Deer unit 15A, South Dakota: licenses, harvest and hunting land
GFP's West River deer unit 15A is Butte. For 2026 GFP lists 1,300 resident and 104 nonresident licenses here in 3 license types. In 2025, by GFP's projection, hunters took 1,048 deer in unit 15A: 942 white-tailed and 107 mule deer, and 1,144 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 | Butte |
|---|---|
| Counties | Butte |
| Season | West River deer, November 14-29, 2026 |
| Licenses, 2026 | 1,300 resident, 104 nonresident |
| Deer taken, 2025 | 1,048 (GFP projection) |
| First-choice resident applicants, 2025 | 1,144 |
| First draw, 2026 | May 27 to June 23, 2026 |
| Other deer units in these counties | Deer unit 15B |
How many deer licenses does unit 15A have in 2026?
1,300 resident and 104 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).
| Type | What the license allows | Resident | Nonresident |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | one any deer | 200 | 16 |
| 18 | one any whitetail deer and one antlerless whitetail deer | 600 | 48 |
| 19P | two antlerless whitetail deer, private land only | 500 | 40 |
Source: GFP 2026 west river deer application.
How many deer are taken in unit 15A?
GFP projects 1,048 deer were taken in unit 15A in 2025, 10% of them mule deer, from 1,402 licenses sold. That is 4% more than in 2020. The most in these years was 1,637 in 2021, the fewest 1,008 in 2020. By license type, GFP's hunter success ran from 68% (type 01) down to 40% (type 19P).
| Year | Deer taken | Bucks | Does and fawns | White-tailed | Mule deer | Licenses sold | First-choice resident applicants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,048 | 538 | 511 | 942 | 107 | 1,402 | 1,144 |
| 2024 | 1,167 | 592 | 575 | 1,061 | 106 | 1,294 | 1,083 |
| 2023 | 1,076 | 545 | 530 | 981 | 94 | 1,297 | 1,093 |
| 2022 | 1,429 | 561 | 869 | 1,291 | 139 | 1,480 | 1,121 |
| 2021 | 1,637 | 678 | 959 | 1,500 | 137 | 1,477 | 1,883 |
| 2020 | 1,008 | 621 | 387 | 867 | 141 | 948 | 1,285 |
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: 666 resident applicants for 200 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | one any deer | 666 | 200 | 201 | 146 | 16 | 68% | 147 |
| 18 | one any whitetail deer and one antlerless whitetail deer | 453 | 600 | 597 | 100 | 48 | 62% | 554 |
| 19P | two antlerless whitetail deer, private land only | 25 | 500 | 477 | 18 | 40 | 40% | 347 |
Licenses sold can include later drawings and leftovers.
When is deer season in unit 15A 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 15A?
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butte County | 238,977 | 4,332 | 72,714 | 147,631 |
Game production areas in Butte County: Belle Fourche Reservoir GPA (4,273 acres, Butte) and Duer Lake GPA (59 acres, Butte).
Questions hunters ask
How many deer licenses are there in unit 15A for 2026?
GFP's 2026 application lists 200 resident and 16 nonresident "one any deer" licenses (type 01), 600 resident and 48 nonresident "one any whitetail deer and one antlerless whitetail deer" licenses (type 18) and 500 resident and 40 nonresident "two antlerless whitetail deer, private land only" licenses (type 19P) for unit 15A.
How many deer are taken in unit 15A?
GFP projects 1,048 deer were taken in unit 15A in 2025, 942 white-tailed and 107 mule deer. In 2020 the figure was 1,008. The projection comes from GFP's survey of license holders.
Is unit 15A mostly white-tailed or mule deer?
White-tailed deer, by GFP's 2025 projection: 107 mule deer and 942 white-tailed deer of the 1,048 taken; in 2020, 141 of 1,008 were mule deer.
What county is deer unit 15A in?
GFP describes unit 15A as "Butte", in Butte 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.