Unit 10A

The unit's most useful landmarks are its water features: Stickney Lake and Shottenkirk Lake anchor the eastern portion, while Crystal Lake, Fish Lake, and White Lake provide navigation references across the grasslands. Smaller reservoirs like Platte Lake and Wilmarth Lake dot the unit interior. Named draws like Motts Draw, Piersons Draw, and Donegans Draw serve as natural corridors and gathering points for wildlife.

Archer Hill offers one of few high points for glassing long distances across the plains. Wilkie Slough provides wetland habitat in an otherwise dry unit. These features, though modest in scale, are critical for orientation in open country where roads and section lines are primary guides.

Terrain is uniformly low elevation, ranging from roughly 1,300 to 2,000 feet, with median elevations around 1,600 feet. This is open prairie country with virtually no forest cover—grasslands and agricultural land dominate nearly 98 percent of the unit. The sparse timber that exists appears in scattered patches and shelter belts rather than contiguous forest.

Vegetation is predominantly native and cultivated grassland, with seasonal green-up in spring and summer providing cover for wildlife. The gently rolling topography creates subtle elevation changes that form the basic structure of the landscape—ridges, drainages, and valleys that break the seeming flatness.

Road density is high at 2.59 miles per square mile, with 1,842 miles of total roads providing access throughout the unit. Major roads and highways cross the unit, making it highly accessible from towns like Plankinton and Aurora Center. This accessibility is a double-edged sword: easy access means strong hunting pressure during seasons, particularly near town corridors and popular water sources.

The extensive private land ownership (98 percent) limits public access options and concentrates hunters on available public areas. Road networks make vehicle-based glassing feasible, but solitude is limited. Early-season or midweek hunting likely offers better conditions than weekends.

Unit 10A encompasses roughly 712 square miles of central South Dakota prairie, anchored by the towns of Plankinton, Aurora Center, and Stickney to the north and east. The unit is entirely low-elevation grassland with no mountainous terrain—a true Great Plains landscape. Nearly all of the unit is private land with minimal public ownership, so access requires prior arrangement or hunting public sections like state wildlife areas.

The extensive road network reflects the agricultural character of the region. Geographic boundaries follow standard unit demarcation, though the unit reads as continuous prairie rolling across county lines.

Water is moderately available through a network of lakes, reservoirs, and draws. Stickney Lake and Shottenkirk Lake are the largest water bodies and reliable year-round sources. Multiple smaller lakes including Horseshoe, Isham, Scott, and Pleasant lakes offer scattered water access.

Reservoirs like Platte Lake and Wilmarth Lake support both wildlife and recreational use. The draw system—Motts, Piersons, and Donegans draws—carries runoff during wet periods and can concentrate wildlife. Wilkie Slough provides wetland habitat.

Water scarcity is not a primary concern in this unit, but hunters should plan water sources when glassing distant grasslands without immediate access to tanks or lakes.

Unit 10A holds mule deer and white-tailed deer across its grassland and draw systems. The open terrain makes glassing from high points and road systems productive—Archer Hill and scattered ridge systems offer vantage points for scanning grasslands. Early mornings and evenings when deer move between feeding and bedding areas in draws are key.

Water sources like Stickney Lake, Shottenkirk Lake, and smaller lakes concentrate wildlife during dry periods. The draw network provides cover for stalking and bedding habitat for deer. Pressure can be significant, so hunting edges—where grassland meets agricultural land or draws—during transition times yields better opportunities.

Expect to work primarily public areas and negotiated private land access.