South Dakota hunting and fishing laws

SDCL 41-6-14: except as otherwise provided in section 41-6-81, a person under the age of sixteen shall comply with chapter 41-7, pertaining to firearms safety, before being granted a resident or applicable nonresident hunting license. HuntSAFE courses are offered for anyone 11 and older, and anyone younger than 16 must complete an in-person Field Day. The trigger is an age threshold.

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SDCL 41-6-13: if a hunting license is granted to a person who is under sixteen years of age, the licensee shall be accompanied by a parent, guardian, or responsible adult. The mentored hunting program under section 41-6-81 is the exception to the firearms safety prerequisite.

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Applies to: Big game

Hunters must be 12 years of age for Spring Turkey or 12 years of age by Dec. 31 for other big game seasons. Youth licenses cover ages 12 through 17. Those under 16 must be accompanied by a parent, guardian, or responsible adult under SDCL 41-6-13.

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Applies to: Big game

Big game licensees, excluding turkey and mountain lion, hunting with a firearm must wear at least one exterior garment of fluorescent orange or fluorescent pink while hunting. There is no statewide square-inch minimum. Archery hunters are not covered by the firearm licensee requirement. The handbook advises, but does not require, that all hunters wear such a garment.

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Applies to: Big game

Sand Lake and Waubay refuges require a minimum of 400 square inches of visible solid fluorescent orange on head, chest and back.

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No Sunday hunting restriction appears in the agency regulations.

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Applies to: Big game

Archery and firearm shooting hours for big game are one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset, except turkey which is one-half hour before sunrise to sunset.

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Applies to: Big game

Bait stations cannot be established or maintained during the closed periods specified in the regulations. A bait station is a location where grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, hay, or minerals are placed to attract big game animals for hunting purposes.

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Between sunset and sunrise, no person may use or possess nightvision equipment or throw or cast the rays of a spotlight while possessing firearms or hunting implements. Limited exceptions exist for specific small game species on certain lands with equipment restrictions.

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Applies to: Furbearers

Between sunset and sunrise you may not use night vision or a spotlight or other artificial light to hunt while carrying a firearm or bow, with exceptions for jackrabbits, coyotes, foxes, raccoons, opossums, badgers, skunks, rodents and beaver in its season. On private land you may use night vision and artificial light for those species; on public land, and on GFP-leased public-access private land with the landowner's permission, only night vision (no light) is allowed, and only from January through August. Any night hunting must use a shotgun with shot shells or a firearm with a bullet diameter under .312 inch, and a handheld light on foot is allowed for treed raccoons with dogs and for trapping.

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Applies to: Big game

Tags must be signed, dated by notching, and securely attached to the big game animal before transport. Hunters must transport the animal's head or hind quarter with visible sex organs, except those with any deer or any elk licenses if the tagged leg accompanies the animal.

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No person may hunt on private land or retrieve big game animals from private land without permission from the owner or lessee. Permission is required whether or not the land is posted, except within the Black Hills Fire Protection District, where the rule inverts and posted land is what denies entry.

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