Hunting is a year-round sport in Southeast South Dakota. Hunters have access to nearly 4.5 million acres of public land. Upland game, waterfowl, small game and big game dominate the fall hunting seasons. Predator hunting fills the winter months, and spring signals the start of turkey hunting. The avid hunter will find Southeast South Dakota a virtual hunter's paradise, with abundant game of varied species providing a variety of hunting opportunities. Though pheasant and deer are the most popular, hunters may find addition hunts for partridge, quail, dove, coyote and fox.
 Pheasant
Traditional season in Southeast South Dakota is mid-October to mid-December. Preserve season, September through March. Although pheasants are found statewide, the main pheasant range encompasses the eastern two-thirds of the state. Pheasants prefer agricultural fields, wooded draws, tree strips, wetlands and set-aside acres. Most of South Dakota is privately owned and permission is required to hunt, but public lands such as Game Production Areas and Walk-In Areas offer choice habitat for pheasants. Early in the season, pheasants are scattered in small flocks, but winter's fury pushes birds into heavy cover and concentrates them. Tree strips, cattail sloughs and dense weed patches hold pheasants this time of year.
East River Deer
Traditional Season: Firearm, mid-November through early December. Archery, late September through December.
Range and Habitat: East of the Missouri River, deer hunters will find crops such as corn, oats, wheat, sunflowers and soybeans attracting the whitetail deer population. Mule deer hunting is limited to counties bordering the Missouri River. Rolling pastures, tree strips, river bottoms and cattail sloughs provide escape cover for the deer. Non-resident firearm hunting opportunities are limited, and non-residents are only able to apply for licenses after three resident drawings. Archery east river deer licenses are unlimited.
Geese
Traditional Season: Early October to mid-December. Range and Habitat: Geese can be found and hunted statewide. The Missouri River corridor is the main route for more than 400,000 migrating Canada geese, and eastern South Dakota attracts 350,000 snow- and blue-geese migrants.
Ducks
Traditional Season: Early October to mid-November. Range and Habitat: South Dakota's prairie pothole country, located in the heart of the Central Flyway, consistently leads the nation in duck production. More than 15 million ducks migrate annually through South Dakota. They include mallards, gadwall, pintails and teal. Ducks can be found and hunted statewide, with varying numbers of birds depending on the fall migration. Along the Missouri River, the migration peaks in mid-November with 600,000 ducks, primarily mallards.
Turkey
Traditional Season: Spring firearm and archery, early April to mid-May. Fall prairie turkey, early October through mid-December. Range and Habitat: Wild turkeys are found statewide in varying densities. In the eastern portion of the state, turkeys prefer the woods and brushy hillsides of rivers, as well as tree belts. Spring archery hunters may hunt statewide, and licenses are unlimited.
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