Go hunt.com

[CubsFan]

It has been just OK for my specific use case. I don't think I will renew again, I was just auto renewed. I think if you have points built up in multiple states it could be worth it. I have found incorrect info a number of times but in their defense they have always fixed it when I've brought it to their attention. They did just add two features that I was looking for, odds for does and cows and filtering units by public land availability which is huge imo. As others have said the unit breakdowns are essentially useless.

 

[MooseCaboose]

I believe Toprut has more accurate odds for those 2 states than GoHunt. Both use the entire data set to calculate their odds, but Toprut seems to have a better handle on the calculation.

The math is beyond me, but it has something to do with group applications and draw order of the choices. They actually look into the fact that many folks put their choices in the wrong order when applying.

Here's an article on how they calculate New Mexico - https://www.toprut.com/news/2017/02/14/true-reality-new-mexicos-big-game-draw/

Whether Gohunt is worth the $ or not is up to you, they offer a lot of additional things that Toprut doesn't, but I believe Toprut has very accurate draw odds and has a good handle on how to calculate them.

Couldn't agree more with this! In looking at how they do the math--their methodology is solid! These guys get it. At worst, their odds are just as good as GoHunt, at best, Toprut is better. And above all, these are all just analyses of the previous year and never *accurately* predict the coming year's odds perfectly. I guess for my money; I'll just keep relying on Toprut.

 

[nontyp]

I believe Toprut has more accurate odds for those 2 states than GoHunt. Both use the entire data set to calculate their odds, but Toprut seems to have a better handle on the calculation.

The math is beyond me, but it has something to do with group applications and draw order of the choices. They actually look into the fact that many folks put their choices in the wrong order when applying.

Here's an article on how they calculate New Mexico - https://www.toprut.com/news/2017/02/14/true-reality-new-mexicos-big-game-draw/

Whether Gohunt is worth the $ or not is up to you, they offer a lot of additional things that Toprut doesn't, but I believe Toprut has very accurate draw odds and has a good handle on how to calculate them.

Check out the last paragraph on that link. “The odds we show are 1st choice draw odds for a single applicant.“. It also states this on the draw odds for each unit. If they are only giving first choice odds I have a hard time believing that it’s accurate, but I guess we’ll prly never know which one is more accurate. On a side note does anyone know how Toprut generates income?

 

[toprut]

We show odds in New Mexico as "1st choice draw odds for a single applicant" because the odds you will draw your second choice change depending on your choice 1. Overall, your chance of drawing one of your 3 choices is essentially equal to the odds of your easiest to draw hunt choice.

 

[Bigjav]

I just signed up for gohunt this year and my suggestion is don't take their draw odds as gospel. I'm basing this upon our tags we've drawn or haven't drawn over the past few years. The biggest advantage is they have all the information for a unit right in one place so you don't have to go back and forth on the state fish and game websites and go over countless spreadsheets which is a time saver, alsotheir website is user friendly.

 

[Carnage2011]

Gohunt has much more to offer than draw odds. If you are just looking for draw odds then I’d say it’s not worth it. However, if you are going to use all the tools and options that it offers then it’s definitely worth the money.

 

[Wheaty17]

Doesn't Randy vouch for Gohunt? So, what is your question again?

If anything, the info can be too much. Thanks to Gohunt.com, I was able to fill my 17 tag on a 6x6 bull at the 4rth spot we researched. The first was dry, second on fire, third was not a fit for my senior father, 4rth was perfect and connected on day 2.

 

[WapitiBob]

They figured out I wasn't paying for Insider and kicked me outta the club. I can no longer recommend them. LOL

 

[LopeHunter]

Why do you say this? It seems to me Toprut has a dang good handle on how the draws work and has as accurate of odds as anyplace. My opinion is that Gohunt is way overpriced for what you get. Their website constantly crashed on me, too, when I had my subscription.

How does TopRut calculate odds in NV where an applicant has multiple choices? AZ where have multiple choices and non-resident application detail is muddled in draw reports? What about Idaho and MT where not only are there unit caps that impact odds a an application is being evaluated during the draw but also there are regional or specie caps that come into play?

My understanding is additional modeling is needed for some Western states. The odds for a moose unit in ID is not simply, I see that 8 non-residents applied and 1 drew last year so is 12.5% for that unit. Nope. If the applications were pulled in a different order then is possible that none of the 8 get a tag in that unit. Now, in CO, you could run the draw several times and the odds for non-residents for a moose unit will not change.

So, in ID for moose, is more useful to look at total non-resident moose application vs. tags awarded to non-residents and then to look at unit demand in general along with tags available.

NV allows multiple choices so if want to predict this year's odds then that requires modeling last year's draw rather than looking at last year's results. The squaring of points in a bonus point system also adds significant variability in units with fewer tags. When a unit offers larger numbers of tags the actual draw results are likely to fall into a standard deviation of predicted results. I think GoHunt uses Monte Carlo modeling for NV but am not positive. The expected odds for a unit is much different that what NV publishes, though.

 

[npaden]

Toprut has Idaho figured out as well as Nevada. They argue that they do a better job on Nevada and New Mexico than Gohunt does and they way they explain it it makes sense to me.

Here's their explanation of Nevada - https://www.toprut.com/news/2017/04/03/comprehensive-look-at-nevada-draw-odds/

Here's their explanation of why Gohunts draw odds for Nevada were wrong last year - "Link edited by Big Fin. It contains too much BS claims by one business who violated the Terms of Service of Hunt Talk making assertions against another that has been a supporter of Hunt Talk since the beginning."

I would be curious what Gohunts Nevada odds end up for this year. I wonder if they stick to their same model or if they adjusted it for their error.

Again, I am not going to say that Toprut offers everything that Gohunt does because they don't. But I think their odds are as good or better than Gohunt in everything I have looked at. Including Idaho, Nevada, and New Mexico that a lot of places mess up.

I have no affiliation with Toprut other than using their service for both draw odds and their google map overlays. I'm not going to get on here and advertise for them but I will stick up for them when people say that their odds aren't as good because they are. At some point I would expect that they are going to monetize their service by either charging for it or allowing advertising or something but for now it is free and I really enjoy using it.

 

[WapitiBob]

To get to the question of "is it worth it", only you can answer that.
Some say GH isn't worth it if you're only hunting one state. I would disagree. I'm now down to one state where I will be burning points; AZ. At my lower/mid tier point level, research is more important than if I had 15+ points. In a random draw state like NM I would still be concerned about odds and unit synopsis just like I am for AZ. You probably don't want to draw a scrub unit just to draw. And as many know, that $150 is way way down on the "expense" list of a western Elk hunt. I'll rejoin this summer and "hit the books" again trying to draw AZ in 2019.

 

[HONEYBADGER]

Toprut is increasingly making gohunt irrelevant in my opinion. Why pay 150 for what toprut currently provides free of charge. Yes gohunt has articles etc, but not $150 worth of articles. What gohunt is really missing is high end mapping, if they added that to their service you could probably justify the 150.

 

[88man]

Toprut is increasingly making gohunt irrelevant in my opinion. Why pay 150 for what toprut currently provides free of charge. Yes gohunt has articles etc, but not $150 worth of articles. What gohunt is really missing is high end mapping, if they added that to their service you could probably justify the 150.

HoneyBadger I totally agree. I like go hunt but doubt I will rejoin. I just don't see the value at $150. It really does need some mapping upgrades. I do like the 2nd choice and female species draw odds and the ease of use. Just think its a little over priced. Needs more mapping!

 

[805Bowhunter]

I feel like GoHunt is awesome...but it is also not necessary. It is more of a luxury. Prior to my subscription, I was doing hours upon hours of my own research. To me, the $150 is worth it just in the man hours I save alone. Gohunt gives me more time for work, family, hunting, scouting etc. Pouring over data on fish and game websites is doable but also very time consuming. Is the subscription an end all? No. It is a great starting place and jumping off point. Gohunt is also great at not getting complacent. They bust their asses to get ahead of everyone else. It seems like every month they are coming out with a new filter to improve the way you look at your apps. I feel like every level of point holder can benefit from the research tools also. In a state like Arizona or Utah, I feel like gohunt is even more paramount with what your points can get you and the odds of drawing a specific tag. For example, I try to hunt the general tag in Wyo every two-ish years, Montana or Idaho in between. But for Arizona for example, GoHunt gives me data that drastically impacts what units I apply for.

Its also fun to sit on and waste time dreaming about drawing that bison, moose or sheep tag. Overall, I think its an awesome service but certainly not necessary...especially if youre on a tight budget

 

[WapitiBob]

The last thing I want to see is another company offering mapping that does half the things I need.

 

[MooseCaboose]

If you are interested in more than just draw odds though, GoHunt is by far the superior choice. They have harvest stats and at least a cursory description of each hunt area. Some districts have more info than others. The overall user interface is extremely user-friendly. As other have mentioned, in just a few minutes you can do as much research as a guy without out Gohunt would do in a couple of days.

 

[MW357]

This is how I determined the go Hunt value. I researched on my own all I could for a unit in Colorado that I thought was a good pick for me. Time spent about 10 hours of researching of multiple sites and magazines. I then purchased the go Hunt on a deal for 150 with 50 bucks back in points. In about a hour on go hunt I came to the same unit as I picked on my own. 9 hours savings for 100 bucks. Very worth it to me and most all the info I found in go hunt matched info with the state agencies. As a bonus I'm entered in awesome drawings for prizes also.

 

[buckhunterhart]

If you happen to be looking at Utah alone http://neverstophunting.com/ is a great site. I believe it is still free, just have to create a login.

 

[Rawmeat]

I am a new elk hunter. New to applying out of state in general. I used Top rut for a while and would get frustrated. Their odds might be accurate, but found the interface counter intuitive and not very user friendly on my phone. I decided to try Gohunt and it was the some of the best money I have spent. It is very comprehensive. For a newb like me the articles help a lot and so does the extra specific unit information.

You can also use a promo code to get $50 to spend in their store. I needed to buy a few things that they had anyway, so I have actually ended up saving over $150 already. This won't be the situation for most, but I will continue my subscription in the future.