How many points / applications

[Buffs35]

Colorado. deer, elk, speedgoat, moose
Wyo, SD, Mont. Deer and pronghorn.
Also put my hat in for NM.
NR elk applications are too rich for my blood.

 

[SC Living Outdoors]

I apply for
WY - Antelope, Deer, Elk, Goat, Sheep
AZ - Deer, Elk, Sheep
MT - Deer, Elk, Sheep, Bison
NM - Deer, Elk, Antelope, Oryx, Ibex (no Aoudad this year bc if I draw it would interfere with another hunt I already have booked)
Utah - Deer (general & limited), Elk, Antelope, Sheep, Goat, Bison, Moose
CO - Deer, Elk, Sheep, Goat
ID - Sheep
FL - Sambar
ME - Moose
TX - All rifle Exotics and rifle Mule deer
SC - Gator and Duck

The aggressiveness of my application strategy depends on the state and species. Some states are viewed as a yearly option, some are a back up plan state, some are 3-5 year plan, some 5-10, some are long term. My goal is to have 3 - 4 good tags every fall/winter. If you add up the Texas applications I probably have 50-60 applications every year. Many have long odds of drawing. I have a spreadsheet on excel that I keep from year to year. It has every application that I submit, every unit applied for (1st, 2nd, 3rd option), deadline date, draw odds ect. That way I can keep track of everything and keep it organized. I then set reminders in my phone for state app deadlines. That way I don't miss a deadline. I also dig into season dates to stagger hunts. Even tags that are a long shot. I live on the east coast so I want things spaced out if any way possible. Last thing I want is to draw a tag and not be able to go.

 

[Western Traveler1]

Good question if I want to bring to the forefront the amount of money I have invested in the points game, but sometimes ignorance is bliss.

For years I have played the points game in AZ, UT, CO, WY, NV and of course MT. Many of those require a license purchase up front. Also fronted tag money for those States that required it. New Mexico was always in the mix but no points to accumulate there. I think it was typical to have $8-9k charged on my exclusively hunting draws CC in the Spring each year and hard costs between fees, super raffles and non-refundable licenses around $800-1000 out of pocket including my MT resident tags.

I have drawn some pretty nice tags and had some fun hunts as a result but with point creep and States changing the rules of draws and percentages I’m
Questioning whether to continue overall.

I am now at an age (in my 70’s) that I will have to make some hard choices whether to continue in NV and UT.
For the last few years I have been choosing one Out of State hunt that I had a solid chance to draw (50%+) to burn my points but it is hard to bail on some states, like AZ. After I burned my elk points I was back to my minimum 2 because of loyalty and Lifetime Hunter Ed. and AZ is FUN to hunt archery elk. Now I am again up around 7 there plus deer.

Wllm1313 wonders how someone ends up with a stack of points and hasn’t done research. Guilty as charged! WY antelope points. I was saving them for my 70’s. Now I’m here but younger guys want to come hunt with me each year and they have been the priority. I was going to burn them this year but have a friend coming out to Montana to hunt with me.

 

[wtrfwlhunter]

Montana (resident) - deer, elk, antelope, moose, Rocky Mountain sheep, goat
Nevada - deer, elk, antelope, desert sheep
Wyoming - deer, elk, antelope
Oregon - deer

Ill cash in my points in Oregon this year for deer and have been debating if I want to continue applying there for deer and add elk as well. I’m thinking I will probably pull out of Oregon after I draw but take that same license money and start apply for moose, sheep, or goat in Idaho Next season. I’m hesitant about adding more states than that because I’d rather just be consistent with what I’ve got and never miss a year than spread myself too thin. I’d also like to start saving for an Alaska hunt to try and knock one of the big three off my personal list.

Rough prices. MT: General Tags + points/apps = 150, NV: License + points + application = 250, WY: Points + stamp = 115, OR: license + deer point = 175. Roughly 700 bucks just for those states, one of which I’m a resident in.

 

[Jape]

Put in for WA, OR, ID, MT, WY, NV, UT, CO, AZ and NM out West plus TX and KS. 101 big game applications plus 3 turkey apps. Have not crunched the numbers recently but for required hunting licenses, conservation, card fees charged by F&G, application fees, yada yada to apply then am out about $2000. Add annual cost of Huntin' Fool, Epic Outdoors, GoHunt and OnX.

At times have more than $18,000 on deposit with F&G at one time. I apply for points for 22 of the 101 applications and many of the rest are 1 in 200 or tougher odds unless are where I have a dozen or more preference points for an "easy for an old guy" hunt where some are 50% to 100% odds but I am sitting on points risking the game changes before burn the points.

I usually draw 2 or 3 tags. The tags are anywhere from $300 to over $2000.

I also drop around $3000 on state-run super tag lotteries and WY Commissioner tag raffles.

For the tags I draw, if I can drive then is around $2500 door to door if go on my own on public land not counting the tag cost. If fly then closer to $5000. Those are rough numbers though includes fuel, food, lodging, vehicle rental, plane fare, special gear needed, sat phone activation and minutes, Euro mount, etc.

I spend less than $100 a year on booze, don't smoke, no drugs, etc. Hunting is my hobby and passion. We maintain two homes and travel some so is not a major sacrifice to fund my hunting though was in my 20s to 40s. Now, the legs and belly of an old guy are the limiting factors really.

Really good breakdown of the realistic costs if one wants to start applying in the western states (plus a couple others).

 

[Khunter]

How many different states and species do you put in an application for or buy a point for each year?

What does it cost you a year for all the tags and points you put in for every year?

if you want to link previous threads on this topic that would be great. I have a tough time searching and finding what I’m looking for from just my phone

Well how about you answer you own question you posed? I have a tough time searching a thread for an answer that should be up in the original post...

 

[Okbow87]

I apply everywhere I feel like it would be worth my time to travel and hunt.

NM: Elk, deer, antelope every year. Drew and killed a Barbary sheep last year so prob won't do that one again for a while.
CO: Elk, deer, antelope, moose, sheep, goat, and bear.
WY: Elk, deer, antelope.
MT: Elk and antelope
AZ: Elk, deer, antelope, and sheep.
NV: Elk, deer, antelope, and sheep.
UT: Elk, deer LE and GEN, antelope, moose, sheep, goat.
KS: Deer every couple of years if I don't think I will have any other tags.

No idea what it actually costs me, but I don't really want to know.

 

[Khunter]

I apply across the board in CO because it’s where I grew up so if I did draw a super crazy tag like a sheep I have family connections that would make it doable no matter what.I apply similarly in UT and AK, I have connections and apply for hunts that I could make easier with help from friends.
I skip AZ, NV, WA, OR, because it would be difficult logistically.
The one thing that drives me crazy is when folks get on here with 15 points and have no idea what to do with them... like you’ve been applying for a decade and haven’t done any research...

Hardly a rational opinion to have given your application strategy to avoid many awesome hunting states and only apply where you have “connections” to help your hunt when you draw. Maybe some folks are just a little jealous some guys with no trepedation to put in for Az, NV etc other places they are not familiar with and have no buddies to help and yet will find a way to get hunts done without “have connections and apply for hunts that I could make easier with help from friends.” And yet they draw great tags and have amazing adventures to tell, with out without a tag punched.

Those of us that put in for 5,7,9 states across the board like clockwork each year for most species enjoy improved draw odds at the hands of those too fearful or simply unwilling to draw a tag that they have no friends to hold their hand for in order to hunt or that they have not prescouted. For many guys the adventure and challenge of hunting unknown terrain and animals is the draw.

If accruing a pile of points and drawing high point tags one has not pre scouted is worthy of criticism, I gladly accept the criticism after 25 or so years of drawing ‘once in a lifetime’ tags for sheep, goats, moose, bear, lopes elk, deer, oryx, aoudad in NV, WY, AZ, UT, CO, NM, TX and am sad I have not yet hunted AK, NE, KS, IA, KY, PA, NH, ME etc.

As for OP question, personally apply for 40+ tags in 8 states regularly and throw in some extra states and specieis less regularly. Value of these applications? Priceless for the life affirming gift of amazing adventures these opportunities provide.

Here are photos for just the three most recent (2020) hunts I snagged hard to get tags for and for which I had done little/no prior advance research for till scored the tag and mostly had never set foot in the hunt area till I drew the tag. I asked for helpful info from strangers after getting the tags. These hunts yielded great lifetime memories and all included at least some help from folks on here or elsewhere. Personally I have similarly provided info I have to dozens of strangers and acquaintances who have drawn or wish to draw a hunt I had knowledge and experience about. Often based on a posting I saw online. NOTHING wrong with asking. EVERYTHING wrong, IMO, with being judgmental about guys asking for a little help before or after a guy draws a high points tag.

If

 

[Deleted member 28227]

@Khunter I think we actually see eye to eye and I was just a bit opaque in my statement. Pretty much everyone who applies for a sheep tag is going in blind, no shade there. One of my favorite things to do is walk into a new area and figure it out.

I didn't grow up hunting, took hunters safety in 2012... at age 24. I've now hunted, CO, WY, UT, MT, ID, AK, KS, and OK... I've applied in but never hunted in NM, NH, ME... hopefully going to hunt Javelina in AZ this year.

2018... 4 years after I bought my first gun

...

...

www.hunttalk.com

When if comes to my personal strategy, I realize I have limited vacation time, and funds and try to maximize my dollars to opportunity ratio. Also I got a late start so I'm starting at the bottom. I have been hunting between 3 to 4 states a year since I started hunting in 2012. Nevada for me just don't make a whole lot of sense, it's a big up front cost that won't pay out for long time. I would rather take that app money and go hunting OTC. If I to go to Nevada for a hunt, which I want to do, it will be for snow @#)(# in the rubies, that doesn't require a draw. that's a draw in the summer and I don't need points. Both OR and WA I plan to hunt... but on OTC tags. The draw odds for the cost just don't make a ton of sense for my budget. There are lots of places I've never been to that I want to visit and hunt.

Bottom line, I rather go do a hunt than spend money waiting... I doubt I will ever get a sheep tag... but I might hunt muley's or birds in the same habitat. That's good enough for me.

My criticism "15 points and no plan" is referring to people who literally put in the preference point or bonus point code every year, and don't even look at the actual hunt. Guys that put in for CO bear and don't realize that there is basically only 1 unit in the state that requires more than 2-3 points, that unit typically gives out 1 tag to NR every other year. If you have 15 points this year there are 37 NR with points ahead of you. Basically, if you are over the age of what 40-50? you have absolutely zero chance of drawing in your lifetime. There are folks that come on here with 15 bear points and say, "Whelp decided to fine come out to CO and use my bear points, what can I get with 15 points?" Dude you can get a 1 point unit and you're an idiot for not doing some research before now.

This isn't really an issue with states like NM, UT, AK, MT... because you actually have to put in for a unit and at least have a chance of going hunting in that state every year. I'm crapping on folks that put in the P999999 code in CO or buy a point in WY blindly.

Everyone's circumstances are going to vary, and people need to do what makes sense for them, I'm just advocating being thoughtful.

My first big game license was an NR ID bear tag... was a big spend for me at that point in my career. I had to save for 3 months to cobble together the money. People are all over the spectrum.

There probably a lot of differences between you and I... income, age, responsibilities, interests. Those dictate how we apply, if one really wants to hunt sheep, and has the resources to apply for sheep in every state and still hunt every year I say go for it. I won't advocate for someone to spend thousands a year on applications and then sit at home each fall, or just hunt the back 40 because they exhausted their budget on applications.

 

[Birddog916]

I apply for every western state for at least deer and elk or points only in states with bonus or preference points. I also hunt Indiana every year. I also apply for moose, antelope and sheep in a few states, but only areas where I might someday draw. Every year is slightly different because I'm limited on how much vacation time I can take. Last year I applied for nearly every western state all species and spent a lot of cash nearly $2,200 on licenses, tags and draws. This year because I drew early in AZ for elk and will use up my available vacation. So, my spending on tags, draws and licenses will be much lower in 2020. No reason to apply for New Mexico and Idaho for example without point systems. I'll still apply for points in all the other states. I use a spreadsheet to keep everything organized. Every year my spreadsheet contains the deadlines, costs to apply, hunts applied for, tags drawn, who applied with me, point totals, and notes I make for upcoming years. It is a great way for me to keep everything semi-organized, learn, and develop a long range plan. My plan is to hunt out-of-state at least 2-3 times a year once on a elk tag, deer tag and my Indiana OTC deer tag.

 

[406LIFE]

Just checked my spreadsheet and it looks like 18 states and 61 applications. My wife doesn't read this forum, so I should be safe...

 

[Khunter]

Just checked my spreadsheet and it looks like 18 states and 61 applications. My wife doesn't read this forum, so I should be safe...

That is awesome and the most I think I have heard of. I should up my game!

 

[Khunter]

@Khunter I think we actually see eye to eye and I was just a bit opaque in my statement. Pretty much everyone who applies for a sheep tag is going in blind, no shade there. One of my favorite things to do is walk into a new area and figure it out.

I didn't grow up hunting, took hunters safety in 2012... at age 24. I've now hunted, CO, WY, UT, MT, ID, AK, KS, and OK... I've applied in but never hunted in NM, NH, ME... hopefully going to hunt Javelina in AZ this year.
.
There probably a lot of differences between you and I... income, age, responsibilities, interests. Those dictate how we apply, if one really wants to hunt sheep, and has the resources to apply for sheep in every state and still hunt every year I say go for it. I won't advocate for someone to spend thousands a year on applications and then sit at home each fall, or just hunt the back 40 because they exhausted their budget on applications.

Gotcha, total respect for your choices and and amazing game of ‘catch up’ in the hunting realm. Hopefully you can double up and chase OTC deer when you do the AZ javies...

 

[TOGIE]

i'm younger and newer to the game, 3 seasons under my belt

since the first year it's been both wyoming and colorado

wyoming - deer, elk, pronghorn - minimally accumulating points

colorado - deer, elk, pronghorn, goat, sheep, moose - other than the three, not really building points, building some pronghorn points, probably gonna build a few elk points now

so it's more in the 500-900 range to apply for me, depending what i put in for in wyoming or just wait for a point. but i always think of my total huntnig budget when applying, which includes all the projected costs through the fall, which is really the mark i'm aiming to stay under.

i think the next state to go on the list of applications will be NM, haven't done my research yet though on where to start throwing my name in down there

money isn't the main thing holding me back, but it is a factor. my budget could easily do at least 3 or 4 total states worth of applications. right now i just want to hunt, and i've had no problem holding tags in both colorado and wyoming every year since i started, more than i have time to hunt in all practicality, which is a different problem that needs to be solved. further, finding some good special draw options in wyoming has me wanting to use my money there instead of points elsewhere, and it's close to me and i have a place to stay.

i badly wanna hunt new mexico though, and arizona, and idaho, i also really wanna find public land white tails in nebraska, all in the works don't worry.

 

[bigsky2]

MT (resident)- Elk, deer, antelope, sheep, goat. Drew a moose tag a few years ago so I can't put in for another 5 years.
WY- Elk, deer, antelope
AZ- Elk, coues deer, antelope, sheep
NM- Elk, coues deer, ibex, oryx, barbary sheep
NV- Elk, deer, antelope, sheep
UT- Elk, deer, moose, goat
CO- Deer
ND- Deer but might stop applying this year

All of the out of state tags I have drawn have been good hunts. I will probably start to phase some states out and add Idaho to the list I apply for. Like someone else mentioned, when it comes to the total cost of applications, sometimes ignorance is bliss.

 

[Erik Ross]

Colorado deer4 goat1 moose1 sheep0 antelope0
Idaho DEA
Wyoming every thing except moose, waiting period, sheep 4
Montana sheep goat moose all 5 pts and buff
New Mexico every thing
Nevada everything 3 pts
Utah everything 5-8 pts

 

[Kiwi]

WY - elk, pronghorn and deer
MT - Big game preference point
UT - Deer and elk
CO - Deer, elk and pronghorn and one bear point
OR - Deer and elk

Also buy points for two of my kids in AZ, CO and WY.

This is my 6th year applying and I guess I spend $700 on my applications. My strategy is I have one western hunting trip a year and i like to have 2 tags in my pocket. Adventures in new places and meeting new people is just as important as hunting. Started applying and buying points in UT with the hope of visiting there to hunt an easy draw tag in the next couple of years.

 

[AggieHunter]

I'm also starting at the bottom of the point pool for everywhere so I probably have some long waits ahead, but I could get lucky in one of those .1< sheep odds

 

[Duck-Slayer]

Wyoming- deer, elk, antelope , daughter and myself
Wife - just Antelope

NV - Deer

ID - everything possible x 4

NM - elk for me, deer for both kids

All I can afford with 4 hunters,
Matt

 

[jt4]

Well how about you answer you own question you posed? I have a tough time searching a thread for an answer that should be up in the original post...

I asked bc I’m fairly new to the point process and trying to get an idea of how far ahead I should be planning and what type of cost I’m looking at once I get deeper into it.

As of now I do:
Deer, elk, antelope in Wyoming
Moose in Maine and NH

I think I want to add deer and elk in Montana and at least 1-2 other states and need to start looking into AK for 6-10 years out (admittedly I know ZERO about the AK process right now)