Firearms season frameworks varied by management unit last season, and that likely is the case again this year. By the time you read this, the licensing process likely will be complete for firearms hunting.

Prices for South Dakota tags are definitely reasonable. Non-resident tags for one animal were $195 last season, and a tag for two pronghorns was $245. Resident prices were $35 and $45, respectively. Residents also had the option of buying antlerless-only licenses for $15 (one tag) or $25 (two tags).

Benzon noted that the northernmost hunting units in the area open for pronghorns are the ones traditionally offering the highest densities, and there’s no reason to expect anything different this year.

South Dakota conducts thorough surveys with hunters annually to gauge their satisfaction with their experiences during various hunting seasons. These surveys also provide significant data covering harvest success and those areas with the highest success rates.

Just remember that, in terms of sheer numbers, South Dakota is the capital of Great Plains pronghorn hunting. And the country you’ll be hunting is some of the most striking and memorable in the entire region.

NEBRASKA
South of the Dakotas, Great Plains pronghorn numbers drop dramatically. According to Nebraska Game and Parks Commission big-game biologist Kit Hams, Cornhusker hunters will find a population of 6,000-7,000 animals this season.

“Our population is low due to seven years of drought,” said Hams. Of course, the mild Great Plains winters of recent years means that Nebraska pronghorns haven’t dealt with the dangers of harsh winter weather. Hams said he was “not aware of any significant mortality” as spring arrived in the state.

As you might expect in a state with moderate pronghorn numbers, hunting pressure and harvest are dramatically lower than what we’ve discussed so far in the Dakotas. Even though Nebraska sells unlimited archery tags, for example, there were only 480 bow tags sold last season. Those went to 419 residents and 61 non-residents.

In Nebraska, only residents can obtain a firearms antelope tag. Last season, Hams said, the state sold 572 rifle and/or muzzleloader tags.

Hunters filled a total of 449 tags last season -- 313 by rifle, 73 by muzzleloader and 63 by bow. Those numbers translate to success rates of 69 percent, 63 percent and 13 percent, respectively. Interestingly, the archery success rate in the Cornhusker State is dramatically lower than in South Dakota, but about the same as in Kansas, which you’ll see later. It’s a stretch to call it “hunting pressure” when fewer than 500 hunters are out during bow season in a state with more than 6,000 pronghorns.

The bottom line is that smaller populations will challenge bowhunters in Nebraska. Bow season for pronghorns this year will have three segments: It will open Aug. 20, close from Oct. 13-28, reopen, close again Nov. 10-18, and reopen through Dec. 31.

Resident muzzleloader hunters have their season during the first segment of the archery campaign. The blackpowder season will run Sept. 15-20. Modern firearms hunters hunt Oct. 13-28.

Hams recommended the Oglala National Grasslands and the North Sioux pronghorn unit as offering the best hunting prospects in the state. In general, the northwest corner of Nebraska is home to the best hunting.

As noted on the NGPC Web site, www.ngpc.state.ne.us, the highest densities are in north Sioux and Dawes counties. An aerial survey completed in the early 1990s showed a pronghorn density in the North Sioux Management Unit of five pronghorns per square mile, while the density for the entire Nebraska Panhandle was less than one antelope per square mile.

So there definitely is a pronghorn hotspot in Nebraska that comprises the areas Hams mentioned. That being said, however, Hams offered the following thoughts especially to bowhunters and, as a result, non-residents:

“Landowner access and undisturbed (archery) pronghorn hunting is best obtained in areas that are open to hunting other than the North Sioux Unit. Populations are small, but landowners generally provide hunting permission.”