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Deer unit 02A, South Dakota: licenses, harvest and hunting land

GFP's West River deer unit 02A is East Pennington / Southeast Meade. For 2026 GFP lists 650 resident and 52 nonresident licenses here in 3 license types. In 2025, by GFP's projection, hunters took 419 deer in unit 02A: 233 white-tailed and 187 mule deer, and 689 residents 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.

Map of South Dakota's counties with Pennington and Meade counties shaded, where GFP's deer unit 02A (East Pennington / Southeast Meade) lies
Shaded: Pennington and Meade counties, the counties GFP names for unit 02A. GFP does not publish its unit boundaries as open data, so the unit line is not drawn; GFP's hunting unit map shows it.
Deer unit 02A at a glance
GFP's descriptionEast Pennington / Southeast Meade
CountiesPennington, Meade
SeasonWest River deer, November 14-29, 2026
Licenses, 2026650 resident, 52 nonresident
Deer taken, 2025419 (GFP projection)
First-choice resident applicants, 2025689
First draw, 2026May 27 to June 23, 2026
Other deer units in these countiesDeer unit 02C, Deer unit 21A, Deer unit 21B, Deer unit 49A, Deer unit 49B

How many deer licenses does unit 02A have in 2026?

650 resident and 52 nonresident licenses, by GFP's 2026 application. Types ending in "P" are good on private land only, not on land GFP leases for public hunting (Walk-In Areas, CREP and CHAP).

TypeWhat the license allowsResidentNonresident
01one any deer40032
13Pone antlerless whitetail deer, private land only504
18one any whitetail deer and one antlerless whitetail deer20016

Source: GFP 2026 west river deer application.

How many deer are taken in unit 02A?

GFP projects 419 deer were taken in unit 02A in 2025, 45% of them mule deer, from 702 licenses sold. That is 14% fewer than in 2020. The most in these years was 505 in 2024, the fewest 386 in 2023. By license type, GFP's hunter success ran from 59% (type 01) down to 24% (type 13P).

YearDeer takenBucksDoes and fawnsWhite-tailedMule deerLicenses soldFirst-choice resident applicants
202541933288233187702689
202450541491324181651672
202338633056210176647719
202244735491250195647665
2021471398722382326311,064
202048939692263225650628

Sources: GFP, 2025 West River Firearm Deer 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

The license with the most first-choice applicants for each license was type 01: 622 resident applicants for 400 resident licenses.

TypeLicenseResident first-choice applicantsResident licenses availableResident licenses soldNonresident first-choice applicantsNonresident licenses availableHunter successDeer taken
01one any deer6224004001183259%255
13Pone antlerless whitetail deer, private land only450501424%13
18one any whitetail deer and one antlerless whitetail deer63200200161653%151

Licenses sold can include later drawings and leftovers.

When is deer season in unit 02A in 2026?

November 14-29, 2026; antlerless-only tags also December 12-20; the first draw closed June 23, 2026 (GFP 2026 west river deer application). Every season's dates are on the South Dakota page.

What public land is in the counties of unit 02A?

For the whole counties, as GFP publishes no unit lines:

CountyWalk-In and CREP acresGame production area acresSchool and public land acresFederal land acres
Pennington County4,73117527,275610,529
Meade County84,4981,69544,45085,472

Game production areas in these counties: Marcotte GPA (496 acres, Meade), Curlew Lake GPA (440 acres, Meade), Pete Lien & Sons Shooting Sports Complex GPA (398 acres, Meade), Opal Lake GPA (200 acres, Meade), Tisdale Lake GPA (161 acres, Meade), Spring Creek GPA (109 acres, Pennington) and Sunday Gulch GPA (66 acres, Pennington).

Questions hunters ask

How many deer licenses are there in unit 02A for 2026?

GFP's 2026 application lists 400 resident and 32 nonresident "one any deer" licenses (type 01), 50 resident and 4 nonresident "one antlerless whitetail deer, private land only" licenses (type 13P) and 200 resident and 16 nonresident "one any whitetail deer and one antlerless whitetail deer" licenses (type 18) for unit 02A.

How many deer are taken in unit 02A?

GFP projects 419 deer were taken in unit 02A in 2025, 233 white-tailed and 187 mule deer. In 2020 the figure was 489. The projection comes from GFP's survey of license holders.

Is unit 02A mostly white-tailed or mule deer?

White-tailed deer, by GFP's 2025 projection: 187 mule deer and 233 white-tailed deer of the 419 taken; in 2020, 225 of 489 were mule deer.

What county is deer unit 02A in?

GFP describes unit 02A as "East Pennington / Southeast Meade", in Pennington and Meade counties. GFP's interactive hunting unit map shows the exact line.

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Where these numbers come from

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.

South Dakota hunting Deer unit 02C Deer unit 21A Deer unit 21B Deer unit 49A Deer unit 49B Pennington County Meade County