South Dakota Deer · WRD-21A CUSTER COUNTY east of SD 79
South Dakota WRD-21A covers 701,927 acres and lies 20 miles south of Box Elder and 31 miles south-east of Summerset. 14% of it is public land, mostly other public land (13%) and state trust land (2%). In 2025, hunters took 176 white-tailed deer here (sum of published weapon rows); hunter counts not published. Its most applied-for hunt, WRD-21A-02, put up 8 nonresident tags in the 2026 draw for 57 first-choice applicants.
3 licenses
first choice, NR
not published
13% Other public
701,927 acres
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only. The written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Best Bets at 0 Points
Ranked by your odds times how often that license type's hunters filled their tag in 2025. Nonresident, first choice, 2026 draw; licenses with at least 10 tags that anyone can buy.
Every License in WRD-21A
| What | Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WRD-21A-02 | West River Deer: 21A02 - Any Buck Deer | 0% | — | |
| WRD-21A-11 | West River Deer: 21A11 - Any Whitetail Deer | 50% | — | |
| WRD-21A-13P | West River Deer: 21A13P - Antlerless Whitetail Deer | 100% (small sample) | — |
First-choice nonresident odds at your points, 2026 draw. Cut = points the last tag went at; ▲ = points added since the earliest draw on file. Not in the table, with no 2026 result: WRD-21A-01.
Draw results: SD GFP 2026 GoOutdoors draw statistics, retrieved Sep 1, 2026.
If you draw (2026 nonresident fees): $25 ($25 to apply). Open May 27 – Jun 23, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.
Harvest
White-tailed Deer
| Year | Deer |
|---|---|
| 2025 (summed) | 176 |
| 2024 (summed) | 189 |
| 2023 (summed) | 197 |
Mule Deer
| Year | Deer |
|---|---|
| 2025 (summed) | 64 |
| 2024 (summed) | 61 |
| 2023 (summed) | 57 |
2025 split: firearm 176 (100%)
What South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks publishes after each season, for everyone who hunted the area: harvest statistics, not draw odds. South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks publishes no whole-unit line for 2025; a year's total is the sum of published weapon rows, added only where the lines do not overlap. Hunter counts not published for 2025. South Dakota's figures are Game, Fish and Parks post-season survey estimates, expanded from mandatory hunter reporting by the response rate — not a count of animals checked in. Source: SD GFP 2023-2025 Deer Harvest.
The Ground
| Private | 600,535 ac | 86% |
| Other public | 88,467 ac | 13% |
| State trust land | 12,885 ac | 2% |
| State land | 39 ac | <1% |
Source: SD GFP 2026 Hunt Unit Deer.
Next Door
- WRD-21B Portions of CUSTER and PENNINGTON counties 1% public
- WRD-02C PENNINGTON COUNTY south of I-90 and east of the Cheyenne River 60% public
- WRD-49A MEADE COUNTY, east of I-90, south of US 212 4% public
- WRD-65A Oglala Lakota County 10% public
- WRD-02A PENNINGTON and MEADE counties 9% public
- WRD-27L FALL RIVER COUNTY limited to the Hill Ranch Game Production Area 100% public
▸ Sources 5
- SD GFP 2026 GoOutdoors draw statistics draw results, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- SD GFP 2025 Deer Applications booklet fees, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- SD GFP 2026 GFP FAQ fees, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- SD GFP 2023-2025 Deer Harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- SD GFP 2026 Hunt Unit Deer boundary, land ownership, area description, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
About These Numbers
Odds are from the 2026 draw, the latest on file, computed from South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks' published results. They are what happened in that draw, not a forecast. Under five tags a percentage carries a *, because one applicant either way swings it. A dash means the agency did not publish the number, and a date marked expected is last cycle's schedule rolled forward. How we compute these.
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We don't take applications: check South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks's site and apply there.
Prior-draw odds from South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks' results, not a forecast · Methodology · All South Dakota deer hunts