NW SD does have a good amount of public land, see the following link http://www.sdgfp.info/Publications/Atlas/Index.htm . However, as with any public land hunting there is an aweful lot of hunting pressure from the masses. I hunt NW SD each year and am lucky enough to harvest a nice respectable 14-plus incher. I have found that hunting the larger tracts of public land and getting at least 2-3 miles from any roads will 95% of the other hunters that road hunt. Hunting public land also decreases the chances of getting a nice B&C buck.

As far as topo's, any of the wbesites that sell or show topo's will have a supply.

One thing about the public land, is when it's wet, it sucks. The last two years we've had snow during rifle antelope season, and it makes hunting private land tough, and public land very hard. The ground is gumbo, and turns into snot when wet.

RD in SD