South Dakota Elk — PRE-35D
Unit 35 (Harding County area, not separately bounded)
In 2023, hunters took 3 elk here. The 2023 draw put up 16 resident tags here for 14 first-choice applicants.
Your chance of drawing here
Every elk license type on offer in PRE-35D, with the prior-draw chance for a first-choice resident applicant. Type your points in to see your own number.
Chances are from the 2023 draw (the most recent) for a first-choice resident. "Points needed" = the cut in the last draw.
Simple view Odds at every point level-
100% Undersubscribed
-
100% No first-choice applicants
| Hunt | Your odds (0 pts) | Points needed | Tags / applicants | License | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PRE-35D-23 ↗ Prairie Elk: 35D23 - ONE ANTLERLESS ELK | 100% Undersubscribed | — | 16 / 14 undersubscribed | Standard | Nov 16 – Dec 31, 2023 |
| PRE-35D-23 ↗ Prairie Elk: 35D23 - ONE ANTLERLESS ELK | 100% No first-choice applicants | — | 8 / 0 | Landowner | Nov 16 – Dec 31, 2023 |
What these columns mean
- Your odds —
- the share of applicants at your point level who drew this tag in the 2023 draw. Not a forecast: quotas and demand move every year.
- The badge —
- plain language for that number. Likely draw 75% or better · Real chance 40%+ · Long shot 15%+ · Point builder below that, so you are applying mainly to bank a point · Undersubscribed means fewer first-choice applicants than tags, so everyone who applied drew.
- Points needed —
- the lowest point total that still got a tag in the 2023 draw, and how that cut has moved since the earliest draw we hold.
- Tags / applicants —
- tags on offer and first-choice applicants for them, as the agency published them. Under five tags we print counts instead of a percentage, because one applicant either way swings it.
What it costs to apply (2023 resident fees)
| License | Up front | Gone if you miss | If you draw |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard license | $10 | $10 | $126 |
| Landowner license | $10 | $10 | $126 |
Application window: opens Apr 15, closes May 19, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.
The country
South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks does not publish a mapped boundary for PRE-35D, so there is no map to draw. The agency describes it as “Unit 35 (Harding County area, not separately bounded)”.
How the hunting has gone
What South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks publishes for this area after each season — harvest statistics for everyone who hunted it, not draw odds and not a forecast. South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks publishes these per hunt rather than per unit; the rows below add its own figures together, since a hunter holds one tag for the species in a season. 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.
| Season | Harvest |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 3 |
What people carried (2023 harvest)
- Firearm 3 · 100%