South Dakota Elk · BHE-H3D CUSTER county (antlerless, same area as BHE-H3B)
South Dakota BHE-H3D covers 216,860 acres and lies 8 miles south of Custer and 17 miles north of Hot Springs. 70% of it is public land, mostly other public land (69%). In 2025, hunters took 18 elk here (sum of published weapon rows); hunter counts not published. Its most applied-for hunt, BHE-H3D-23, put up 75 resident tags in the 2026 draw for 15 first-choice applicants.
2 licenses
first choice, resident
not published
69% Other public
216,860 acres
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BHE-H3D is outlined in red; other elk units in blue. Boundaries are drawn for orientation; the written boundary in the regulations governs. Open the full South Dakota map →
Best Bets at 0 Points
Ranked by your odds times how often that license type's hunters filled their tag in 2025. Resident, first choice, 2026 draw; licenses with at least 10 tags that anyone can buy.
Every License in BHE-H3D
| What | Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BHE-H3D-23 Standard | Black Hills Elk: H3D23 - ONE Antlerless Elk | 100% | — | |
| BHE-H3D-23 Landowner | Black Hills Elk: H3D23 - ONE Antlerless Elk | 100% | — |
First-choice resident odds at your points, 2026 draw. Cut = points the last tag went at; ▲ = points added since the earliest draw on file.
Draw results: SD GFP 2026 GoOutdoors draw statistics, retrieved Sep 1, 2026.
If you draw (2026 resident fees): Standard $215 ($20 to apply) · Landowner $215 ($20 to apply). Open Apr 15 – May 19, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.
Harvest
| Year | Elk |
|---|---|
| 2025 (summed) | 18 |
| 2024 (summed) | 11 |
| 2023 (summed) | 15 |
2025 split: firearm 18 (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 2018 Elk Harvest.
The Ground
| Other public | 149,813 ac | 69% |
| Private | 66,467 ac | 31% |
| State trust land | 691 ac | <1% |
| State land | 512 ac | <1% |
Source: SD GFP 2026 Hunt Unit Elk.
Next Door
- BHE-H3C CUSTER county (antlerless, same area as BHE-H3B) 70% public
- BHE-H2G PENNINGTON and CUSTER counties (antlerless, same area as BHE-H2E) 89% public
- BHE-H3G FALL RIVER and CUSTER counties (antlerless, same area as BHE-H3E) 32% public
- BHE-H4B CUSTER, FALL RIVER, and PENNINGTON Counties (antlerless, same area as BHE-H4A) 10% public
- BHE-H2J PENNINGTON and CUSTER counties (antlerless, same area as BHE-H2H) 87% public
- BHE-H3F FALL RIVER and CUSTER counties (antlerless, same area as BHE-H3E) 32% public
South Dakota landowner tags →
Landowner Preference: 160 acres. Landowner-on-own-land licences: 160 acres. Not sellable. Owning land here does not waive the license.
Is a parcel in BHE-H3D? →
Click the ground or paste a listing's coordinates on the unit finder: the unit for every species at that point, how far inside the line it sits, and whether the acreage clears the landowner floor.
▸ Sources 6
- SD GFP 2026 GoOutdoors draw statistics draw results, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- SD GFP 2026 Elk application sheet fees, 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 2018 Elk Harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- SD GFP 2026 Hunt Unit Elk 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.
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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 · All South Dakota elk hunts