Oak, DHaffner has it right when it comes to the way points work in SD. You aren't even in the draw without any "preference points" but after you get one, they act like bonus points.With the reduction in tags every year it has gone from a sure thing for the whitey tag for a NR with 1 point to maybe needing 2. The muley tag is likely a 4-5 year proposition. Lemme know if you draw, my areas won't be as good as Miller's but in case you get bored looking over all the nice deer in his areas, you can try mine
I can't argue with your experiences in the Hills, all I can do is explain why I said it's not worth waiting for a BH Mule Deer Tag...
Pros: They have significantly reduced the number of Rifle MD tags available. from thousands down to 500. Last year I saw 13 MD bucks in one day, unfortunately 12 of them were spikes or forks and only one had 3 points on one side, but he was still a 60 inch class dink. So there is the chance that some could get big, but on my Elk hunt in Custer State Park, a place that is 71,000 acres and only has 2 any deer tags per year. I saw several 150 class white tails but the biggest mule deer I saw was 120 class. I spoke with a gfp officer that said he heard about a 30 inch MD in there but never saw it himself. So no matter how low the pressure is, I'm not convinced we have the genetics to produce very many big MD bucks in the Hills.
Cons: If a person had 1 preference point you can expect around 7 years to draw. No preference will take around 15 years to draw a Black Hills rifle any deer tag (allows you to take a Mule Deer).
Oak can hunt in many Colorado units that have significantly better genetics/potential with no points and have a shot at a nice buck.
Any non res can hunt general tags in Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Utah or Nebraska and hunt bigger bucks no problem. I personally spent 3 days hunting an OTC Wyoming tag 2 years ago and inspected 2 Mule Deer bucks that were bigger than any Mule Deer I've harvested in the Black hills in 17 years hunting out there. I passed on both because they weren't what I was looking for.
You can draw better tags in New Mexico, Nevada and Kansas with far fewer points and hunt bigger bucks. Why would someone waste their time waiting for a Mule Deer tag in SD when there is a 95% chance that if they draw it they will end up hunting 120-150 class white tails at the top end instead of Mule Deer? The White tail tag is High % with 1 point and guranteed with 2.
Archery tags are still unlimited so if we ever did grow a few big MD they probably wouldn't make it to rifle season...
I've been on the ground every year since 1996 and this is by far the largest Mule Deer I've seen alive or harvested by my group or any other group in the Black Hills...
The next sized Mule Deer isn't even close...
Why wait so long where you can be hunting decent white tails like this every other year, or hunt much better units elsewhere with far fewer points?
If I was going to Hunt Mule Deer in SD I would be on the prairie (west River) units not the black hills and hunt deer like this one and others that can be much bigger.
Now maybe someone here knows things about that unit that I don't, who knows... I know this anyone who can show me a Mule Deer bigger than my personal best (above mount) is more than welcome to jump in my boat anytime and I'll take them on a free scouting trip in the Hills to take a photo of him so I can eat some crow. Specifically MNHunter I'll be spending a week pre-fishing the Cabel'as National Team Championship in Mill Lacs at the end of May, if you know something I don't shoot me a pm and come enjoy catching all the walleyes you can reel in.
To me the Black Hills hunt is a fun hunt, not really a trophy quest worthy of waiting years and years to hunt.
