Since it is that time of year, I have spent a couple days in the last week penciling out the application strategy for 2016. I've been burning elk points rather quick over the last four or five years, so this process gets a bit trickier each year. We always start with the elk plan, given elk hunts are our most viewed hunts. From that we fill in the deer hunts, then the pronghorn hunts, and hope that by some grace of God a moose, goat, sheep, or bison tag lands on our lap.
After the article I did for goHunt that was published last week, I've got a lot of emails/PMs asking me about my strategy for elk. My strategy is focused upon getting multiple elk tags in a season, so I'm not sure that my strategy is applicable to others. If nothing else, I hope it generates some discussion about non-resident elk applications.
None of this is rocket science. It illustrates that if you want to hunt elk each year, you can do it, no matter where you live. And if your budget allows, you can pick a couple/few other states to start building some points and hopefully improve your chances of drawing a better tag some year.
We will have another "Hunt with Randy" drawing this year, so we have to keep that week open in the schedule with the expectation the winner will want a New Mexico elk hunt. That is one week that is not available for the elk strategy listed below.
Here is what my strategy will be, by state. No mention of specific units, even though that is the most common question I get. I can assure people that there are much better units to hunt than the units we usually end up in:
Some of this will change as the AK, WY, and AZ results come out early in the season. If Jereep and I draw our AK moose, September gets pretty complicated. That would change the strategy above. And when one part moves, the entire deck gets shuffled. Would be a terrible problem to have - not.
Wyoming apps will be due January 31st. Don't forget.
After the article I did for goHunt that was published last week, I've got a lot of emails/PMs asking me about my strategy for elk. My strategy is focused upon getting multiple elk tags in a season, so I'm not sure that my strategy is applicable to others. If nothing else, I hope it generates some discussion about non-resident elk applications.
None of this is rocket science. It illustrates that if you want to hunt elk each year, you can do it, no matter where you live. And if your budget allows, you can pick a couple/few other states to start building some points and hopefully improve your chances of drawing a better tag some year.
We will have another "Hunt with Randy" drawing this year, so we have to keep that week open in the schedule with the expectation the winner will want a New Mexico elk hunt. That is one week that is not available for the elk strategy listed below.
Here is what my strategy will be, by state. No mention of specific units, even though that is the most common question I get. I can assure people that there are much better units to hunt than the units we usually end up in:
Arizona - I only have three points here. Not many realistic options as a non-resident with that few points. My buddy, Jereep and I have been contemplating a party app for deer where he can jump on my 10 deer points and the same for elk where I can jump on his 7 elk points. No matter what I decide, party app or individual app, both choices will be late rifle hunts. It is the only hunt that fits the schedule and it is one of the elk hunts I most look forward to when I do draw.
Wonder if he is still alive. I saw him two years ago.
Colorado - This is probably the toughest choice of the entire strategy. I've got 19 points. I've never really tried to burn my CO elk points, as I've never had a schedule opening that I thought deserved 10, 11, 12, ....... 18 points. I've tired of dragging this big bag of points along and I hope to hunt one more mid-tier CO elk hunt before my body tells me to sit in a pasture and shoot whitetail does. Given that, I am hoping to cash these CO elk points in 2016.
Unless something changes in the schedule by the time CO apps are due, I will probably make Unit 61 archery my first choice. If I do draw that and I draw NM archery, it will force me to hunt CO earlier in the archery season and cut my season by a few days. That worries me when I am burning almost two decades of points.
Last year, 36% of the non-residents with 18 points drew Unit 61 archery. Based on history, 7-10 guys with more points than me jump off the sidelines each year and apply for this archery tag. If that historical trend holds true, and 5 people at my point level jump in, my odds will be closer to 50%, even though last year everyone at 19 points drew. Welcome to the world of point creep.
If I don't draw, I will be there for another OTC elk hunt. Raghorns it will be. And maybe a leftover cow tag. Below is the result from last time I got serious about CO elk. My brother missed a bull in here last year.
Idaho - Since Idaho is the last of the western states to hold their deer/elk/antelope draw, my choices there are usually long shots; really long shots. I will forego the moose app that I jumped back into last year and apply for one of the really tough elk tags in ID. If some of the "pretty sure" slots I have marked on the calendar do not come to fruition, I might try to fit in an OTC Idaho elk hunt.
Montana - Last year I drew a limited entry rifle bull tag with zero points. I doubt that will happen again, though I have done that three times. But, who knows, so I will probably apply for another rifle tag as my first choice. As a resident, I have a decent chance of the "900 archery" tag as a second choice. If not, no big deal, as the only time my calendar looks to be open for MT elk is during September. The general MT archery tag is a good tag, so even if I get "stuck" with that, it would be a great hunt.
Zero points; in a bonus system, anything is possible.
Nevada - This is my first year back in the NV elk application pool. I have no points. Since I am already buying a license for other applications, I will apply to the easiest-to-draw units in NV. I view it as a $15 lottery ticket, as I think that is about what my odds are with zero points.
New Mexico - These will all be archery apps. Corey Jacobsen and I will be applying in hopes that we can draw one of the units I've hunted previously. Since NM looks at all three choices, we will make choices 1 & 2 to be some long-shots, with 3rd choice being a bit more realistic.
This remote water hole has been very good to us. Drawing the tag can be the hardest part in NM.
Utah - I'm on the waiting list, having drawn a tag in 2014, so this is N/A.
Wyoming - This is a tough one, given I have zero points. Because I need tags for the show, I will apply in the Special Draw and pay the extra fee.
Uncle Larry has seven points and I have some places in mind where he should draw. Ten years of experimental chemo has really taken a toll on his feet; neuropathy is very bad. But, he celebrates his 70th birthday in October and I've already blocked out some of the schedule for his hunt. He wants me to have a tag when he does, but in order to do that, we would have to aim for units that are pretty damn physical. He is still in remarkable condition for a guy his age battling lymphoma, but I would prefer to take him on a hunt that is a bit easier on his feet, even if he protests that I don't have a tag. Last year we applied him for a tag that he had a 40% chance of drawing based on 2014 odds. Given the point creep, something I suspect will continue in 2016, he was completely out of the running for that unit. Time to look elsewhere for him, though I want to make sure he gets a tag and we can put it on the calendar.
For me, I will apply for the unit I can find with the best possible random odds of the season dates that fit in the tentative schedule. What that will be, I'm not yet sure. The good part of WY is that you can plan the rest of your apps around what you find out from WY when their elk results come out in late February.
Success in WY apps will be measured by getting Uncle Larry a tag. Fingers crossed.
Don't think my body is tough enough for another one of these trips
Wonder if he is still alive. I saw him two years ago.
Colorado - This is probably the toughest choice of the entire strategy. I've got 19 points. I've never really tried to burn my CO elk points, as I've never had a schedule opening that I thought deserved 10, 11, 12, ....... 18 points. I've tired of dragging this big bag of points along and I hope to hunt one more mid-tier CO elk hunt before my body tells me to sit in a pasture and shoot whitetail does. Given that, I am hoping to cash these CO elk points in 2016.
Unless something changes in the schedule by the time CO apps are due, I will probably make Unit 61 archery my first choice. If I do draw that and I draw NM archery, it will force me to hunt CO earlier in the archery season and cut my season by a few days. That worries me when I am burning almost two decades of points.
Last year, 36% of the non-residents with 18 points drew Unit 61 archery. Based on history, 7-10 guys with more points than me jump off the sidelines each year and apply for this archery tag. If that historical trend holds true, and 5 people at my point level jump in, my odds will be closer to 50%, even though last year everyone at 19 points drew. Welcome to the world of point creep.
If I don't draw, I will be there for another OTC elk hunt. Raghorns it will be. And maybe a leftover cow tag. Below is the result from last time I got serious about CO elk. My brother missed a bull in here last year.
Idaho - Since Idaho is the last of the western states to hold their deer/elk/antelope draw, my choices there are usually long shots; really long shots. I will forego the moose app that I jumped back into last year and apply for one of the really tough elk tags in ID. If some of the "pretty sure" slots I have marked on the calendar do not come to fruition, I might try to fit in an OTC Idaho elk hunt.
Montana - Last year I drew a limited entry rifle bull tag with zero points. I doubt that will happen again, though I have done that three times. But, who knows, so I will probably apply for another rifle tag as my first choice. As a resident, I have a decent chance of the "900 archery" tag as a second choice. If not, no big deal, as the only time my calendar looks to be open for MT elk is during September. The general MT archery tag is a good tag, so even if I get "stuck" with that, it would be a great hunt.
Zero points; in a bonus system, anything is possible.
Nevada - This is my first year back in the NV elk application pool. I have no points. Since I am already buying a license for other applications, I will apply to the easiest-to-draw units in NV. I view it as a $15 lottery ticket, as I think that is about what my odds are with zero points.
New Mexico - These will all be archery apps. Corey Jacobsen and I will be applying in hopes that we can draw one of the units I've hunted previously. Since NM looks at all three choices, we will make choices 1 & 2 to be some long-shots, with 3rd choice being a bit more realistic.
This remote water hole has been very good to us. Drawing the tag can be the hardest part in NM.
Utah - I'm on the waiting list, having drawn a tag in 2014, so this is N/A.
Wyoming - This is a tough one, given I have zero points. Because I need tags for the show, I will apply in the Special Draw and pay the extra fee.
Uncle Larry has seven points and I have some places in mind where he should draw. Ten years of experimental chemo has really taken a toll on his feet; neuropathy is very bad. But, he celebrates his 70th birthday in October and I've already blocked out some of the schedule for his hunt. He wants me to have a tag when he does, but in order to do that, we would have to aim for units that are pretty damn physical. He is still in remarkable condition for a guy his age battling lymphoma, but I would prefer to take him on a hunt that is a bit easier on his feet, even if he protests that I don't have a tag. Last year we applied him for a tag that he had a 40% chance of drawing based on 2014 odds. Given the point creep, something I suspect will continue in 2016, he was completely out of the running for that unit. Time to look elsewhere for him, though I want to make sure he gets a tag and we can put it on the calendar.
For me, I will apply for the unit I can find with the best possible random odds of the season dates that fit in the tentative schedule. What that will be, I'm not yet sure. The good part of WY is that you can plan the rest of your apps around what you find out from WY when their elk results come out in late February.
Success in WY apps will be measured by getting Uncle Larry a tag. Fingers crossed.
Don't think my body is tough enough for another one of these trips
Some of this will change as the AK, WY, and AZ results come out early in the season. If Jereep and I draw our AK moose, September gets pretty complicated. That would change the strategy above. And when one part moves, the entire deck gets shuffled. Would be a terrible problem to have - not.
Wyoming apps will be due January 31st. Don't forget.
on any out of state tag we might end up with.
