Anyone else playing the western states draw game? I put in for most Wyoming species, NM oryx, & AZ elk. My bank account took a hit for over 8k yesterday.

Just then I realized how wonderful Canada is to hunt. Last year in BC, I had a good hunt with a goat tag, mule and WT tag in my pocket, for less than what I spent yesterday.

And I am sure I can find a great moose hunt in BC for less than the cost of the WY tag + outfitter fees. Plus we can plan the calendar without waiting to see what, if anything, I got drawn for.

Got me to thinking about putting the brakes on all of the draws, except for BH sheep, and taking my business out of the country. It is hard to let go of something I have been doing for the past decade, but the economics and the odds just stopped making sense.

Just my perspective......

SInce I am new to the process, (last 2 years,) I have Cabelas do my tags. They front all the tag costs, which is nice. Pulled a NM Oryx tag first time trying and leave for it in March.
I was doing a ton of them, but settled for fewer this year, but I did add NM Ibex and arizona elk and mule deer. Gets pricy quick, even when cabelas fronts the fees.
Good Luck,
W.

Jack,

I have been. Have about 8 points in each state.

But the rules have changed with a bunch of states now REQUIRING you to buy a license before putting in for the draw. I'm sure it won't be long before they all require it.

I saw that you put in for AZ elk. I just read over Huntin Fool and saw the odds for AZ's trophy early season units. Unless you have max points (21) then forget it.
You're relegated to the late season for whatever was passed on before. SUCKS!

I hate max points. I forget what state (Nev?) that caps max points. I do like that.

I'd also like to see sheep hunts have a minimum number of points before even beginning to get into the draw.

Good luck on your chances this year.

bluefin

Intersting.
I was told It would be about 4-6 years before I had a chance at a decent tag.
W.

quote:

Originally posted by lde:

I saw that you put in for AZ elk. I just read over Huntin Fool and saw the odds for AZ's trophy early season units. Unless you have max points (21) then forget it.

bluefin

I think that sums it up pretty well. I do not want to play that game for the next xx? years, shelling out the non refundable license fees and preference point bucks. There are just too many good alternate places right now which will gladly take our dollars this year.

The AZ elk draw is for an archery unit that has one tag to give to a NR without max points.

Good luck to you too!

I put in for my resident state (AZ) elk and pronghorn tags and will be getting my apps in for NM ibex and bighorn.. MT bighorn too when the time comes as well as CO point for deer.

I agree Jack, it has become a costly nightmare to apply.

I work a bunch of weekends every damn year to afford non-resident apps.

I do it willingly because there is nothing too good for my first love....Hunting!

If your tooooo lazy--- quit

Wyo Bighorn and Mulie, ID elk and Mulie, and kicking around NV elk and Mulie.

Sure you could just hunt BC with no draw but not for less than $3k.

I'll put in for CO, UT, NV and OK. Thinking about AZ but I'm so far behind, I know it will be several years before I draw and that same money in that time would pay for another trip to Africa.

quote:

...but the economics and the odds just stopped making sense.

Just my perspective......

This is my perspective too!

If you can draw a tag for a reasonable fee (and the "hunting license" you have to buy anyway - and ahead of time too!), and you can hunt an area without an outfitter, then it may well be worth the inconvenience of waiting to draw and waiting to know exact season dates.

My biggest frustration with western draws is not knowing the precise start/end of the season. Most states from Nebraska on east have a date set in stone - and woe to the one who suggests changing that date!!!

Why would it be so hard to do the same for elk, moose, sheep, etc. out west? I don't understand?

friar

friar - In New Mexico the precise, exact starting and ending dates for a hunt/season are known prior to an applicant putting in. We are also considered to be out West. , with elk, mule deer, coues deer, bear, mtn. lion, RM bighorn sheep, Desert bighorn, antelope, turkey, Ibex, Oryx, Javalina.

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

Larry, New Mexico is in the South!

Our intern pastor from last year is from New Mexico, and elk hunts there with his family when he can. Now that you point it out, I seem to remember him highlighting the same thing.

New Mexico is the exception to the rule, though; no?

friar

quote:

Originally posted by friarmeier:
My biggest frustration with western draws is not knowing the precise start/end of the season.

I can't think of one western state where the season dates aren't precisely spelled out in writing before permit/tag applications are due.

Perhaps you can provide an example of where the above isn't the case?

8000 would be most of my earnings for a year.

I will probably put in for elk and antelope here in MT.



P.S. anyone know a good career for a 39yo. Spent 16 years as a carpenter til my back cant do it anymore.

I have been applying for elk,moose,sheep and goat in utah,mt.,wa.,or.,and nv.. I do not apply in states that want all up front and no points.I apply myself in those states and save the TAG fees from the people that will apply for you, its very easy. Its all luck but you can't complain if you do not try..........its time to start the process..good luck.........

quote:

Originally posted by RMiller:

P.S. anyone know a good career for a 39yo. Spent 16 years as a carpenter til my back cant do it anymore.

Nurse.

And I put in for NR Big game combo every year in MT......went up $300 this year to over $900.

Tony, how much lead time is there between when applications are due and the season opener?

When I hunted Wyoming in 2005 for elk, I had only an approximation of the opening date for the Bridger/Teton- Gros Vonte (sp?) unit. If I remember right, I knew the date for that fall's opener sometime in February of that same year.

If I'm not mistaken, Idaho is similar. Again, the dates are usually close to the prior year, but there's no guarantee.

It's just one more wrinkle to manage when planning a hunt, and when you're trying to plan 18-24 months in advance, well, it's just one more complication.

Small potatoes, perhaps, but it would be nice if it were a fixed date.

Does anyone know, by the way, if there is any particular rhyme or reason behind the variable dates?

Many thanks,

friar

Friar,

The dates for a particular hunt are always fixed when the proclamation is printed for that year.

One possible change is the weapon type? Primitive weapons generally have "better" dates than rifle in the same units.

-OR- Some states offer "seasons", ala colorado. You can pick between 3-4 seasons, but those season dates will not change on the calendar once published.

And the dates change year to year, if that's what your asking.

So if you might clarify your question a bit, some one here might have the answer.



Cheers

quote:

Originally posted by friarmeier:
Tony, how much lead time is there between when applications are due and the season opener?

When I hunted Wyoming in 2005 for elk, I had only an approximation of the opening date for the Bridger/Teton- Gros Vonte (sp?) unit. If I remember right, I knew the date for that fall's opener sometime in February of that same year.

If I'm not mistaken, Idaho is similar. Again, the dates are usually close to the prior year, but there's no guarantee.

It's just one more wrinkle to manage when planning a hunt, and when you're trying to plan 18-24 months in advance, well, it's just one more complication.

Small potatoes, perhaps, but it would be nice if it were a fixed date.

Does anyone know, by the way, if there is any particular rhyme or reason behind the variable dates?

Many thanks,
friar

As Jack says, the dates are always set when the regulations for that particular year come out.

In some states, such as AZ, the seasons are set by the day of the month rather than an actual date. IOW, a deer season might begin on the 2nd Friday of Oct. and end on the third or fourth Sun. Thus, all our seasons here begin on a Fri. and usually end on a Sun.

The reason: so it includes the same weekends of the month each year. If they set it by the exact date, it would begin and end on a different day of the week each year.

So if someone is planning more than a year in advance, he can pretty much count on the date being within a day or so of the prior year.

The time between the application dates and the actual seasons vary from state to state, but it's generally at least six months or more. Our app period for elk and antelope in AZ is open right now until Feb. when the draw occurs. The earliest season for either critter is late Aug.

Thanks fellas!

I guess we're pretty much talking about the same things here:

Like Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Minnesota, the seasons begin on a particular day; i.e. "3rd Saturday of November".

Perhaps the difference between eastern and western states is that in the west, any particular season (say, elk firearm) may have different opening dates which vary by unit.

I think that's what I had in mind originally.

Anyway, thanks for the clarification!

friar

quote:

Originally posted by friarmeier:
Perhaps the difference between eastern and western states is that in the west, any particular season (say, elk firearm) may have different opening dates which vary by unit.

friar

That is sometimes the case but more often the season dates are set by species and weapon types. That said, there might a a bunch of different ones for each species and weapon type.

For example, we have separate firearms elk hunts: trophy elk in Sept during the rut in only a few units and then other general firearms hunts in Oct., Nov. & Dec. that cover all or only some elk units. But again, each of these seasons are consistent from year to year, thus the opening dates vary only by a day or two due to the Fri. openings.

For deer, we have a mismash of firearms seasons that take place in Oct., Nov. & Dec., and many units are species specific, i.e either mule or Coues deer. They too are consistent in regrads to the day they open, however.

Same goes for archery and muzzleloader only seasons for both elk and deer.