Deer unit 53C, South Dakota: licenses, harvest and hunting land
GFP's West River deer unit 53C is South Perkins. For 2026 GFP lists 950 resident and 76 nonresident licenses here in 4 license types. In 2025, by GFP's projection, hunters took 767 deer in unit 53C: 518 white-tailed and 249 mule deer, and 710 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 | South Perkins |
|---|---|
| Counties | Perkins |
| Season | West River deer, November 14-29, 2026 |
| Licenses, 2026 | 950 resident, 76 nonresident |
| Deer taken, 2025 | 767 (GFP projection) |
| First-choice resident applicants, 2025 | 710 |
| First draw, 2026 | May 27 to June 23, 2026 |
| Other deer units in these counties | Deer unit 53A |
How many deer licenses does unit 53C have in 2026?
950 resident and 76 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 | 500 | 40 |
| 09P | two any antlerless deer, private land only | 100 | 8 |
| 11 | one any whitetail deer | 250 | 20 |
| 13P | one antlerless whitetail deer, private land only | 100 | 8 |
Source: GFP 2026 west river deer application.
How many deer are taken in unit 53C?
GFP projects 767 deer were taken in unit 53C in 2025, 32% of them mule deer, from 1,023 licenses sold. That is 18% fewer than in 2020. The most in these years was 931 in 2020, the fewest 720 in 2023. By license type, GFP's hunter success ran from 66% (type 01) down to 35% (type 09P).
| Year | Deer taken | Bucks | Does and fawns | White-tailed | Mule deer | Licenses sold | First-choice resident applicants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 767 | 502 | 265 | 518 | 249 | 1,023 | 710 |
| 2024 | 859 | 547 | 311 | 587 | 271 | 997 | 718 |
| 2023 | 720 | 497 | 223 | 487 | 233 | 999 | 697 |
| 2022 | 868 | 455 | 415 | 612 | 258 | 1,026 | 749 |
| 2021 | 748 | 499 | 249 | 491 | 257 | 940 | 1,287 |
| 2020 | 931 | 573 | 360 | 683 | 250 | 1,083 | 783 |
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: 638 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 | 638 | 500 | 499 | 122 | 40 | 66% | 356 |
| 09P | two any antlerless deer, private land only | 8 | 100 | 98 | 2 | 8 | 35% | 71 |
| 18 | one any whitetail deer and one antlerless whitetail deer | 63 | 250 | 250 | 40 | 20 | 63% | 230 |
| 19P | two antlerless whitetail deer, private land only | 1 | 100 | 79 | 1 | 8 | 54% | 110 |
Licenses sold can include later drawings and leftovers.
When is deer season in unit 53C 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 53C?
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perkins County | 117,767 | 7,030 | 72,354 | 132,104 |
Game production areas in Perkins County: Shadehill Reservoir GPA (6,714 acres, Perkins) and Sorum Dam GPA (317 acres, Perkins).
Questions hunters ask
How many deer licenses are there in unit 53C for 2026?
GFP's 2026 application lists 500 resident and 40 nonresident "one any deer" licenses (type 01), 100 resident and 8 nonresident "two any antlerless deer, private land only" licenses (type 09P), 250 resident and 20 nonresident "one any whitetail deer" licenses (type 11) and 100 resident and 8 nonresident "one antlerless whitetail deer, private land only" licenses (type 13P) for unit 53C.
How many deer are taken in unit 53C?
GFP projects 767 deer were taken in unit 53C in 2025, 518 white-tailed and 249 mule deer. In 2020 the figure was 931. The projection comes from GFP's survey of license holders.
Is unit 53C mostly white-tailed or mule deer?
White-tailed deer, by GFP's 2025 projection: 249 mule deer and 518 white-tailed deer of the 767 taken; in 2020, 250 of 931 were mule deer.
What county is deer unit 53C in?
GFP describes unit 53C as "South Perkins", in Perkins 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.