Yep, Paul things have changed. Black Hills buck only tags used to be one of the only deer seasons that was similar to a lot of places around the country where someone could buy a tag over the counter. Could also do that for BH turkey as well (I think). That got changed in 1990s (at least when I started to apply out there) where a person would have to go through the state application system but I think when I first got tags, the buck tags were still unlimited. I think about the same time a reg went in that the buck had to have at least 2 points on one side to be legal, so no more "spikes". Somewhere over time, the "unlimited" aspect of BH buck tags went away and a certain number (6-7 thousand-ish) appeared so a person actually was in competition for getting a buck tag. There was a certain number of "anterless" tags (does and fawns) available in the various sub-units of the BH. Those numbers have been fairly limited overall. As mentioned in some of the other posts, this management action appears to have paid off, as the bucks now taken in the BH tend to be older and nicer.
The key to BH deer hunting is how much time does a person have. For SD residents used to a weekend long West or East River hunt where 2-4 post ups and say 10 deer drives is all that's needed to get a deer in most cases, that generally won't be as productive in the Black Hills. If a guy has 4-5 days or a week, chances of scoring increase. When I have more time as a retired person in the future and a better vehicle, I plan to go back out there to the "pocket Rockies"...
