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Deer unit 27B, South Dakota: licenses, harvest and hunting land

GFP's West River deer unit 27B is South and West Fall River. For 2026 GFP lists 350 resident and 28 nonresident licenses here in 3 license types. In 2025, by GFP's projection, hunters took 218 deer in unit 27B: 145 white-tailed and 73 mule deer, and 510 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 Fall River County shaded, where GFP's deer unit 27B (South and West Fall River) lies
Shaded: Fall River County, the county GFP names for unit 27B. 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 27B at a glance
GFP's descriptionSouth and West Fall River
CountiesFall River
SeasonWest River deer, November 14-29, 2026
Licenses, 2026350 resident, 28 nonresident
Deer taken, 2025218 (GFP projection)
First-choice resident applicants, 2025510
First draw, 2026May 27 to June 23, 2026
Other deer units in these countiesDeer unit 27A, Deer unit 27L

How many deer licenses does unit 27B have in 2026?

350 resident and 28 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
02one any buck deer20016
11one any whitetail deer1008
13Pone antlerless whitetail deer, private land only504

Source: GFP 2026 west river deer application.

How many deer are taken in unit 27B?

GFP projects 218 deer were taken in unit 27B in 2025, 33% of them mule deer, from 380 licenses sold. That is 35% fewer than in 2020. The most in these years was 449 in 2021, the fewest 200 in 2023. By license type, GFP's hunter success ran from 63% (type 02) down to 34% (type 13P).

YearDeer takenBucksDoes and fawnsWhite-tailedMule deerLicenses soldFirst-choice resident applicants
20252181952314573380510
202426621848163103457501
20232001623814654460537
2022440215224331108821582
20214492422043451017861,048
20203362568024195541637

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: 414 resident applicants for 200 resident licenses.

TypeLicenseResident first-choice applicantsResident licenses availableResident licenses soldNonresident first-choice applicantsNonresident licenses availableHunter successDeer taken
02one any buck deer414200202711663%137
11one any whitetail deer911009722857%62
13Pone antlerless whitetail deer, private land only550501434%19

Licenses sold can include later drawings and leftovers.

When is deer season in unit 27B 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 27B?

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

CountyWalk-In and CREP acresGame production area acresSchool and public land acresFederal land acres
Fall River County67,41314,10819,259284,321

Game production areas in Fall River County: Hill Ranch GPA (5,330 acres, Fall River), Friendshuh GPA (3,439 acres, Fall River), Battle Mountain GPA (3,080 acres, Fall River), Romey GPA (960 acres, Fall River), Scherbarth GPA (658 acres, Fall River) and Oral GPA (641 acres, Fall River).

Questions hunters ask

How many deer licenses are there in unit 27B for 2026?

GFP's 2026 application lists 200 resident and 16 nonresident "one any buck deer" licenses (type 02), 100 resident and 8 nonresident "one any whitetail deer" licenses (type 11) and 50 resident and 4 nonresident "one antlerless whitetail deer, private land only" licenses (type 13P) for unit 27B.

How many deer are taken in unit 27B?

GFP projects 218 deer were taken in unit 27B in 2025, 145 white-tailed and 73 mule deer. In 2020 the figure was 336. The projection comes from GFP's survey of license holders.

Is unit 27B mostly white-tailed or mule deer?

White-tailed deer, by GFP's 2025 projection: 73 mule deer and 145 white-tailed deer of the 218 taken; in 2020, 95 of 336 were mule deer.

What county is deer unit 27B in?

GFP describes unit 27B as "South and West Fall River", in Fall River County. 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 27A Deer unit 27L Fall River County