East River Deer

Details About SD East River Deer Licenses

South Dakota's East River deer firearms licenses are distributed by lottery drawings. Hunters should either acquire and complete an application and mail it to the the Game, Fish and Parks license office on or before the indicated deadline, or apply online with a credit card. Applications are usually available in late July with a first deadline in early September. See the links above for applications, information and to apply online.

Nonresident hunting opportunity is very limited in the eastern half of the state, as they must wait until the third drawing before applying for East River deer licenses. By that time most units are filled, especially those in the eastern half of East River.

Shooting hours: All firearms and archery big game shooting hours (except turkey) are one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset. Shooting hours for turkey season are one-half hour before sunrise to sunset.

See the East River deer application or the big game supplements (links above) for a unit map and other details for East River deer hunting.

Special Buck License:  The East River special buck license is a resident-only option for hunting deer (any buck) in the East River areas. It is the first application drawing for deer and is valid only on private land in any East River deer unit during the East River deer seasons. Successful special buck applicants cannot apply for a regular East River deer license until the third drawing. See application for further details.

Fluorescent Orange: Big game licensees hunting with a firearm in South Dakota must wear at least one exterior garment of fluorescent orange while hunting. Garments include hat, shirt, vest, jacket, coat or sweater. Turkey hunters do not need to wear fluorescent orange.