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South Dakota · 2026-27 season year

South Dakota Turkey Season 2026-27

Spring 2027: April 10, 2027 to May 31, 2027. Fall 2026: November 1, 2026 to January 31, 2027. Every date below was read from South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks’s own published page, linked beside it, on the date shown.

This page covers the 2026-27 season year. Dates were read from the agency sources linked below, last checked September 2, 2026. Seasons change annually and agencies correct their own pages; confirm against the linked agency page before you hunt.
April 10, 2027 to May 31, 2027
Spring 2027
published
November 1, 2026 to January 31, 2027
Fall 2026
published
2 zones
Zone structure
as the agency draws it
South Dakota Game
Source
read 2026-09-01
The flagship

Spring 2027 turkey season in South Dakota

Spring 2027 season

published

Spring 2027 season opens in 177 days, on April 10, 2027 (Prairie units).

South Dakota spring 2027 season, as published by South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Prairie unitsApril 10, 2027May 31, 2027Rule formula: second Saturday of April through May 31; 2027 date computed from the rule
Black Hills unitApril 24, 2027May 31, 2027Rule formula: fourth Saturday of April through May 31; 2027 date computed from the rule

Dates read from SD Administrative Rules 41:06:14 (fall) and 41:06:13 (spring), wild turkey hunting seasons, accessed 2026-09-01.

South Dakota sets spring turkey by standing administrative rule with weekday formulas rather than annual date tables; the 2027 calendar dates above are computed from the agency's own rule formulas and labelled as such. Licenses are by drawing.

The fall wild turkey hunting season is open from one-half hour before sunrise to sunset daily beginning on November 1 through January 31.
South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks. Read it at the source
Close view of a strutting male wild turkey with fanned tail in California grassland
A western tom in strut. Merriam’s and Rio Grande birds carry the western seasons. “Male wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) strutting” by Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0
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The other half

Fall 2026 turkey season in South Dakota

Fall 2026 season

published

Fall 2026 season opens in 17 days, on November 1, 2026 (Prairie units and Black Hills unit).

South Dakota fall 2026 season, as published by South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Prairie units and Black Hills unitNovember 1, 2026January 31, 2027Same window statewide under rule 41:06:14:01; licenses limited by unit drawing

Dates read from SD Administrative Rules 41:06:14 (fall) and 41:06:13 (spring), wild turkey hunting seasons, accessed 2026-09-01.

Fall season dates come from the standing administrative rule; fall licenses are issued by unit through the agency's drawing.

Trail camera photo of a wild turkey flock feeding through green woods
A fall flock on a trail camera at Sacramento River National Wildlife Refuge. Fall seasons, where held, hunt birds grouped like this. “Wild turkey flock” — U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters — Public domain
Why the window sits where it does

Spring seasons are built around the breeding season

Spring turkey seasons exist because of a biological coincidence that favors the hunter and protects the flock at the same time: gobblers are at their most vocal and callable in the weeks when hens are being bred and beginning to nest. Agencies set their windows so that most hens are already on nests while gobblers are still responsive, which is why the opener sweeps north with spring itself, from the Gulf states in March to the northern tier in May.

The dates are an annual regulatory decision, not a fixed calendar, which is why this page reads them from South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks each season year and states the year it covers.

Wild turkey hen crossing a path with three well grown poults
A hen with poults. Spring season structures exist to protect nesting hens while gobblers are still callable. “Wild turkeys (hen with poults)” — ShenandoahNPS / Luca Pfeiffer — Public domain
Rules

South Dakota turkey hunting regulations

Season windows are carried here with their source and read date attached. Everything else a hunter is bound by is set by South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks, and its regulations page is linked below.

Current South Dakota regulations

Bag limits, legal methods, shooting hours, license and permit requirements, and youth or special season rules for South Dakota are set by South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks, are legally binding and change annually. Its current regulations page is linked here.

South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks: current regulations

Turkey season dates in other states

South Dakota duck seasonThe other 2026-27 season calendar: duck and goose dates by zone and flyway.South Dakota deer rutWhen deer actually breed, from the conception studies agencies publish.South Dakota fall foliageFall turkey weeks and peak color often overlap. Plan the same trip.

South Dakota turkey season questions

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Three wild turkey toms displaying side by side in late winter brush
Toms displaying in late winter. By the time most spring seasons open, flocks like this have broken up. “Leader Of The Pack” by Paul VanDerWerf, CC BY 2.0

This page covers the 2026-27 season year with data as of September 2, 2026. Every season window is republished from the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks page linked beside it, read on the date shown; windows the agency had not yet published are labelled not yet published. Bag limits, legal methods, shooting hours and license rules are set by South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks, whose page is the final word on the day you hunt. See also the national turkey season guide.