I live/work in SD now. You will only catch the tail end of the rut Thanksgiving week, but you can still see some good action in the Black Hills. If you are after Mule Deer, most will be on private land (or dead) by then due to the pressure from rifle season (which runs 10-25 Nov) for WRD (West River Deer). I can't speak for ERD (east of the Missouri River) which is the other archery tag area.

Also, I've hunted southern Illinois the first of November through Thanksgiving week and it's always good hunting with a lot of rut action.


"Now boy, are you sure you can skin griz?"