Deer unit 49A, South Dakota: licenses, harvest and hunting land
GFP's West River deer unit 49A is Western Meade. For 2026 GFP lists 900 resident and 72 nonresident licenses here in 3 license types. In 2025, by GFP's projection, hunters took 586 deer in unit 49A: 443 white-tailed and 143 mule deer, and 671 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 | Western Meade |
|---|---|
| Counties | Meade |
| Season | West River deer, November 14-29, 2026 |
| Licenses, 2026 | 900 resident, 72 nonresident |
| Deer taken, 2025 | 586 (GFP projection) |
| First-choice resident applicants, 2025 | 671 |
| First draw, 2026 | May 27 to June 23, 2026 |
| Other deer units in these counties | Deer unit 02A, Deer unit 49B |
How many deer licenses does unit 49A have in 2026?
900 resident and 72 nonresident licenses, by GFP's 2026 application.
| Type | What the license allows | Resident | Nonresident |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | one any deer | 500 | 40 |
| 11 | one any whitetail deer | 250 | 20 |
| 13 | one antlerless whitetail deer | 150 | 12 |
Source: GFP 2026 west river deer application.
How many deer are taken in unit 49A?
GFP projects 586 deer were taken in unit 49A in 2025, 24% of them mule deer, from 966 licenses sold. That is 40% fewer than in 2020. The most in these years was 982 in 2020, the fewest 572 in 2023. By license type, GFP's hunter success ran from 62% (type 18) down to 38% (type 13).
| Year | Deer taken | Bucks | Does and fawns | White-tailed | Mule deer | Licenses sold | First-choice resident applicants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 586 | 409 | 177 | 443 | 143 | 966 | 671 |
| 2024 | 644 | 460 | 183 | 483 | 160 | 890 | 613 |
| 2023 | 572 | 403 | 168 | 430 | 141 | 887 | 657 |
| 2022 | 858 | 566 | 293 | 635 | 224 | 1,370 | 658 |
| 2021 | 825 | 528 | 295 | 621 | 202 | 1,235 | 1,030 |
| 2020 | 982 | 649 | 332 | 808 | 173 | 1,244 | 680 |
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: 563 resident applicants for 500 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 | 563 | 500 | 500 | 77 | 40 | 58% | 316 |
| 13 | one antlerless whitetail deer | 6 | 150 | 147 | 4 | 12 | 38% | 58 |
| 18 | one any whitetail deer and one antlerless whitetail deer | 102 | 250 | 250 | 10 | 20 | 62% | 212 |
Licenses sold can include later drawings and leftovers.
When is deer season in unit 49A 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 49A?
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meade County | 84,498 | 1,695 | 44,450 | 85,472 |
Game production areas in Meade County: 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) and Tisdale Lake GPA (161 acres, Meade).
Questions hunters ask
How many deer licenses are there in unit 49A for 2026?
GFP's 2026 application lists 500 resident and 40 nonresident "one any deer" licenses (type 01), 250 resident and 20 nonresident "one any whitetail deer" licenses (type 11) and 150 resident and 12 nonresident "one antlerless whitetail deer" licenses (type 13) for unit 49A.
How many deer are taken in unit 49A?
GFP projects 586 deer were taken in unit 49A in 2025, 443 white-tailed and 143 mule deer. In 2020 the figure was 982. The projection comes from GFP's survey of license holders.
Is unit 49A mostly white-tailed or mule deer?
White-tailed deer, by GFP's 2025 projection: 143 mule deer and 443 white-tailed deer of the 586 taken; in 2020, 173 of 982 were mule deer.
What county is deer unit 49A in?
GFP describes unit 49A as "Western Meade", in Meade 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 49B Meade County