South Dakota Elk Draw Odds
In the 2026 draw South Dakota offered 44 elk hunts to residents, drawn by preference points. At 0 points a resident had at least an even chance in 19 hunts open to every hunter.
Open Apr 15 – May 19, 2027 (expected)
Kept if you miss. Elk license $195 only if drawn
2026 draw
38,435 resident applicants
How the South Dakota Draw Works (30-Second Version)
Preference points.
Tags go to the applicants with the most preference points, one level at a time. If the last level that draws has more applicants than tags remaining, those applicants are chosen at random. Everyone below that level misses and earns a point.
No nonresident draw results are on file for South Dakota elk — South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks publishes resident results only, or none by residency. The numbers below are the resident draw.
Best Bets at 0 Points
Odds × hunter success × public land, 10 tags or more. Private-land, ranch, landowner and youth hunts left out.
Bull or Either-Sex
Cow
BHE-H3D-23
Unit BHE-H3D · Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H3D23 · One antlerless elk
- Success
- —
- Public
- 70%
- Season
- Dec 17–31
BHE-H3C-23
Unit BHE-H3C · Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H3C23 · One antlerless elk
- Success
- —
- Public
- 70%
- Season
- Dec 1–16
BHE-H3B-23
Unit BHE-H3B · Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H3B23 · One antlerless elk
- Success
- —
- Public
- 70%
- Season
- Oct 15–31
BHE-H7B-23
Unit BHE-H7B · Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H7B23 · One antlerless elk
- Success
- —
- Public
- 61%
- Season
- Oct 15–Dec 16
BHE-H3G-23
Unit BHE-H3G · Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H3G23 · One antlerless elk
- Success
- —
- Public
- 32%
- Season
- Dec 17–31
BHE-H3F-23
Unit BHE-H3F · Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H3F23 · One antlerless elk
- Success
- —
- Public
- 32%
- Season
- Dec 1–16
Before You Apply
A Waiting Period After Drawing
Draw one and you wait 9 years before applying again.
A resident who received a licence for a season cannot apply for that same season in the first draw for nine years, and drawing with points costs all the points for that season. The Custer State Park firearm elk and Custer State Park early archery elk licences are once in a lifetime; the other elk seasons carry the nine-year bar instead.
Source: gfp.sd.gov
- Limit
- 9-year wait
- Nonresident Share
- Residents only
- This draw is open to residents only.
- Your Points
- Earned on a miss
- Missing the draw earns you a point for next year.
Every Hunt at 0 Points
44 hunt codes drawn in 2026 · 19 at 50% or better · first choice · resident standard
Last year's odds were off by about 1 percentage point for applicants near the points needed. How we check
| Hunt | Season | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BHE-H1A-21 Unit BHE-H1A · Rifle · Black Hills Elk: H1A21 · One any elk | Rifle · Black Hills Elk: H1A21 · One any elk | BHE-H1A | Oct 1–31 | 0% | — | 77 / 1,442 | — |
| BHE-H1B-23 Unit BHE-H1B · Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H1B23 · One antlerless elk | Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H1B23 · One antlerless elk | BHE-H1B | Oct 15–Dec 16 | 75% | — | 74 / 86 | — |
| BHE-H2A-21 Unit BHE-H2A · Rifle · Black Hills Elk: H2A21 · One any elk | Rifle · Black Hills Elk: H2A21 · One any elk | BHE-H2A | Oct 1–31 | 0% | — | 369 / 10,429 | — |
| BHE-H2B-23 Unit BHE-H2B · Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H2B23 · One antlerless elk | Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H2B23 · One antlerless elk | BHE-H2B | Oct 15–31 | 0% | — | 75 / 249 | — |
| BHE-H2C-23 Unit BHE-H2C · Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H2C23 · One antlerless elk | Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H2C23 · One antlerless elk | BHE-H2C | Dec 1–16 | 57% | — | 75 / 103 | — |
| BHE-H2E-23 Unit BHE-H2E · Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H2E23 · One antlerless elk | Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H2E23 · One antlerless elk | BHE-H2E | Oct 15–31 | 9% | — | 25 / 67 | — |
| BHE-H2F-23 Unit BHE-H2F · Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H2F23 · One antlerless elk | Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H2F23 · One antlerless elk | BHE-H2F | Dec 1–16 | 0% | — | 10 / 52 | — |
| BHE-H2G-23 Unit BHE-H2G · Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H2G23 · One antlerless elk | Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H2G23 · One antlerless elk | BHE-H2G | Dec 17–31 | 0% | — | 10 / 35 | — |
| BHE-H2H-23 Unit BHE-H2H · Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H2H23 · One antlerless elk | Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H2H23 · One antlerless elk | BHE-H2H | Oct 15–31 | 100% | — | 8 / 2 | — |
| BHE-H2I-23 Unit BHE-H2I · Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H2I23 · One antlerless elk | Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H2I23 · One antlerless elk | BHE-H2I | Dec 1–16 | 100% | — | 8 / 2 | — |
| BHE-H2J-23 Unit BHE-H2J · Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H2J23 · One antlerless elk | Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H2J23 · One antlerless elk | BHE-H2J | Dec 17–31 | 100% | — | 8 / 2 | — |
| BHE-H3A-21 Unit BHE-H3A · Rifle · Black Hills Elk: H3A21 · One any elk | Rifle · Black Hills Elk: H3A21 · One any elk | BHE-H3A | Oct 1–31 | 0% | — | 69 / 1,744 | — |
| BHE-H3B-23 Unit BHE-H3B · Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H3B23 · One antlerless elk | Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H3B23 · One antlerless elk | BHE-H3B | Oct 15–31 | 100% | — | 48 / 40 | — |
| BHE-H3C-23 Unit BHE-H3C · Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H3C23 · One antlerless elk | Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H3C23 · One antlerless elk | BHE-H3C | Dec 1–16 | 100% | — | 70 / 21 | — |
| BHE-H3D-23 Unit BHE-H3D · Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H3D23 · One antlerless elk | Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H3D23 · One antlerless elk | BHE-H3D | Dec 17–31 | 100% | — | 75 / 15 | — |
| BHE-H3E-23 Unit BHE-H3E · Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H3E23 · One antlerless elk | Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H3E23 · One antlerless elk | BHE-H3E | Oct 15–31 | 100% | — | 98 / 20 | — |
| BHE-H3F-23 Unit BHE-H3F · Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H3F23 · One antlerless elk | Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H3F23 · One antlerless elk | BHE-H3F | Dec 1–16 | 100% | — | 100 / 20 | — |
| BHE-H3G-23 Unit BHE-H3G · Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H3G23 · One antlerless elk | Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H3G23 · One antlerless elk | BHE-H3G | Dec 17–31 | 100% | — | 106 / 10 | — |
| BHE-H4A-21 Unit BHE-H4A · Rifle · Black Hills Elk: H4A21 · One any elk | Rifle · Black Hills Elk: H4A21 · One any elk | BHE-H4A | Oct 1–31 | 0% | — | 21 / 84 | — |
| BHE-H4B-23 Unit BHE-H4B · Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H4B23 · One antlerless elk | Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H4B23 · One antlerless elk | BHE-H4B | Oct 15–Dec 16 | 100% | — | 70 / 8 | — |
| BHE-H5A-21 Unit BHE-H5A · Rifle · Black Hills Elk: H5A21 · One any elk | Rifle · Black Hills Elk: H5A21 · One any elk | BHE-H5A | Oct 1–31 | 0% (small sample) | — | 2 / 58 | — |
| BHE-H7A-21 Unit BHE-H7A · Rifle · Black Hills Elk: H7A21 · One any elk | Rifle · Black Hills Elk: H7A21 · One any elk | BHE-H7A | Oct 1–31 | 0% | — | 15 / 441 | — |
| BHE-H7B-23 Unit BHE-H7B · Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H7B23 · One antlerless elk | Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H7B23 · One antlerless elk | BHE-H7B | Oct 15–Dec 16 | 83% | — | 49 / 53 | — |
| BHE-H9A-21 Unit BHE-H9A · Rifle · Black Hills Elk: H9A21 · One any elk | Rifle · Black Hills Elk: H9A21 · One any elk | BHE-H9A | Oct 1–31 | 0% | — | 10 / 58 | — |
| BHE-H9B-23 Unit BHE-H9B · Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H9B23 · One antlerless elk | Antlerless rifle · Black Hills Elk: H9B23 · One antlerless elk | BHE-H9B | Oct 15–Dec 16 | 100% | — | 73 / 7 | — |
Showing 1–25 of 44 · sorted by unit · 10 hunts not offered in 2026 hidden — show discontinued hunts
Show all 44 huntsWhat These Columns Mean
- Odds at your points —
- the share of first-choice applicants at your point level who drew this tag in the 2026 draw. Not a forecast: quotas and demand move every year. A badge marked * had under five tags, so one applicant either way swings it.
- Pts needed —
- the lowest point total that still got a tag in the 2026 draw; the ▲ or ▼ is how far that cut has moved since the earliest draw we hold. A 0 marks a hunt that went Undersubscribed: fewer first-choice applicants than tags, so everyone who applied drew.
- Tags / apps —
- tags on offer and first-choice applicants for them, as the agency published them.
- Success —
- the share of hunters in the unit who killed an animal, from the latest harvest report on file. It is the whole unit's figure, not the hunt's.
All 46 Units
Each unit has its own page: where it is on the map, how much of it is public land, what the hunters who went there killed last season, and every license type you can apply for inside it.
Report an error on this page
About These Numbers
Every percentage here is the chance an applicant with that many points had in the draw year shown, computed from the agency's published results; quotas, applicant numbers and point levels change every year. A dash means the agency did not publish the number. Under five tags the percentage is flagged: one applicant either way swings it. Check the agency's site and apply there; we don't take applications. How we compute these.