Long term application strategy

[MTGomer]

Mine is to throw about of chit at the wall and someday something will stick.

 

[hearteater]

Generally I agree with the gist of your statement. I do think you may be a little extreme though. AZ, WY, MT and CO will almost certainly have some tags available at 12pts. The MT and WY general tags are decent tags, and today, while they aren’t the top tier, 12pts will give you a good hunt in AZ and CO. I would guess that barring some SERIOUS changes, in twelve years, you could still pull tags at 12pts in AZ and CO, they just won’t be the same as today(but in CO 12pts is kinda no mans land anyway).

Honestly 12 points in AZ will draw you a late season archery or rifle now but probably not in 12 years and most those hunts are definitely not worth 12 years license fees plus tag fee. Colorado... 12 years after all the crazy legislation this year (wolves being introduced, crushing the deer late season) I wouldn’t tell anyone with a straight face that’s a good investment. I agree with sentiment of raffle tags or I really think saving for a good hunt is a better option for his circumstances.

 

[ImBillT]

Honestly 12 points in AZ will draw you a late season archery or rifle now but probably not in 12 years and most those hunts are definitely not worth 12 years license fees plus tag fee. Colorado... 12 years after all the crazy legislation this year (wolves being introduced, crushing the deer late season) I wouldn’t tell anyone with a straight face that’s a good investment. I agree with sentiment of raffle tags or I really think saving for a good hunt is a better option for his circumstances.

Well...I’m more optimistic than you.

 

[glennw89]

Folks, appreciate the continued discussion. I also appreciate the encouragement to live for now. Trust me, if you knew the times I've shelved "financial prudence" for "adventure" over the past 20 years you would know I fully embrace that!

My work schedule as a high school teacher is fixed and offers zero opportunity for unpaid leave, etc. during the fall. The longest stretch of time I have off during the fall is 3 days at Canadian Thanksgiving in early October.

That said, I big game (whitetail deer typically) hunt pretty much every available weekend day from the beginning of October till the middle of December so I'm fortunate to get a lot of time afield - just not long multi-day hunts and not in far flung locales.

Our Ontario deer bow season runs October 1 - December 15 with a two week rifle season at the beginning of November and a one week muzzleloader season in early December. If I get very lucky and draw a tag, elk and moose seasons are at the end of September and early October respectively - but those odds are long. When the border is open (COVID-19 sucks ...) I also take advantage of a long New York Northern Zone rifle season to hunt the Adirondacks from late October to early December.

My wife is fully supportive of this and in order to achieve some balance I make sure to typically spend Christmas/Spring Break/Summer with her backpacking, skiing, rock climbing, etc. somewhere - we've been all over North American, Nepal, etc. doing these activities - although some of the late summer or Christmas Break hunts suggested are certainly not out of the question.

Even if having ~12 points is only going to get me an average tag for elk/deer, I'm ok with that. Really it is just about the opportunity to hunt these landscapes. I've also actually enjoyed the research process and each additional year of points is another marker toward eventual retirement.

I also hear the suggestions to simply save and buy a guided hunt - but I do pretty much everything outdoors self-guided (save the stuff that requires highly specialized safety knowledge [e.g. avalanche safety] where I simply don't spend enough time in the mountains to master).

 

[ImBillT]

Folks, appreciate the continued discussion. I also appreciate the encouragement to live for now. Trust me, if you knew the times I've shelved "financial prudence" for "adventure" over the past 20 years you would know I fully embrace that!

My work schedule as a high school teacher is fixed and offers zero opportunity for unpaid leave, etc. during the fall. The longest stretch of time I have off during the fall is 3 days at Canadian Thanksgiving in early October.

That said, I big game (whitetail deer typically) hunt pretty much every available weekend day from the beginning of October till the middle of December so I'm fortunate to get a lot of time afield - just not long multi-day hunts and not in far flung locales.

Our Ontario deer bow season runs October 1 - December 15 with a two week rifle season at the beginning of November and a one week muzzleloader season in early December. If I get very lucky and draw a tag, elk and moose seasons are at the end of September and early October respectively - but those odds are long. When the border is open (COVID-19 sucks ...) I also take advantage of a long New York Northern Zone rifle season to hunt the Adirondacks from late October to early December.

My wife is fully supportive of this and in order to achieve some balance I make sure to typically spend Christmas/Spring Break/Summer with her backpacking, skiing, rock climbing, etc. somewhere - we've been all over North American, Nepal, etc. doing these activities - although some of the late summer or Christmas Break hunts suggested are certainly not out of the question.

Even if having ~12 points is only going to get me an average tag for elk/deer, I'm ok with that. Really it is just about the opportunity to hunt these landscapes. I've also actually enjoyed the research process and each additional year of points is another marker toward eventual retirement.

I also hear the suggestions to simply save and buy a guided hunt - but I do pretty much everything outdoors self-guided (save the stuff that requires highly specialized safety knowledge [e.g. avalanche safety] where I simply don't spend enough time in the mountains to master).

American teachers complain all the time and believe you me, in TX they can take a week off to hunt once or twice a decade.

According to that which is foreseeable, you will be able to hunt elk in all four states you’ve chosen twelve years from now. The unforeseeable can always happen.

Montana requires that you try to actually get a license within three years of buying a point, so unless I misunderstand it(which is highly possible) you will actually lose your points after four years whether you went hunting or not. For that reason, it’s important that you play Montana correctly. I wouldn’t start buying points this year, but I would monitor their regs closely in case of changes between now and twelve years from now.

 

[338win]

This my long term strategy applying all over the US.

 

[WapitiBob]

Buy the points, they're cheap. Span 2 years with the UT and AZ licenses. Don't get too twisted about wolves, we haven't lost a single tag because of them and only two of nine units weren't above their pre wolf Elk numbers in the last report.

And do as Elkfever said, figure out how to hunt now. There is plenty of opportunity in August.