South Dakota Turkey Hunting
Turkey Hunting in South Dakota 2010
South Dakota, like many states, has seen turkey populations bloom over the past couple of decades. There are opportunities to hunt turkey in both spring and fall seasons.
Take a look around at the tools and information on the left to find Season Dates, License and Application Requirements and much more.
South Dakota Turkey Hunting
The spring season application process opens in mid January with a late February deadline. The tradition start for the season is the second Saturday in April, running through the third Sunday in May. It includes a prairie firearms season, archery season, Black Hills season, and Custer State Park season.
The fall season application process opens in mid June with a late July deadline. The season traditionally runs from Oct. 1-Jan. 31. This season covers most of the state, with the exception of Custer State Park were there is no fall season. There is no fall archery season, however archery equipment may be used for the firearms season.
Adult male Wild Turkeys have a small, featherless, reddish head that can change to blue in minutes; a red throat in males; long reddish-orange to greyish-blue legs; and a black body. The head has fleshy growths called caruncles; in excited turkeys, a fleshy flap on the bill expands, becoming engorged with blood. Males have red wattles on the throat and neck. Each foot has four toes, and males have rear spurs on their lower legs. Turkeys have a long, dark, fan-shaped tail and glossy bronze wings.
The male is substantially larger than the female, and his feathers have areas of red, purple, green, copper, bronze, and gold iridescence. Female feathers are duller overall, in shades of brown and gray. The primary wing feathers have white bars. Turkeys have 20,000 to 30,000 feathers. Tail feathers have the same length in adults, different lengths in juveniles. Males typically have a "beard" consisting of modified feathers that stick out from the breast. Beards average 9 inches in length. The record-sized adult male wild turkey, according to the National Wildlife Turkey Federation, was 38 lb.
If you are ready to hunt Turkey in South Dakota, or need more information, stop by our Galleries, Forums or Blog to get the latest scoop on the the 2010 South Dakota Turkey Hunting Seasons.
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