South Dakota Elk CAE-CAE-CU1
Custer Antlerless Elk: CAE-CU1 - ONE ANTLERLESS ELK · Custer State Park (antlerless, Oct 15-31)
- What you may take
- Custer Antlerless Elk: CAE-CU1 - ONE ANTLERLESS ELK
- Weapon
- Rifle
- Season
- —
- Resident tags (2026)
- 25
- for 2,244 first-choice applicants
Showing resident results. Switch to nonresident
South Dakota draws this hunt for residents only — there are no nonresident results to show. The numbers below are the resident draw.
New for 2026
The 2026 draw is the first on record for CAE-CAE-CU1: South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks did not offer this hunt code in earlier years, so the year-by-year table below has one row and there is no point-creep trend to project yet. The odds shown are that one draw's actual results, not an estimate.
Odds by point level — 2026 draw
Prior-draw probability for a first-choice resident applicant. 25 tags, 2,244 first-choice applicants. Source: GoOutdoors South Dakota Draw... · EventID=246985.
| Points | Your chance | Applicants | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | <1% | 1,061 | 1 |
| 1 | <1% | 94 | 0 |
| 2 | <1% | 173 | 0 |
| 3 | 1% | 146 | 2 |
| 4 | 1% | 64 | 0 |
| 5 | 1% | 104 | 0 |
| 6 | 1% | 69 | 1 |
| 7 | 1% | 46 | 0 |
| 8 | 1% | 46 | 0 |
| 9 | 1% | 69 | 0 |
| 10 | 4% | 53 | 2 |
| 11 | 4% | 50 | 1 |
| 12 | 5% | 60 | 3 |
| 13 | 5% | 44 | 2 |
| 14 | 5% | 38 | 0 |
| 15 | 10% | 29 | 3 |
| 16 | 10% | 23 | 1 |
| 17 | 17% | 23 | 4 |
| 18 | 17% | 11 | 1 |
| 19 | 17% | 24 | 2 |
| 20 | 17% | 11 | 1 |
| 21 | 20% | 5 | 1 |
| 22 | 20% | 1 | 0 |
Preference points, computed from published point-level pools. A dash means South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks did not publish a count for that level. How we compute these.
What it costs (2026 resident fees)
$20 a year buys a 1-in-1,060 chance at 0 points at the 2026 odds. Points raise it each year you miss.
Not applying this year? A point-only purchase costs $5 and adds a point for next year's draw.
Next application window: opens Apr 15, closes May 19, 2027 (expected) · results ~May 27. Last cycle's schedule rolled forward — confirm when the agency publishes.
Point creep & years to draw
Insufficient history (0 of 3 draws) — a creep trend needs at least three draw years with a published drew-out level.
How this tag has hunted
Across every license type in CAE-CAE-CU1, South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks counted 3 elk taken in 2018. Full CAE-CAE-CU1 profile: maps, public land, five years of harvest →
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: Elk Harvest (Hunting/Harvest_Maps MapServer, layer 3) — per-unit post-season harvest, 2018 & 2023-2025
Year by year
The standard draw for residents, one row per year.
| Year | Tags | Applicants | Applicants per tag | Points needed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 25 | 2,244 | 89.8 | — | GoOutdoors South Dakota Draw... · EventID=246985 |
Legal cartridges for elk in South Dakota
From the South Dakota hunting laws rules on file for a rifle. "Depends" means the rule turns on your specific load — check the state page.
Spot a data error on this page? Tell us.
How to read these numbers
Every percentage on this page is a prior-draw probability: the chance an applicant with that many points would have drawn in the draw year shown, computed from the agency's published results. It is not a forecast — quotas, applicant numbers, and point creep change every year. Where a state does not publish a number, we show a dash, never a zero. Under five tags the percentage is flagged: one applicant either way swings it. Fees show the fee year used. Read the methodology for the engine details.
Not an application service
Draw rules, quotas, fees and deadlines are set by each agency and change by commission action. Check the agency's site and apply there; we don't take applications.