Deer unit 02C, South Dakota: licenses, harvest and hunting land
GFP's West River deer unit 02C is Southeast Pennington. For 2026 GFP lists 125 resident and 10 nonresident licenses here in 2 license types. In 2025, by GFP's projection, hunters took 77 deer in unit 02C: 25 white-tailed and 52 mule deer, and 464 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.
| GFP's description | Southeast Pennington |
|---|---|
| Counties | Pennington |
| Season | West River deer, November 14-29, 2026 |
| Licenses, 2026 | 125 resident, 10 nonresident |
| Deer taken, 2025 | 77 (GFP projection) |
| First-choice resident applicants, 2025 | 464 |
| First draw, 2026 | May 27 to June 23, 2026 |
| Other deer units in these counties | Deer unit 02A, Deer unit 21A, Deer unit 21B |
How many deer licenses does unit 02C have in 2026?
125 resident and 10 nonresident licenses, by GFP's 2026 application.
| Type | What the license allows | Resident | Nonresident |
|---|---|---|---|
| 02 | one any buck deer | 100 | 8 |
| 11 | one any whitetail deer | 25 | 2 |
Source: GFP 2026 west river deer application.
How many deer are taken in unit 02C?
GFP projects 77 deer were taken in unit 02C in 2025, 68% of them mule deer, from 134 licenses sold. That is 34% fewer than in 2020. The most in these years was 117 in 2020, the fewest 77 in 2025. By license type, GFP's hunter success ran from 63% (type 11) down to 57% (type 02).
| Year | Deer taken | Bucks | Does and fawns | White-tailed | Mule deer | Licenses sold | First-choice resident applicants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 77 | 77 | 0 | 25 | 52 | 134 | 464 |
| 2024 | 101 | 97 | 3 | 32 | 68 | 166 | 475 |
| 2023 | 113 | 107 | 5 | 49 | 63 | 164 | 488 |
| 2022 | 115 | 113 | 2 | 46 | 69 | 157 | 441 |
| 2021 | 111 | 110 | 0 | 56 | 54 | 154 | 545 |
| 2020 | 117 | 114 | 3 | 54 | 63 | 164 | 356 |
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 02: 430 resident applicants for 100 resident licenses.
| Type | License | Resident first-choice applicants | Resident licenses available | Resident licenses sold | Nonresident first-choice applicants | Nonresident licenses available | Hunter success | Deer taken |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 02 | one any buck deer | 430 | 100 | 100 | 121 | 8 | 57% | 61 |
| 11 | one any whitetail deer | 34 | 25 | 24 | 11 | 2 | 63% | 16 |
Licenses sold can include later drawings and leftovers.
When is deer season in unit 02C 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 county of unit 02C?
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennington County | 4,731 | 175 | 27,275 | 610,529 |
Game production areas in Pennington County: Spring Creek GPA (109 acres, Pennington) and Sunday Gulch GPA (66 acres, Pennington).
Questions hunters ask
How many deer licenses are there in unit 02C for 2026?
GFP's 2026 application lists 100 resident and 8 nonresident "one any buck deer" licenses (type 02) and 25 resident and 2 nonresident "one any whitetail deer" licenses (type 11) for unit 02C.
How many deer are taken in unit 02C?
GFP projects 77 deer were taken in unit 02C in 2025, 25 white-tailed and 52 mule deer. In 2020 the figure was 117. The projection comes from GFP's survey of license holders.
Is unit 02C mostly white-tailed or mule deer?
Mule deer, by GFP's 2025 projection: 52 mule deer and 25 white-tailed deer of the 77 taken; in 2020, 63 of 117 were mule deer.
What county is deer unit 02C in?
GFP describes unit 02C as "Southeast Pennington", in Pennington 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 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).
- 2026 licenses, seasons and draws: GFP 2026 west river deer 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.
South Dakota hunting Deer unit 02A Deer unit 21A Deer unit 21B Pennington County