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Black Hills elk units, South Dakota: licenses, seasons and harvest

GFP's 2026 elk application lists 680 any-elk and 730 antlerless licenses for the Black Hills firearm units, for residents only. In 2024, by GFP's projection, Black Hills firearm hunters took 782 elk, 408 of them bulls, and 13,742 applicants named a Black Hills unit as their first choice.

Data updated October 2026. Harvest and applicants: GFP harvest projections, 2020 to 2024. Licenses and seasons: GFP 2026 elk application.

Map of South Dakota's counties with Lawrence, Pennington, Custer, Meade and Fall River shaded, where GFP's black hills elk units lie
Shaded: Lawrence, Pennington, Custer, Meade and Fall River. The Black Hills, where these units lie, reach into these five counties; the units cover the hills, not the whole of each county. GFP does not publish its unit boundaries as open data; GFP's hunting unit map shows each unit.
Black Hills elk units at a glance
Any-elk licenses, 2026680
Antlerless licenses, 2026730
Elk taken, 2024782 (408 bulls)
First-choice applicants, 202413,742
Units25
LicensesResidents only

Any-elk licenses in units H1A, H2A, H3A, H4A, H5A, H7A and H9A are good October 1 to 31, 2026. Antlerless units run on staggered dates from October 15 to December 31, listed beside each unit below. A successful hunter must have the elk checked by a GFP representative within 24 hours of the kill.

GFP's own notes: unit H5A is mostly wilderness, where motor vehicles are not allowed in most areas and the elk population is lower than in any other Black Hills unit; elk live in low densities in units H9A and H9B, and most land with elk there is private. GFP runs an Elk Hunter Access Program with landowners for drawn hunters.

Which Black Hills elk units are there, and how many licenses does each get?

Every unit in GFP's 2026 application or its 2024 harvest table, with that year's figures.

UnitLicenses, 2026Season, 2026First-choice applicants, 2024Licenses sold, 2024Elk taken, 2024Hunter success, 2024 (GFP)
H1A80 any elkOctober 1-31, 20261,381605795%
H1B75 antlerlessOctober 15-31, 2026 and December 1-16, 202695634876%
H2A400 any elkOctober 1-31, 20269,21430025384%
H2B75 antlerlessOctober 15-31, 2026187492858%
H2C75 antlerlessDecember 1-16, 202670503672%
H2E25 antlerlessOctober 15-31, 202674402254%
H2F10 antlerlessDecember 1-16, 202662373493%
H2G10 antlerlessDecember 17-31, 202620402869%
H2H5 antlerlessOctober 15-31, 2026510111%
H2I5 antlerlessDecember 1-16, 2026010438%
H2J5 antlerlessDecember 17-31, 2026310333%
H3A120 any elkOctober 1-31, 20261,8491207865%
H3B45 antlerlessOctober 15-31, 202627442045%
H3C45 antlerlessDecember 1-16, 202618451226%
H3D45 antlerlessDecember 17-31, 202614451124%
H3E60 antlerlessOctober 15-31, 202630602135%
H3F60 antlerlessDecember 1-16, 202611592136%
H3G60 antlerlessDecember 17-31, 202610591221%
H4A40 any elkOctober 1-31, 202698401641%
H4B40 antlerlessOctober 1-31, 2026 and December 1-16, 20266391025%
H5A5 any elkOctober 1-31, 2026645350%
H7A20 any elkOctober 1-31, 2026420302584%
H7B50 antlerlessOctober 15-31, 2026 and December 1-16, 202627201577%
H9A15 any elkOctober 1-31, 202656151067%
H9B40 antlerlessOctober 15-31, 2026 and December 1-16, 20261401435%

Sources: GFP 2026 elk application; GFP, 2024 Annual Report, Big Game Harvest Projections (Game Report 2025-07).

How many elk are taken in the Black Hills elk units?

YearLicenses soldElk takenBullsCows and calvesFirst-choice applicants
20241,29078240837513,742
20231,23278142735212,999
20221,26580941339213,447
202195462035626412,656
202092658435522913,198

Sources: 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). Harvest is GFP's projection from its survey of license holders; each table was checked against GFP's printed totals, and because GFP rounds each unit's projection, the units can add to one or two more or less than GFP's printed total.

How many Black Hills archery elk licenses are there?

GFP's 2026 archery elk season runs September 1-30, 2026. Licenses by unit: H1A: 30 any elk and 5 antlerless, H2A: 130 any elk and 30 antlerless, H3A: 40 any elk and 30 antlerless, H4A: 10 any elk and 10 antlerless, H5A: 2 any elk and H7A: 10 any elk and 10 antlerless.

Source: GFP 2026 elk application.

Questions hunters ask

When is Black Hills elk season in 2026?

Any-elk licenses are good October 1 to 31, 2026. Antlerless units are split among October 15 to 31, December 1 to 16 and December 17 to 31, with unit H4B open both October 1 to 31 and December 1 to 16. Archery elk runs September 1 to 30.

Who can hunt elk in the Black Hills?

South Dakota residents only, one elk license per person per year. Applicants who draw using preference points lose them and cannot apply in that season's first drawing for nine years.

Which Black Hills elk unit has the most licenses?

Unit H2A, with 400 any-elk licenses for 2026 in GFP's application.

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Where these numbers come from

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South Dakota hunting Lawrence County Pennington County Custer County Meade County Fall River County