Wyoming Sheep Point Thought

[Bwillig]

Thanks for all your thoughts on this, the only fair way to issue sheep tags is through a random drawing, no preference points, bonus points, or anything else, pure luck of the draw. But the States that instituted the pay for a point system now have grown accustomed to the millions of dollars of revenue and won't eliminate them any time soon, their only hope is to keep the people buying them, while giving everyone else a fair chance at getting a tag.

 

[perma]

Huh?

 

[DFS]

Many tags people apply for including myself aren’t realistic to draw in a lifetime. It would be similar to me buying a Montana cash ticket when the jackpot gets high. I don’t ever expect to win but you never know.

 

[Oak]

Would it be considered age discrimination if, along with a person’s preference points, their age was an added factor to whether a person draws a tag or not? Example: 10 hunters have 24 points and are applying for 1 tag, oldest person is 70 and the youngest is 45. Younger guys may have to wait 9-10 years max to draw, but the 70 year old guy might actually get a chance to hunt before he or she is no longer able? Thoughts? And yes, I do fit into this scenario, although I am closer to 60 than 70!

True preference systems are not sustainable for species such as sheep. Your suggestion is not the type of change we need.

 

[cgasner1]

Would it be considered age discrimination if, along with a person’s preference points, their age was an added factor to whether a person draws a tag or not? Example: 10 hunters have 24 points and are applying for 1 tag, oldest person is 70 and the youngest is 45. Younger guys may have to wait 9-10 years max to draw, but the 70 year old guy might actually get a chance to hunt before he or she is no longer able? Thoughts? And yes, I do fit into this scenario, although I am closer to 60 than 70!

Being old doesn’t entitle you to shit over another person.

 

[Bullshot]

Big fat no, no offense. We ALL should have started sooner. The oldest guys/gals I’d say definitely could have hunted many of these units, perhaps even multiple times, in their younger years had they wanted or tried. But that ship has now sailed for all of us, and we will all end up with undrawn tags and unused points for something. Claiming additional rights to a tag based on age is a non-starter, or should be.

 

[rogerthat]

But we will give you a discount on the application fee. Let’s see….now if we only knew a good name to call that

 

[Bambistew]

I don't see why we don't set aside tags for seniors. We do it for youth...

 

[BuzzH]

Being old doesn’t entitle you to shit over another person.

The social security administration tends to disagree.

 

[BrianID]

I would think age discrimination in the other direction would make more sense. Give the guy who is 25 years old with less points a better chance at the tag than his 5 or 10 points afford him. The young hunters just starting to build points are at a significant disadvantage. The best solution is to run the draw like Idaho or New Mexico. No points, everyone has an equal chance.

An unfortunately fact is that a majority of the sheep tags over the next 10-20 years drawn in most western states will go to senior citizens. Personally I would rather have a better chance at getting a sheep tag when I'm younger and physically able to do the hunt than have a sheep tag when I'm 80 years old and not as physically capable.

 

[Bowhuntrben]

No. Nobody knows what tomorrow brings. The 45 year old could be closer to death than the 70 year old. Giving even more advantage to older folks who were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to get in the game earlier is making a bad system worse.
Personally, I would be much more in favor of a system that allows my children and other future generations to have a better opportunity to draw a tag than worrying about my own chances.

 

[Bwillig]

True preference systems are not sustainable for species such as sheep. Your suggestion is not the type of change we need.

I agree with the fact that it’s not the change we need, my issue has been with the way WGFD has changed the rules in the middle of the game.

 

[littlebighorn]

I saw the writing on the wall immediately when they instigated point systems so I threw my hat into every State I could afford. I have since drawn all that I started on the ground floor with.
Now I wish I would have started in every state and every species. I also started putting my son in for points as soon as he was able in the same states. He has also drawn all but one yet he is not old. I hate standing in line and having someone butt in the line in front of me. It sucks to get old (I know from experience), but stepping in front of someone younger is still butting in line. no bueno!

 

[Oak]

I agree with the fact that it’s not the change we need, my issue has been with the way WGFD has changed the rules in the middle of the game.

I get it. You’re talking to a guy with 21 worthless WY sheep points and 21 worthless WY moose points. But giving one customer group additional preferences not the solution. I think it’s hard for some people to understand that preference points guarantee you nothing, including that the game will have the same rules forever. If they are going to make further changes to benefit those who are drawing dead right now, I would prefer they convert PP to bonus points or set aside a portion of the NR statewide quota (vs unit specific) for a random draw. Or they can choose to do nothing.

 

[Bwillig]

No. Nobody knows what tomorrow brings. The 45 year old could be closer to death than the 70 year old. Giving even more advantage to older folks who were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to get in the game earlier is making a bad system worse.
Personally, I would be much more in favor of a system that allows my children and other future generations to have a better opportunity to draw a tag than worrying about my own chances.

I have given up on having nonresident hunting available for my son. Every state is getting more and more difficult to draw for nonresidents, not to mention the extremely high tag fees that continue to escalate. Fortunately for him, he now resides in Arizona and might get opportunities to hunt there in the future.

 

[Bwillig]

Big fat no, no offense. We ALL should have started sooner. The oldest guys/gals I’d say definitely could have hunted many of these units, perhaps even multiple times, in their younger years had they wanted or tried. But that ship has now sailed for all of us, and we will all end up with undrawn tags and unused points for something. Claiming additional rights to a tag based on age is a non-starter, or should be.

No offense taken! That’s why I put this out there, to see what others think. I personally started buying the points when WGFD started offering them for $7 as a purchase only, no chance of drawing. The odds back then were probably better than they are now, but with the wilderness law and guide requirement, I was unable to afford the whole package. I had just gotten to the point of being able to draw an area 5 tag when they cut the tags from 25% to 10%, now there are less than half of the tags available there for us nonresidents.

 

[BuzzH]

I have given up on having nonresident hunting available for my son. Every state is getting more and more difficult to draw for nonresidents, not to mention the extremely high tag fees that continue to escalate. Fortunately for him, he now resides in Arizona and might get opportunities to hunt there in the future.

Invest in his education. Make great money and you don't have to even apply in a state draw to hunt the best animals in the West every year.

A surgeon living in Chicago is going to hunt the best every year, no applying required.

Just the way it is.

 

[JM77]

Wyoming has a couple of solutions out there to at least give NR the same or better chance than the rest of the states that have moose/sheep tags available. The problem is there are only a scant few that understand points and the misinformed have muddied the waters to a point that legislators are too gun shy to do anything.

 

[Bwillig]

Being old doesn’t entitle you to shit over another person.

No, you are right it doesn’t, but being wealthy shouldn’t mean you have a better chance at drawing a tag either, but that is the direction WGFD seems to be going.

 

[rjthehunter]

No, you are right it doesn’t, but being wealthy shouldn’t mean you have a better chance at drawing a tag either, but that is the direction WGFD seems to be going.

Money talks. Always has, and probably always will. Just look at the special draw in Wyoming.