Antelope unit 36A, South Dakota: licenses, harvest and hunting land
GFP's firearm antelope unit 36A is Hughes. For 2026 GFP lists 5 resident buck licenses and 1 nonresident license here. In 2025, by GFP's projection, hunters took 5 antelope in unit 36A, and 33 residents and 2 nonresidents named it as their first choice in the first drawing.
Data updated October 2026. Harvest and first-choice applicants: GFP harvest projections, 2020 to 2025. Licenses and seasons: GFP 2026 application. Land: GFP map layers.
| GFP's description | Hughes |
|---|---|
| Counties | Hughes |
| Season | Firearm antelope, October 3-18, 2026 |
| Licenses, 2026 | 5 resident, 1 nonresident |
| Antelope taken, 2025 | 5 (GFP projection) |
| First-choice resident applicants, 2025 | 33 |
| First draw, 2026 | June 16 to July 7, 2026 |
How many antelope licenses does unit 36A have in 2026?
5 resident and 1 nonresident licenses, by GFP's 2026 application.
| Type | What the license allows | Resident | Nonresident |
|---|---|---|---|
| 42 | one buck antelope | 5 | 1 |
Source: GFP 2026 firearm antelope application.
How many antelope are taken in unit 36A?
GFP projects 5 antelope were taken in unit 36A in 2025, from 6 licenses sold. That is 71% fewer than in 2020. The most in these years was 17 in 2020, the fewest 4 in 2024. GFP puts hunter success at 80%.
| Year | Antelope taken | Licenses sold | First-choice resident applicants | First-choice nonresident applicants | Tag success | Satisfaction (1 to 7) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 5 | 6 | 33 | 2 | 80% | 4.4 |
| 2024 | 4 | 6 | 45 | 2 | 67% | 1 |
| 2023 | 10 | 16 | 50 | 3 | 60% | 5.56 |
| 2022 | 10 | 16 | 51 | 3 | 64% | 5.09 |
| 2021 | 9 | 26 | 88 | 1 | 33% | 5.2 |
| 2020 | 17 | 26 | 87 | 3 | 67% | 5.06 |
Sources: GFP, 2025 Firearm Antelope harvest report; GFP, 2024 Annual Report, Big Game Harvest Projections (Game Report 2025-07); GFP, 2023 Annual Report, Big Game Harvest Projections (Game Report 2024-04); GFP, 2022 Annual Report, Big Game Harvest Projections (Game Report 2023-05); GFP, 2021 Annual Report, Big Game Harvest Projections (Game Report 2022-08); GFP, 2020 Annual Report, Big Game Harvest Projections (Game Report 2021-12). GFP rounds each column of its projection.
Each license type in 2025
Type 42 had 33 first-choice resident applicants for 5 resident licenses.
| Type | License | Resident first-choice applicants | Resident licenses available | Resident licenses sold | Nonresident first-choice applicants | Nonresident licenses available | Hunter success | Antelope taken |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 42 | one buck antelope | 33 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 80% | 5 |
Licenses sold can include later drawings and leftovers.
When is antelope season in unit 36A in 2026?
October 3-18, 2026; the first draw closed July 7, 2026 (GFP 2026 firearm antelope application). Every season's dates are on the South Dakota page.
What public land is in the county of unit 36A?
For the whole county, as GFP publishes no unit lines:
| County | Walk-In and CREP acres | Game production area acres | School and public land acres | Federal land acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hughes County | 4,309 | 5,668 | 398 | 5,400 |
Game production areas in Hughes County: Arikara GPA (1,105 acres, Hughes), Peoria Flats GPA (933 acres, Hughes), Cowan GPA (713 acres, Hughes), DeGrey GPA (545 acres, Hughes), Valley 7 GPA (514 acres, Hughes), Rousseau GPA (418 acres, Hughes), Gutenkauf GPA (409 acres, Hughes) and West Big Bend GPA (332 acres, Hughes).
Questions hunters ask
How many antelope licenses are there in unit 36A for 2026?
GFP's 2026 application lists 5 resident and 1 nonresident "one buck antelope" licenses (type 42) for unit 36A.
How many antelope are taken in unit 36A?
GFP projects 5 antelope were taken in unit 36A in 2025. In 2020 the figure was 17. The projection comes from GFP's survey of license holders.
How many people apply for antelope unit 36A?
In 2025, 33 residents and 2 nonresidents named unit 36A as their first choice in GFP's first drawing, for 5 resident licenses and 1 nonresident license.
What county is antelope unit 36A in?
GFP describes unit 36A as "Hughes", in Hughes County. GFP's interactive hunting unit map shows the exact line.
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Where these numbers come from
- Harvest, licenses sold and first-choice applicants: GFP, 2025 Firearm Antelope harvest report; GFP, 2024 Annual Report, Big Game Harvest Projections (Game Report 2025-07); GFP, 2023 Annual Report, Big Game Harvest Projections (Game Report 2024-04); GFP, 2022 Annual Report, Big Game Harvest Projections (Game Report 2023-05); GFP, 2021 Annual Report, Big Game Harvest Projections (Game Report 2022-08); GFP, 2020 Annual Report, Big Game Harvest Projections (Game Report 2021-12).
- 2026 licenses, seasons and draws: GFP 2026 firearm antelope application.
- Land: GFP public hunting atlas layers (Walk-In Areas, CREP, school and public land, federal land) and GFP Managed Lands. County lines: U.S. Census Bureau 2024.
FilledTag is not part of South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks. Numbers are copied from GFP or measured from the maps it publishes; nothing on this page is estimated by FilledTag.