitetail mortality in between.
In southeast Montana, the most severe areas have been reported on the Yellowstone River between Glendive and Sidney as well as many areas throughout Carter County.
Impacts to local populations can be highly variable, with some areas seeing high mortality rates and others seeing minimal impacts. Hunters should plan accordingly if they plan to hunt in one of the affected areas. Furthermore, surplus whitetail B-license (699-00) in Region 6 were decreased by 2,000 in response to the disease. FWP staff will continue to monitor the situation and keep the public updated on the extent of the outbreak.
How you can help!
FWP would like to get an idea of the distribution and severity of this disease. If you find dead or dying white-tailed deer, please contact your area biologist or FWP office. If possible, provide information on the species, number of individuals, behaviors and symptoms observed, and a general location.
What is EHD?
EHD is an infectious, sometimes fatal virus that is usually spread by a virus-carrying gnat or midge. Many animals affected with EHD lose their appetite, often are drawn to water, lose their fear of people, grow weak, and typically die. This disease is often confused with "blue tongue," which is a separate, but similar, disease. EHD is not transmissible to humans.
EHD is not uncommon in central and eastern Montana in late summer or early fall. The disease mostly impacts white-tailed deer, but also shows up occasionally in mule deer and antelope. EHD outbreaks typically occur in river bottoms and large creek bottoms, likely due to higher concentrations of white-tailed deer and the insects that transmit EHD. These outbreaks often end when a hard frost kills the insect vectors that carry the disease.
With cooler temperatures forecasted across the state, biologists are hoping the weather will slow down the insect vectors. However, there may be more transmission of the disease until a hard frost eliminates the adult insects, and FWP will not know the full extent of the outbreak until then.
Can hunters harvest deer with EHD?
Hunters usually do not harvest animals infected with EHD because animals typically die within 8 to 36 hours from the onset of disease. In most years, the majority of deer are harvested during the Montana general (rifle) hunting season, which is long after a killing frost marks the end of EHD for the year.
If a hunter does harvest an animal that is symptomatic with EHD, it may not be fit for consumption due to the hemorrhages within in the body.
In northeast Montana, the furthest western extent of the disease appears to be along the Milk River near Saco, then east along the Milk and Missouri Rivers to North Dakota, with varying degrees of whitetail mortality in between.
In southeast Montana, the most severe areas have been reported on the Yellowstone River between Glendive and Sidney as well as many areas throughout Carter County.
Impacts to local populations can be highly variable, with some areas seeing high mortality rates and others seeing minimal impacts. Hunters should plan accordingly if they plan to hunt in one of the affected areas. Furthermore, surplus whitetail B-license (699-00) in Region 6 were decreased by 2,000 in response to the disease. FWP staff will continue to monitor the situation and keep the public updated on the extent of the outbreak.
How you can help!
FWP would like to get an idea of the distribution and severity of this disease. If you find dead or dying white-tailed deer, please contact your area biologist or FWP office. If possible, provide information on the species, number of individuals, behaviors and symptoms observed, and a general location.
What is EHD?
EHD is an infectious, sometimes fatal virus that is usually spread by a virus-carrying gnat or midge. Many animals affected with EHD lose their appetite, often are drawn to water, lose their fear of people, grow weak, and typically die. This disease is often confused with "blue tongue," which is a separate, but similar, disease. EHD is not transmissible to humans.
EHD is not uncommon in central and eastern Montana in late summer or early fall. The disease mostly impacts white-tailed deer, but also shows up occasionally in mule deer and antelope. EHD outbreaks typically occur in river bottoms and large creek bottoms, likely due to higher concentrations of white-tailed deer and the insects that transmit EHD. These outbreaks often end when a hard frost kills the insect vectors that carry the disease.
With cooler temperatures forecasted across the state, biologists are hoping the weather will slow down the insect vectors. However, there may be more transmission of the disease until a hard frost eliminates the adult insects, and FWP will not know the full extent of the outbreak until then.
Can hunters harvest deer with EHD?
Hunters usually do not harvest animals infected with EHD because animals typically die within 8 to 36 hours from the onset of disease. In most years, the majority of deer are harvested during the Montana general (rifle) hunting season, which is long after a killing frost marks the end of EHD for the year.
If a hunter does harvest an animal that is symptomatic with EHD, it may not be fit for consumption due to the hemorrhages within in the body.
Welp, trying it again this year. Buddy & I submitted our 2022 West River Special individual applications yesterday. He only has 1 point but that's a 35% chance. I should draw since I did last year but turned tag back in. Fingers crossed, again...
We both drew our tags so SD is on again for this year. Fingers crossed for more moisture & no EHD this summer.
