Long term hunt planning

[dmarsh2]

As I'm sure is quite common around here, I'm well into the planning / preparation phase for the 2025 season. I have general ideas in place, concepts of a plan, if you will, but I typically second-guess myself for a while before finally committing - and a recurrent lack of success in the elk woods makes this a bit more challenging for me. Starting this process brought up some question as to how this typically goes for some of you more seasoned / veteran hunters. Do you know your application strategy for next year? the next five years? how far out are you planning, and how do you make those decisions / commit to those plans? If you've never hunted an X-point unit, how do you make the (quite large) commitment to cash in? Does the 'exploration' component of learning and experiencing new areas go against the urge to return to a spot you've figured out, where you're confident you can get into elk/deer/etc.?

Some additional insight on my reasoning for this post - I'm officially 0/5 on years of elk hunting, with several of those years involving two tags in separate seasons. I'm sitting on 4 points, and at this point I'm tempted to burn the 4 points (hunting archery, debating 1st rifle) and if nothing else, I'll then have an opportunity to go after 0-point or 1-point units more frequently in the following years. Just hoping for some general discussion to kick around ideas mull over my options.

 

[Bullshot]

Your only plan needs to be to break that slump! LOL.

Your annual strategy should be to always try for/plan for a desirable hunt you can do that year, balanced against longer term planning 2, 5, and 10+ years down the road. App strategy is not about settling, its about aspiring!

For example, build points for several
species in several states. Apply for some random draw hi-demand / low odds hunts in places that offer, but expect to not draw. Simltaneously, choose the best hunt or hunts you can get with some of the points you have each year. Study the odds/statistics so you know when to expect to draw those. Hedge your bets, assume point creep will bite an additional point every year. The trick is to know the difference between hunts you could draw (and the odds) and hunts you will draw, since anything you draw will place a fix on parts of your itinerary/calendar. Be very careful with application timing and season timing so you don’t double or over book yourself. Its OK to put some hunts on the back burner and only apply for points in places to allow those other states/species to accumulate points. More points never hurts. Have an OTC or 2nd choice backup plan only for when all else fails, as those are probably the toughest hunts (success % wise). In short, these days you probably need to have several (more like 5-10) planning “tracks” going simultaneously to ensure you can hunt something, somewhere, each year. Excel spreadsheets can be your friend.

 

[cgasner1]

This is just my personal ramblings on the subject. Your points be it bonus or preference I look at it as a 401k for my hunting. Idk when I will wanna elk hunt Colorado again but I have 4 points for when I do. Without them it really limits your options. If I was at ground zero again I’d get a Gohunt membership and study the states draw application process. Knowledge is power with this some states will just flat be a waste of time. Once you’re familiar with that you can decide what states to donate money to and what species you want to hunt. If you look at this in any other way than a charitable donation to states wildlife your not gonna enjoy this. I’d look at these numbers and how the draw works very carefully. You honestly may decide your better off just saving money and buying/paying for trips every 5 years than chasing points. My strategy when I started this was 10 apps with 50% success at draw hoping for a tag every other year. As the points go up we apply for different units to try and keep those numbers. That was when we only applied in like 5 states now I’m running about 9.

 

[Aerosith]

As I'm sure is quite common around here, I'm well into the planning / preparation phase for the 2025 season. I have general ideas in place, concepts of a plan, if you will, but I typically second-guess myself for a while before finally committing - and a recurrent lack of success in the elk woods makes this a bit more challenging for me. Starting this process brought up some question as to how this typically goes for some of you more seasoned / veteran hunters. Do you know your application strategy for next year? the next five years? how far out are you planning, and how do you make those decisions / commit to those plans? If you've never hunted an X-point unit, how do you make the (quite large) commitment to cash in? Does the 'exploration' component of learning and experiencing new areas go against the urge to return to a spot you've figured out, where you're confident you can get into elk/deer/etc.?

Some additional insight on my reasoning for this post - I'm officially 0/5 on years of elk hunting, with several of those years involving two tags in separate seasons. I'm sitting on 4 points, and at this point I'm tempted to burn the 4 points (hunting archery, debating 1st rifle) and if nothing else, I'll then have an opportunity to go after 0-point or 1-point units more frequently in the following years. Just hoping for some general discussion to kick around ideas mull over my options.

0/5 years of elk hunting is rough to say the least. If I were you I would be more concerned about how to hunt, find, and kill any elk than planning what to do with points.
Find a set of units in multiple states that are relatively easy to draw tags in that meet your goals and go hunt. Some states like AZ, UT, NV, and NM might be your big bull states but others like WY, CO, MT, ID, and OR are great options for short to mid term. To be quite honest I'm personally not chasing top units in any state out there, you can and will kill bigger bulls in units that you can hunt more often than waiting for a once in a lifetime tag most of the time.

 

[LCH]

My strategy is to keep a reserve of PTO and throw as many applications out as is sensible. You’ll get a few lucky draws, and eventually accumulate enough points to draw some tags predictably. After about 10 years, I now have way more options than time for drawing hunts. You have to keep your expectations realistic though, forget about the highly publicized glory tags and shoot for solid mid-tier hunts. Fill in the gaps with OTC opportunities.

 

[RunNGunSC]

Lady luck decides my annual western big game hunt. I build points based on hunting cool animals in cool places. I’m in it for the adventure and the meat. My shotgun strategy is largely based on the law of averages. I throw out enough applications that one should hit. Typically there are one or two applications with good draw odds. I pay close attention to application dates, modification dates, and withdrawal/refund dates. Even if I hit one of the easier applications, I continue to apply for glory tags because you never know.

 

[Bullshot]

You honestly may decide your better off just saving money and buying/paying for trips every 5 years than chasing points.

This is absolutely true if you have a singular goal in mind… say for example you want to predictably hunt elk in NM. The economics of planning an outfitted or landowner tag hunt can be pretty black and white -vs- applying all over or hoarding points at thousands of dollars each year potentially. But in my view, it loses some of the sense of adventure and daydream about the myriad possibilities. I don’t save or bank on any known hunt, but do apply and gain points lots of places. The end result is that I probably spend as much if not more on all that then the focused every 5-10 year outfitted guy who only wants that one thing. And I may NEVER draw a tag in NM for example. But I also might. And lots of other places too. The very best strategy is to do both/all, but it takes an additional lot of $$$$. So I and probably most people just elect to choose the daydream method vs a well-planned itinerary.

 

[cgasner1]

This is absolutely true if you have a singular goal in mind… say for example you want to predictably hunt elk in NM. The economics of planning an outfitted or landowner tag hunt can be pretty black and white -vs- applying all over or hoarding points at thousands of dollars each year potentially. But in my view, it loses some of the sense of adventure and daydream about the myriad possibilities. I don’t save or bank on any known hunt, but do apply and gain points lots of places. The end result is that I probably spend as much if not more on all that then the focused every 5-10 year outfitted guy who only wants that one thing. And I may NEVER draw a tag in NM for example. But I also might. And lots of other places too. The very best strategy is to do both/all, but it takes an additional lot of $$$$. So I and probably most people just elect to choose the daydream method vs a well-planned itinerary.

I pretty much run the day dream method but I’ve pulled tags with it. Also had it result in hiring a guide once so you never know. I do really think people should study what the states are doing. To do t out tags before they start playing

 

[BuzzH]

Here's my take. The biggest mistake most people make is not taking advantage of what you CAN hunt, right now.

The reason for that is because many for sure, turn into either draw only or in some cases never agains.

I regret very little, but the things I do are not doing even more than I did taking advantage of the for sure deals.

Examples:

Hunting grizzly bear in Montana when it was an otc tag.

Hunting Caribou when it was good.

Hunting unlimited sheep before the bro hunters hit the scene.

Buying OTC whitetail tags in Idaho.

Trying harder to trap a wolverine in Montana.

Lots more to add to the list and lots more that are rapidly disappearing.

Can't complain as I've also taken advantage of many opportunities for a long time.

I say mix in the day dreaming with the for sure deals while the getting is good.

 

[SAJ-99]

Some additional insight on my reasoning for this post - I'm officially 0/5 on years of elk hunting, with several of those years involving two tags in separate seasons. I'm sitting on 4 points, and at this point I'm tempted to burn the 4 points (hunting archery, debating 1st rifle) and if nothing else, I'll then have an opportunity to go after 0-point or 1-point units more frequently in the following years. Just hoping for some general discussion to kick around ideas mull over my options.

I got you beat on elk. It's a matter of determining how much you enjoy the hunt vs. killing something as success of the hunt. You can easily hunt a cow elk on a regular basis. If you want a bull or an opportunity at a bull it is harder. Here is way to think about it from a statistical point of view. Applying for 10 hunts with a 4% chance at success increases your odds to about 33%. So there is a good chance that 1 of 3 years you will draw one of those 10 tags. You can increase odds if you increase $$$$ -i.e. outfitter tags.

 

[nontyp]

As I'm sure is quite common around here, I'm well into the planning / preparation phase for the 2025 season. I have general ideas in place, concepts of a plan, if you will, but I typically second-guess myself for a while before finally committing - and a recurrent lack of success in the elk woods makes this a bit more challenging for me. Starting this process brought up some question as to how this typically goes for some of you more seasoned / veteran hunters. Do you know your application strategy for next year? the next five years? how far out are you planning, and how do you make those decisions / commit to those plans? If you've never hunted an X-point unit, how do you make the (quite large) commitment to cash in? Does the 'exploration' component of learning and experiencing new areas go against the urge to return to a spot you've figured out, where you're confident you can get into elk/deer/etc.?

Some additional insight on my reasoning for this post - I'm officially 0/5 on years of elk hunting, with several of those years involving two tags in separate seasons. I'm sitting on 4 points, and at this point I'm tempted to burn the 4 points (hunting archery, debating 1st rifle) and if nothing else, I'll then have an opportunity to go after 0-point or 1-point units more frequently in the following years. Just hoping for some general discussion to kick around ideas mull over my options.

Have you been hunting rifle or archery? Are you a resident? I don’t think your experience is unusual. I generally like to hunt and explore different places each year, but that certainly isn’t a great strategy for improving harvest success. If the goal is to kill one I’d say rifle season and hunting the same units repeatedly would work to your advantage.

I participate in lots of draws to keep my options open now and in the future. I usually don’t have a solid plan for each year. I just hope that a combination of luck and points will get me a decent tag or two.

 

[Kiwi]

My strategy is really determined by the fact I only get to do one western US hunt a year as I need to travel from New Zealand. I guess it’s similar to anyone with a lot of travel costs.

I have a spreadsheet with all my points and yearly tentative hunts that use up all my points. I’m at a point now where I am dropping off states where I buy points once they are used up.

Each Dec - Jan I try and select a ‘guranteed’ hunt that I am sure I can draw. For example this year it’s CO deer and I will apply with 3 more points than last year. Then I’ll plan, and book travel etc, assuming I do draw.

Then I apply for secondary hunts that are very low odds but which I would be happy to change all my plans if I did draw or fit it with my ‘guaranteed’ hunt. I have never managed to draw a low odds hunt that meant I cancelled my guaranteed hunt, but I have added bonus hunts eg I drew a pronghorn last year at 8% odds.

 

[Pagosa]

There was a statistic I heard as a kid that an "average" elk hunter kills an elk every 7 years. So hopefully this year you are successful. I would personally go with 1st rifle (Colorado I assume) if you only have a week to hunt. If you have 10-14 days available and willing to hunt that long I would try archery if you are proficient with a bow and arrow. Your odds are pretty typical for someone starting out elk hunting. On average success ranges from 5-15% on bulls in most typical elk units, probably double that on limited draw hunts. There are guys that hunt 20-30 days a season and don’t fill a tag, bc they have high standards, want to be out of the house, enjoy it, etc.
Hopefully you have a successful hunt this fall and draw the tag of your choice.

 

[Deckerp]

As a Colorado resident, at this point in my life (2 youngish kids), the in-state annual opportunities generally exceed my time opportunities. As such I have yet to start looking seriously to out of state tags and building points - especially with the cost discrepancies in resident v non res tags - BUT I feel like there will come a time when I may deeply regret this. 5 or even 10 years is starting to go by awfully fast.

 

[dmarsh2]

Your only plan needs to be to break that slump! LOL.

Got it - that's officially my only plan! Luckily mule deer has proven to be much better odds, so it's not complete misery

 

[dmarsh2]

This is just my personal ramblings on the subject. Your points be it bonus or preference I look at it as a 401k for my hunting.

That's a great perspective, and it only slightly conflicts with my actual 401k

 

[Trap]

I dont really believe in the shotgun approach of applying in as many states as possible. I understand that some people like the new country and adventures that applying everywhere brings. If you want more consistent success I firmly believe you will have more success and sooner sticking to preferably otc tags that you can hunt every year. If you cant get tags otc in your home or other states find an easy to draw area or areas. My experience is knowledge of an area leads to more success than trying to draw the "good" tags and re-learning an entirely new area every year. I hunt my home state (same areas) and apply for one other state where I used to live and have family. As a result we have no problem filling all or most of our tags every year. I would also consider hunting animals besides elk in those areas. Hunt lions, coyotes, bears, wolves if available in those areas. I hunt one of the most crowded areas in my state that is right by my house but still find Elk every year and I would attribute that to lion hunting with my dogs in the winter and then bear in the spring. Add in hunting coyotes and wolves(otc cheap nr tags in Idaho) and you have a very good understanding what ALL the animals are doing in that area. Pick one or two areas and focus on consistently hunting those. Hunt that area for predators, most states have liberal seasons and less expensive tags for predators. My experience is you will do better learning an area by consistently hunting it rather than a spray and pray application strategy. Quit e scouting and making excel spread sheets and govhunt an area consistently. Best way to spend time in a unit is to hunt predators and it will sometimes open doors to landowners who want them hunted. I get the fun of gambling on and dreaming of glory tags but with the overwhelmed draw systems its a ponsi scheme in some states. Pick 1 max 2 state draws so you still have that chance but you could save the rest of that application money to buy gas and go hunting. I would say quit planning and figure out how to hunt more and in same areas.

 

[dmarsh2]

Have you been hunting rifle or archery? Are you a resident? I don’t think your experience is unusual. I generally like to hunt and explore different places each year, but that certainly isn’t a great strategy for improving harvest success. If the goal is to kill one I’d say rifle season and hunting the same units repeatedly would work to your advantage.

I participate in lots of draws to keep my options open now and in the future. I usually don’t have a solid plan for each year. I just hope that a combination of luck and points will get me a decent tag or two.

It's been a mix, actually. First three seasons were rifle and last two were archery. I've been at it solo, so the learning opportunities don't come as quickly. The archery hunt has consumed my soul though, and I came extremely close to letting an arrow fly this year - had it not been for a pine tree that picked the worst spot possible to plant its roots.. I've also been pursuing a pretty poor unit in terms of elk #s and hunter success, but it's an awesome area that I love to spend time in & explore, so it hasn't been time wasted. However, the few elk encounters I've had thus far have me itching to move into another area that might not be as cool but has more elk.

I'm a resident (CO), and my current plan involves building points for every game animal in the state. There are a few other states/game animals I'd love to pursue, but I only just finished grad school this year and the pile of expendable cash isn't very large yet, though I'll be pursuing a similar strategy as those mentioned here once that gets taken care of.

 

[dmarsh2]

As a Colorado resident, at this point in my life (2 youngish kids), the in-state annual opportunities generally exceed my time opportunities. As such I have yet to start looking seriously to out of state tags and building points - especially with the cost discrepancies in resident v non res tags - BUT I feel like there will come a time when I may deeply regret this. 5 or even 10 years is starting to go by awfully fast.

It definitely resonates with the "401k" discussions above. Quite an investment, and that feels a bit difficult to commit to. While I don't have any kids, I do feel like I'm trying to save up for a home at possibly one of the worst times in history.

 

[cgasner1]

It definitely resonates with the "401k" discussions above. Quite an investment, and that feels a bit difficult to commit to. While I don't have any kids, I do feel like I'm trying to save up for a home at possibly one of the worst times in history.

I look at it like idk when I wanna retire so I put money into it. I also don’t know when I’ll wanna hunt Wyoming but I got 12 elk points. It all takes time and money. If the goal is just to flat fill tags keep hunting the unit you are the success odds are low but if you learn it well enough you’ll be one of the successful guys every year. If you want to have an adventure start studying how things work outside of Colorado. I will also echo what these guys said some of the best tags you can get are still a hard hunt when you have only been there on onX. But a lot of knowledge you gain from hard otc units will transfer over its still just a elk.