How to become a better South Dakota Deer Hunter
Do you want to kill bigger bucks in South Dakota? Do you want to be the best South Dakota deer hunter that you can possibly be? Do you want to improve your whitetail deer hunting success? It doesn’t matter if you are a South Dakota gun hunter or a bowhunter, the tips outlined here can make you a better SD deer hunter.
6 Steps to Becoming a Better South Dakota Deer Hunter
Finding the Best Places to Hunt in South Dakota
Let’s start by looking at where you are currently deer hunting in South Dakota. Where you hunt can have the biggest impact on your deer hunting success and it doesn’t matter if you are trying to harvest a South Dakota big buck or just put meat on the table. Your deer hunting success is going to be closely tied to where you are hunting specifically. I am not talking about the county in which you are hunting but the exact property or piece of ground you hunt. Every county in South Dakota can produce great bucks but it is the specific property that will largely dictate your deer hunting success. You have to do whatever it takes to access the best hunting property to achieve higher levels of consistent deer hunting success.
Choosing the Best Deer Hunting Tactics for South Dakota
I would also challenge you to take a close look at your current hunting tactics. If you keep doing what you have always done, you will keep having the same degree of success that you have always had. Many tactics that are promoted on the internet, in hunting magazines, by so-called experts will actually educate more bucks than they help you harvest. If you want to take your South Dakota deer hunting success to the next level, examine what tactics have worked for you in the past and which ones never have. Then you can remove the ones that don’t work from your South Dakota deer hunting playbook.
Hunting South Dakota Weather Fronts
Hunting weather patterns can help put you in the woods when those big South Dakota bucks are on the move. The weather in South Dakota can change drastically in a short amount of time so look for weather fronts and hunt right before them and right after. Let’s face it, each of us has a limited amount of time that we can hunt so if you can time your hunts to coincide with weather fronts your odds for success increase dramatically.
Learn to Hunt the Wind in South Dakota
Learning to play the wind is another huge key to improving your deer hunting success. Different terrain and landscapes in South Dakota affect how the wind travels or swirls. Thermals also play a big part when hunting the wind. The wind can be tricky in different terrains but if you want to kill one of those giant bucks in South Dakota, learning to play the wind on your hunting property is critical. I don’t think there is a deer hunter anywhere that fully realizes how many bucks he spooks with his scent and never knows it.
Practice Shooting Before Hunting in South Dakota
Become proficient with your weapon. Whether you deer hunt with a gun or deer hunt with a bow in South Dakota, you will only get so many chances at big bucks. The last thing you want to do is miss or worse yet, wound a deer when you get your opportunity. Practice with your weapon and know your limits. Only take broadside and slightly quartering away shot angles. It is far better to have a deer getaway than to make a poor hit and wound it.
Be Patient When Hunting South Dakota Whitetails
Finally, do not become too aggressive with your hunting. Too much human pressure can drive deer off the property and ruin your chances of success. It is far better to start hunting on the edges of the property and slowly work your way toward the center over the course of the entire hunting season. A lot of big South Dakota bucks have been bumped off of great hunting properties by too much human intrusion.
There you have it, six deer hunting tips to help you become a better deer hunter in South Dakota. If you put all of these ideas to work this season, I am sure your success rate will improve. Hopefully, it leads to you putting your deer tag on one of those South Dakota giant bucks!
If you are wanting to learn more about each of these topics you can check out the rest of Whitetail Master Academy. We have video lessons where we go into great detail on deer hunting strategies, land management, killing big bucks and more. Also check out our Blog where we have plenty of informative deer hunting articles for free.