How many points / applications

[Western Traveler1]

Say you apply to a State that requires a $150 license to apply plus App fee of say $10. The tag costs $650 when you finally draw the GMU you want after ten years of applying. That tag is costing you $2250 before you leave home. That is a plausible scenario. You can look at some limited entry areas you want to hunt. Look at the odds of drawing it with various points accumulated. Unless it is a State that awards the tag to the highest point accumulation there still isn’t a guarantee of a tag. Bonus points vs preference points. Kind of a simple explanation.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

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)

AK, ID, and NM are a straight lottery. So don't apply if you can't go that season, no points to worry about.

MT has general tags which take 0-2 pts to draw as a NR, kinda depends. In addition there are certain limited units where you have to get a permit in addition to your general license in order to hunt that location. To get a permit you have to apply in a second lottery, each year you apply you get a pt. Your points are squared and your name goes into the "hat" that many times. Generally speaking when guys on here talk about whether or not they drew MT they are referring to the general tag. If they talk about a specific location, ie Missouri breaks, then they are refereeing to the permit.

Colorado does preference points, meaning you have to have that many points or more to draw a tag. You can pretty much math out when you will draw a tag. With the CO system folks get screwed up because they don't look at how many tags are given out for a unit each year and how many people with more points than them didn't get one. Example. A unit takes 10pts to draw you have 8pts. Each year there are 10 permits for the unit, last year there were 40 people with 9pts who applied. People who aren't paying attention assume I have 8pts, it took 10pts to draw. I will draw in 2 years. This is incorrect. Next year 10 people will draw with 10 pts, the next year 10 people will draw with 11pts, the next year 10 people will draw with 12pts, the next year 10 people will draw with 13pts. So 5 years from now you will have a chance to draw, but it will be a lottery with everyone else with 8pts... say there are 100 people. In my example you have a 1 in 10 chance of drawing in 5 years, not a 100% chance in 2. Therefore you would be better off to apply for a unit that took 7 pts to hunt last year if you want to guarantee you hunt.

UT, WY and a couple other states have a hybrid system where if you put in long enough you will get a tag, but you have at least some chance every year.

 

[nontyp]

There are a couple of threads on this that you might want to checkout.

Most important thing is to have a plan for every point you buy.

I apply across the board in MT with the thought that I might move back in 6- 10 years.

In WY I apply for antelope and Elk. I’m going to hunt elk in the next 2 years with the general tag. Antelope I really want to hunt a red desert unit, any year that I think I could actually go I put in a app and hope for the random draw, if my schedule is crazy I buy a point.

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.

Last every one in awhile I apply in NM or NH.

As far as cost it depends, some states like AK and UT you can apply 2 years on one base license if you play it right, so it varies. I’d say $1000 average... depending on what I draw, if it get a bunch of out of state tags that goes up.

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...

I’m on the fence about the theory of having “a plan”. I do have a plan for some of my applications, but for some of them my only plan is to build points and have some options in 20-30 years when I cash them. The other wildcard is that states change their systems as they mature. I think we can all see the writing on the wall that colorado is ripe for change in the next 5-10 years. So with that in mind even the best laid plans are out the window when the rules get changed in the middle of the game. I guess i’ll continue to blindly build points in some states/species, and have very specific plans for others.

 

[Hawk Tuah]

I put in for:

ID (res) goat (11 years)
CO deer, elk, antelope, sheep, goat, moose (18 years)
MT antelope, sheep, goat (15 years)
NV everything (12 years)
UT everything (14 years)
NM ibex, aoudad (on and off)
WY deer, antelope (12 years)

I have never added up costs to be honest...seems depressing. I added states from when I was 18 through early 20s. Am 36 now. I have drawn and hunted multiple species in ID (elk, moose, bear, antelope), NV (deer, antelope), UT (deer, antelope) and CO (deer, elk, antelope, goat). I have drawn one ewe tag in MT, a bunch of antelope tags in WY and never drawn NM. I figure once I get a tag or two in a state, even if it is just deer or antelope, the payoff is already there and I just patiently wait for a sheep or goat tag that I will likely never draw.

I got into the point game somewhat early for my age, especially for a guy who lived in the midwest until I was 25. I don't regret the money spent. I regret not spending more earlier.

Best time to plant a tree is 10 years ago...second best time is today.

 

[Bgriffith]

So far I put in for or will be putting in for this year:
WA (resident): deer, elk, moose, sheep, goat
AZ: deer, elk, sheep, and maybe sandhill
UT: deer, elk, sheep, goat, Antelope and maybe swan and sandhill
Which leads me to the last one I haven’t figured out yet either
OR: deer, elk, goat, sheep, antelope
And while close everything on preference points and not so sure about that or
NV: deer, elk, antelope, sheep... both would be longer term plans just gotta weight out the odds since one has to pay up front for the license also might do OTC ID deer this year as some friends are going and might tag along. As for the money... well you can’t take it with you and memories are much more valuable then money in my opinion.

 

[wtrfwlhunter]

So far I put in for or will be putting in for this year:
WA (resident): deer, elk, moose, sheep, goat
AZ: deer, elk, sheep, and maybe sandhill
UT: deer, elk, sheep, goat, Antelope and maybe swan and sandhill
Which leads me to the last one I haven’t figured out yet either
OR: deer, elk, goat, sheep, antelope
And while close everything on preference points and not so sure about that or
NV: deer, elk, antelope, sheep... both would be longer term plans just gotta weight out the odds since one has to pay up front for the license also might do OTC ID deer this year as some friends are going and might tag along. As for the money... well you can’t take it with you and memories are much more valuable then money in my opinion.

You have to buy license in Oregon and NV.

 

[.270]

I only really count on getting an AZ coues tag every year everything else is up to chance.
AK: Moose, sheep-only because of my favorite guide, my mom
AZ: Everything. Sitting on 21 turkey points. Even with a lifetime license.
CO: Elk, deer, sheep, pronghorn, even bear.
KY: Elk
NM: Everything. Nice loan I give them every spring.
TX: Exotics, pronghorn, mule deer
UT: Elk, deer, pronghorn, bison, sheep, moose
WY: Elk, deer, pronghorn.
I don't apply anywhere else because I would drive through prime hunting grounds to get there.

 

[Bgriffith]

You have to buy license in Oregon and NV.

Yes, sorry poor choice of words on my part. I meant “one” as in anyone wanting to apply in either Nevada or Oregon. Still new to this

 

[WNC2500]

This is the first year that i ever applied for NM and AZ. Have been hunting in SC for 35 plus years. Have family in MT.

South Carolina: Deer
Montana: Deer, Elk, Antelope, Sheep, Moose
NM: Sheep, Antelope, Elk, Ibex, Rocky Mountain Bighorn
AZ: Elk, Desert Bighorn, Rocky Mountain Bighorn, Bison, Pronghorn, Mule deer