South Dakota Elk CAE-CAE-CU2 — Unit CAE-CAE-CU2
Custer Antlerless Elk: CAE-CU2 - ONE ANTLERLESS ELK · Custer State Park (antlerless, Dec 1-16)
- What you may take
- Custer Antlerless Elk: CAE-CU2 - ONE ANTLERLESS ELK
- Weapon
- Rifle
- Season
- —
- Resident tags (2026)
- 25
- for 1,984 first-choice applicants
Showing resident results. Switch to nonresident
Odds by point level — 2026 draw
Prior-draw probability for a first-choice resident applicant. 25 tags, 1,984 first-choice applicants. Source: GoOutdoors South Dakota Draw... · EventID=247115.
| Points | Your chance | Applicants | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0% | 917 | 0 |
| 1 | 0% | 87 | 0 |
| 2 | 0% | 135 | 0 |
| 3 | 0% | 140 | 0 |
| 4 | 0% | 71 | 0 |
| 5 | 0% | 128 | 0 |
| 6 | 0% | 66 | 0 |
| 7 | 5% | 44 | 2 |
| 8 | 5% | 34 | 0 |
| 9 | 5% | 54 | 1 |
| 10 | 5% | 50 | 0 |
| 11 | 5% | 45 | 2 |
| 12 | 5% | 46 | 0 |
| 13 | 6% | 33 | 2 |
| 14 | 7% | 29 | 2 |
| 15 | 8% | 26 | 2 |
| 16 | 16% | 19 | 3 |
| 17 | 16% | 16 | 1 |
| 18 | 17% | 12 | 2 |
| 19 | 50% | 12 | 6 |
| 20 | 50% | 9 | 1 |
| 21 | 50% | 6 | 0 |
| 22 | 50% | 2 | 0 |
| 23 | 50% | 3 | 1 |
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)
At the 2026 odds, expected cost per hunt-year ranges from $235 (enough points to draw) to $635.00 (lowest published odds).
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-CU2, South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks counted 1 elk taken in 2018. Full CAE-CAE-CU2 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 | 1,984 | 79.4 | — | GoOutdoors South Dakota Draw... · EventID=247115 |
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. Every figure links to the agency document it came from. Where a state does not publish a number, we show a dash, never a zero. Hunts with fewer than five tags show counts instead of percentages. Fees show the fee year used. Read the methodology for the engine details.
Not an application service
This page is informational only. Draw rules, quotas, fees, and deadlines are set by the state agency and change by commission action — confirm everything on the agency's own site before you apply, and apply through the agency, not here. We disclaim all liability for reliance on this page.