South Dakota Elk · PRE-27A Fall River County
South Dakota PRE-27A covers 877,410 acres and lies 15 miles south of Hot Springs and 40 miles south of Custer. 29% of it is public land, mostly other public land (27%) and state trust land (2%). In 2025, hunters took 38 elk here (sum of published weapon rows); hunter counts not published. Its most applied-for hunt, PRE-27A-21, put up 18 resident tags in the 2026 draw for 828 first-choice applicants.
4 licenses
first choice, resident
not published
27% Other public
877,410 acres
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PRE-27A 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 PRE-27A
| What | Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PRE-27A-21 Standard | Prairie Elk: 27A21 - ONE Any Elk | 0% | — | |
| PRE-27A-21 Landowner | Prairie Elk: 27A21 - ONE Any Elk | 100% | — | |
| PRE-27A-23 Standard | Prairie Elk: 27A23 - ONE Antlerless Elk | 92% | — | |
| PRE-27A-23 Landowner | Prairie Elk: 27A23 - 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) | 38 |
| 2024 (summed) | 35 |
| 2023 (summed) | 25 |
2025 split: firearm 38 (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
| Private | 624,198 ac | 71% |
| Other public | 232,991 ac | 27% |
| State trust land | 18,006 ac | 2% |
| State land | 4,410 ac | <1% |
Source: SD GFP 2026 Hunt Unit Elk.
Next Door
- 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-H3F FALL RIVER and CUSTER counties (antlerless, same area as BHE-H3E) 32% public
- BHE-H3E FALL RIVER and CUSTER counties 32% public
- BHE-H3D CUSTER county (antlerless, same area as BHE-H3B) 70% public
- BHE-H3C CUSTER county (antlerless, same area as BHE-H3B) 70% 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 PRE-27A? →
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