Deer unit 45B, South Dakota: licenses, harvest and hunting land
GFP's West River deer unit 45B is Southeast Lyman. For 2026 GFP lists 225 resident and 18 nonresident licenses here in 2 license types. In 2025, by GFP's projection, hunters took 133 deer in unit 45B: 124 white-tailed and 10 mule deer, and 354 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 Lyman |
|---|---|
| Counties | Lyman |
| Season | West River deer, November 14-29, 2026 |
| Licenses, 2026 | 225 resident, 18 nonresident |
| Deer taken, 2025 | 133 (GFP projection) |
| First-choice resident applicants, 2025 | 354 |
| First draw, 2026 | May 27 to June 23, 2026 |
| Other deer units in these counties | Deer unit 45A, Deer unit 45C, Deer unit 45D |
How many deer licenses does unit 45B have in 2026?
225 resident and 18 nonresident licenses, by GFP's 2026 application.
| Type | What the license allows | Resident | Nonresident |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | one any deer | 50 | 4 |
| 11 | one any whitetail deer | 175 | 14 |
Source: GFP 2026 west river deer application.
How many deer are taken in unit 45B?
GFP projects 133 deer were taken in unit 45B in 2025, 8% of them mule deer, from 243 licenses sold. That is 8% fewer than in 2020. The most in these years was 203 in 2022, the fewest 133 in 2025. By license type, GFP's hunter success ran from 55% (type 11) down to 54% (type 01).
| Year | Deer taken | Bucks | Does and fawns | White-tailed | Mule deer | Licenses sold | First-choice resident applicants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 133 | 118 | 16 | 124 | 10 | 243 | 354 |
| 2024 | 160 | 92 | 69 | 154 | 7 | 321 | 409 |
| 2023 | 171 | 116 | 54 | 156 | 14 | 324 | 424 |
| 2022 | 203 | 123 | 77 | 191 | 9 | 267 | 407 |
| 2021 | 177 | 125 | 53 | 169 | 9 | 257 | 509 |
| 2020 | 144 | 101 | 43 | 137 | 7 | 163 | 375 |
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: 147 resident applicants for 50 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 | 147 | 50 | 50 | 23 | 4 | 54% | 29 |
| 11 | one any whitetail deer | 207 | 175 | 175 | 32 | 14 | 55% | 104 |
Licenses sold can include later drawings and leftovers.
When is deer season in unit 45B 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 45B?
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lyman County | 8,995 | 12,726 | 9,007 | 66,304 |
Game production areas in Lyman County: Kiowa GPA (2,499 acres, Lyman), Iona GPA (2,119 acres, Lyman), Neugebauer GPA (1,749 acres, Lyman), Carpenter GPA (1,592 acres, Lyman), Lindley GPA (1,134 acres, Lyman), Bull Creek GPA (918 acres, Lyman), Byre Bottom GPA (633 acres, Lyman) and Reis Bottom GPA (433 acres, Lyman).
Questions hunters ask
How many deer licenses are there in unit 45B for 2026?
GFP's 2026 application lists 50 resident and 4 nonresident "one any deer" licenses (type 01) and 175 resident and 14 nonresident "one any whitetail deer" licenses (type 11) for unit 45B.
How many deer are taken in unit 45B?
GFP projects 133 deer were taken in unit 45B in 2025, 124 white-tailed and 10 mule deer. In 2020 the figure was 144. The projection comes from GFP's survey of license holders.
Is unit 45B mostly white-tailed or mule deer?
White-tailed deer, by GFP's 2025 projection: 10 mule deer and 124 white-tailed deer of the 133 taken; in 2020, 7 of 144 were mule deer.
What county is deer unit 45B in?
GFP describes unit 45B as "Southeast Lyman", in Lyman 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 45A Deer unit 45C Deer unit 45D Lyman County