This chit is getting expensive...

[justdada]

Now that the first round of applications are sent in, I was wondering how many of you are getting as "invested" as I am in the annual tag lottery.

With AK, WY, AZ and UT taken care of, now I have CO, NV, MN, ID, and MT left to fund in a couple months. By the time they are all sent out, I'll have more money out there than I spent on 7 years of college!
AND next year is set to be even more expensive, with Utah and Wyoming adjusting their fees.

Of course the years of "donations" will all be worth it when I draw, but I dare not tell the wife how much I actually spend (and no, I don't lie. She doesn't ask, and I don't tell).
So, who else is in this perpetual cycle of applying for 30-35 tags a year, hoping to draw one at best?

 

[MNHunter]

I'm in the same boat as you, save for the AK apps. Tis getting spendy and i too hope the wife never asks!

 

[mtmiller]

I am only in for around 20 and that includes points and MT resident.

So far only into
AK for $100
NM for $6
UT gets my money next month
WY gets my money in March
NM and CO get some more of my money in April
MT gets my money in June
SD gets my money in July

Really not too bad...unless I draw too many...doubt that will be a problem...

 

[Big Fin]

I am a CPA, so inherently, I had to do the math to see how insane this process is. I am not going to state the amount here, as you guys already know how expensive it is.

Fortunately, I have a 16 year-old son for a hunting partner. Unfortuantely, that doubles to cost of this process. Wife spares no expense on her son, so he provides me some cover when she asks how much this operation is costing us.

Chronologically, it looks like this:

WY - elk, deer, antelope, moose points
UT - bison, antelope for me, elk for my son
AZ - licenses, elk, deer, antelope, sheep
NM - elk, antelope, sheep
CO - ek, deer
NV - licenses, elk, deer, antelope, three sheep species
ID - licenses, moose for me, deer and elk for my son
MT - resident licenses, moose, goat, sheep, special elk, special deer, and antelope
IA - deer points
KS - deer points

As far as too many tags in the same year, it can happen. In 2005, we drew 3 special elk tags. In 2004, we had CO & WY antelope hunts and 1 special elk tag. It was very busy, but a lot of fun. If only I had that problem every year. After all, we apply with the intent to draw, don't we?

If you have kids, a lot of these states make it pretty cheap for kids to get involved. ID lets my son hunt deer for about what it costs him as an MT resident. NM has some great youth hunts. WY has much lower prices for kids.

The other benefit is that when you get drawn and they clean out your points, then you can party apply with your kid and move half-way back up the point ladder. If he or she complains, tell them, "Too bad. I paid for those points, so now you're gonna' share them with me."

Good luck in the draws.

 

[mtmiller]

The other benefit is that when you get drawn and they clean out your points, then you can party apply with your kid and move half-way back up the point ladder. If he o she complains, tell them, "Too bad. I paid for those points, so now you gonna' share them with me."

Crap, there is a perk to having kids. I might have to look into that again.

 

[Washington Hunter]

Crap, there is a perk to having kids. I might have to look into that again.

LOL Have you ever considered putting your dog in for points?

Me, I think I've come up with a plan for this year. Not doing Wyoming, but if I have some extra cash in July or whenever that is, I may buy points for deer, elk, and antelope. I will be putting in for deer and elk in Idaho. If I don't draw, I will buy a general deer tag and spend a week (or more) in Idaho. I will put in for deer, elk, and antelope in Oregon, as usual, and hopefully will not draw anything there. Then for Washington I plan on hunting Roosevelt elk for the entire 10 day rifle season, and deer whenever I can squeeze in a day or two, probably for blacktails, because I'll likely be in Idaho during our mule deer season. Course this could all change when Washington draw results come out. I'll be in for special permits for deer, elk, moose, and bighorn sheep.

 

[Moosie]

I would tell you what I put in for but I don't know... Idaho Bugler has my Credit card # and all my Social security and Date of Birth info.... He handles it all and All I know is we do something cool every year

 

[1_pointer]

Lots of folks have been discussing the rising price of applying recently. In the long run, do you fellas think it will make the odds any better? I'm not sure that it will enough to matter.

 

[IdahoBugler]

The prices are getting ridicules and once I draw some the states that I have a bunch of points for I'll probably be done. I usually put in for around 24 permits. Moosie and I put in together for about 18. He's the lucky one in the draws and hopefully this year he'll pull out some of the luck again. If we don't draw we usually try to find something to kill.

 

[justdada]

IDB, I'm with you at this point.
Once I draw on a couple of my high pref points tags, I will stop applying for them. At that point, the cost will be too great to justify waiting another 20 years.
IF I draw one choice tag a year (yeah right), what I put in for now should last into my 60's. Then maybe I'll do a bit more fishing...

 

[Washington Hunter]

Lots of folks have been discussing the rising price of applying recently. In the long run, do you fellas think it will make the odds any better? I'm not sure that it will enough to matter.

I don't think it will improve odds noticeably. What we need is for the price of gasoline to go up to at least 5 bucks/gallon. I think that woud decrease the number of applicants dramatically. Too bad Bush can't run for another term. With him in office, higher gas prices would be guaranteed.