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oTrexGray

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Joined
Aug 11, 2018
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HI THERE,

New to the forum and for good reason! Heading west for a SD Muley hunt next October. Coming from West Virginia I'm a DIY public land bowhunter that loves mature mountain whitetails. I've harvested my fair share of good bucks in my home state with two exceeding that 160" mark! (WT) But I def consider myself lost to the aspect of spot and stalk western hunting. I've never been west of Kentucky!! Thankfully, that's about to change and I couldn't be more excited! I couldn't think of a better way for some tips or knowledge than to get on a forum. Looking for tips on what I should look forward to, gear, misc. things that I might overlook.

We're planning on a 10-12 day hunt towards the NW part of the state. Looking at sections of the Custer National Forest as I've looked at it on Google Earth and it seems to have some decently rugged country with a lot of crevasses for a decent buck to hide. Maybe...... LOL / or the Grand River National grasslands. I am aware of the WIA opportunities as well. Everything's overwhelming when you have no idea what you're going up against!

Any info would be great! I know our chances are slim on harvesting a good buck with stick and string. Especially in the time frame we have! So, I'm just trying to gather as much information ahead of time to possibly help our chances! We don't mind hiking back out empty handed as the adventure will be good enough in itself!

We're going to start applying for Wyoming pref points to be able to draw a decent tag in the future. But with SD archery being almost guaranteed (from what I've read) we're trying our luck there in the years to come!

GOODLUCK on your upcoming seasons and shoot straight!!
 
Try south of Lemmon, SD. Shadehill Reservoir Park is an Awesome area, with camping, showers and all! You get away from a lot of hunters and there is an absolute huge amount of Federal land that you can wander. Saw some really nice deer last year while hunting archery antelope.
 
blue devil said:
Try south of Lemmon, SD. Shadehill Reservoir Park is an Awesome area, with camping, showers and all! You get away from a lot of hunters and there is an absolute huge amount of Federal land that you can wander. Saw some really nice deer last year while hunting archery antelope.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info! I'll for sure look into it! Also, with two of us heading out do you think it'd be a good idea for at least one of us to have an antelope tag in our pocket? I'd imagine maybe running across a few in the GL.
 
I hunt SD a lot. Not sure when you are planning to go out but I would suggest being there the week before rifle season. Bucks are on the prowl and let their guard down a bit.
 
Redman said:
I hunt SD a lot. Not sure when you are planning to go out but I would suggest being there the week before rifle season. Bucks are on the prowl and let their guard down a bit.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info!
We plan on a early to mid October hunt. Only because I'm usually in Ohio last week of October and stay hunting my home state through November.
What can I plan to see when it comes to weather and deer movement / tactics for this time of year?
 
I would have to agree with redman. The week before rifle is a good time to go but definitely not a deal breaker. Also from my experience the walk in areas hold more deer than most of the BLM land. It's a fun hunt and you should see a pile of deer. Not to mention nice big whitetail to look at on private land ;)
 
HigdemHunter said:
I would have to agree with redman. The week before rifle is a good time to go but definitely not a deal breaker. Also from my experience the walk in areas hold more deer than most of the BLM land. It's a fun hunt and you should see a pile of deer. Not to mention nice big whitetail to look at on private land ;)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info!
& Would you happen to be familiar with OnX maps? Does anyone know if I'm able to look up the walk in areas off OnX while out in the field? Or is it strictly just on the SDG&F website? Either way I guess I could just transfer back and forth to know property boundaries for the WIA'S.
That's fortunate. Big WT's hold a warm spot in my heart! LOL
 
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oTrexGray said:
Thanks for the info!
& Would you happen to be familiar with OnX maps? Does anyone know if I'm able to look up the walk in areas off OnX while out in the field? Or is it strictly just on the SDG&F website? Either way I guess I could just transfer back and forth to know property boundaries for the WIA'S.
That's fortunate. Big WT's hold a warm spot in my heart! LOL
Click to expand...
Last year when I was out there OnX wouldn't let me view it on my downloaded maps for some reason, but Maybe it's changed now. I found myself using SDGF phone app just as much as OnX.
 
HigdemHunter said:
Last year when I was out there OnX wouldn't let me view it on my downloaded maps for some reason, but Maybe it's changed now. I found myself using SDGF phone app just as much as OnX.
Click to expand...

Okay cool deal. I see there's plenty of WIA opportunities so we'll plan to hit as many as possible around the place we're going to camp!
 
I 2nd the SDGFP app! It is a great tool. You can also download a map file to your gps. It's extremely helpful! Best of luck!
 
oTrexGray said:
Thanks for the info!
We plan on a early to mid October hunt. Only because I'm usually in Ohio last week of October and stay hunting my home state through November.
What can I plan to see when it comes to weather and deer movement / tactics for this time of year?
Click to expand...

I glass until I find something that I want to put a stock on. Bring a spotting scope to help size up your buck. I have hunted mid October before and only saw one really good buck. I saw plenty of small bucks and does. I ended up taking a doe on the last evening of the hunt, I would rather shoot a doe than a small buck, but that is just my preference. Biggest issue that year it was hot and the deer were headed to bed as soon as the sun hit them and they would come out when it was the end of legal shooting light. They would bed in the cedar draws and along creek banks too thick to sneak up on. I did walk the creek and snuck up on a doe that was bedded but I also spooked a lot of deer out of there that I never did see. I could tell they were mule deer by the sound of their mule deer hop. You will learn what that sounds like! Now it could get cold and snow too, it is the West so be prepared for any type of weather. Bring tire chains 4x4 won't help in badlands clay if it gets wet and you have any type of a hill. Good luck
 
Redman said:
I glass until I find something that I want to put a stock on. Bring a spotting scope to help size up your buck. I have hunted mid October before and only saw one really good buck. I saw plenty of small bucks and does. I ended up taking a doe on the last evening of the hunt, I would rather shoot a doe than a small buck, but that is just my preference. Biggest issue that year it was hot and the deer were headed to bed as soon as the sun hit them and they would come out when it was the end of legal shooting light. They would bed in the cedar draws and along creek banks too thick to sneak up on. I did walk the creek and snuck up on a doe that was bedded but I also spooked a lot of deer out of there that I never did see. I could tell they were mule deer by the sound of their mule deer hop. You will learn what that sounds like! Now it could get cold and snow too, it is the West so be prepared for any type of weather. Bring tire chains 4x4 won't help in badlands clay if it gets wet and you have any type of a hill. Good luck
Click to expand...

Awesome info! All this talk makes me want to get out there this year!! Unfortunately, I just have too much going on. Hopefully after this year it'll become an annual trip! The latest I could possibly go is the 12th-22nd. Hopefully I can get some of the cooler weather! Would it be wise to have an antelope tag in my pocket in case I hit the warmer weather? Maybe hunt deer morning/evening and focus on antelope middle of the day? How is the antelope population in NW of the state?
 
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I’ve gone (different area) basically every week of the season leading up to rifle, minus the non-res pheasant opener and we have seen good bucks at all times of the year. Hunting pressure has dictated in strong correlation how “good” our trip was. Meaning, pick a week that works for you and hunt hard.

There are a lot of antelope up in that area, at least from what I’ve seen from the truck, so that’s your call.

Definitely get the SD GFP map app and don’t be afraid to check out new areas. Lots of honey holes
 
beagle001 said:
I’ve gone (different area) basically every week of the season leading up to rifle, minus the non-res pheasant opener and we have seen good bucks at all times of the year. Hunting pressure has dictated in strong correlation how “good” our trip was. Meaning, pick a week that works for you and hunt hard.

There are a lot of antelope up in that area, at least from what I’ve seen from the truck, so that’s your call.

Definitely get the SD GFP map app and don’t be afraid to check out new areas. Lots of honey holes
Click to expand...

I'm thinking of maybe going up earlier around the Archery antelope opener and doing a little pre-scouting for some deer. I think it would be nice to at least get a feel for the land before we head up for muleys. Could find out some useful information so we don't go in blind! Possibly, even come out with an animal.
 
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HigdemHunter said:
Last year when I was out there OnX wouldn't let me view it on my downloaded maps for some reason, but Maybe it's changed now. I found myself using SDGF phone app just as much as OnX.
Click to expand...

There are trade offs to both the OnXmaps app and GFP app, I live here and find that I use the OnX app way more because I can desk scout and preload waypoints, features, etc. I have had no issues viewing walk-in areas on the OnX app in off-line mode. Have you looked at the SW corner of SD south of the Black Hills at all for your trip oTrexGray?
 
Might as well bring the boat also, catch a musky in Iowa or MN, leave the boat somewhere for the week and pick it up again on your way back east :eek:
 
The GF&P app use to be good but I'm not a fan of the updated one. If you have a Garmin GPS, you can download the public land maps from there website for FREE. I agree with everyone else, the week before rifle is the prime time for find muley bucks. Good glass should be on the top of your list, I run 10x42 vortex diamondbacks. Find a good glassing point and pick the area apart(be careful not to skyline yourself). When you find the muley does keep an eye on them, they might not have a buck in with them that early but I promise you he won't be more then 100 yrds away.
 
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