Western Hunting preference points
General Topic
Stealing some of the idea from another thread....I've never hunted out west and am really loving the idea of doing it within the next few years, and am loving the idea of building points now for those dream hunts years down the road. If you were to start building preference points when you were 30 years old for hunts out west (Alaska included if need be), which states and species should I be applying for now?
My advice would be to come up with a budget and a ranking species you want to hunt. It can get pretty expensive in a hurry if you use the shotgun approach.
I’m an elk nut so Id start buying elk points in Colorado and Wyoming. I’d start applying to gain points in some eastern states too like Pennsylvania and Kentucky.
My list is handy $900-1000 out of pocket every year. 6 years ago it cost me $800. Some of the states have changed their point system and this upped the total some but don't really know how much. This would be my preference of order. 1)Colorado 2)Wyoming 3)Montana 4)Arizona 5)Utah 6)Nevada You could drop the last three off your list to save roughly $400. Pretty long odds or fairly long waits for all 3.
Mostly I'm looking just for elk and sheep hunts, I should've clarified this in the beginning.
I plan on doing as many OTC hunts for elk, pronghorn, and mule deer before I ever expect to have enough preference points to be drawn for any of the hard to draw tags. Also, does anyone have a link to a good site, or a good book that's been written recently on applying and preference points, etc. Just looking through state by state websites it starts to get overwhelming and unorganized for me.
Agree with the above advice, establish some expectations for what you want to hunt and where.
If you're looking at sheep/mt. goat/moose, you're better off saving $ to buy a guided hunt someday, in my opinion. I've been in the points game for 10 years for sheep and goats and I'm no closer to drawing than when I started.
As above, I think Colorado and Wyoming give a good bank for the buck for elk and mule deer. And Wyoming antelope is a good idea too.
Agree with above post with one difference. Colorado, build 1-8 points and use them. Decent Deer and elk hunts can be had in that range. Many more than that is a waste of years and money. In Colorado It will take you 30 years to get the quality available in Wyoming with 10 points. Of course it can all change in 10 years.
Unfortunately, I think the state websites are a necessary evil. Things change from year to year and relying on a book/article from even the prior year could be outdated. For instance, just last year CO switched to no longer requiring tag fees to be paid upfront. A couple years before that, Arizona changed how they allocate tags to max point holders.
Some websites are better than others, I think both Colorado and Wyoming's websites are pretty good. In my opinion, Montana's is pretty poor and their application process is nonsense, so I refuse to apply there. That just leaves more tags/animals for you MT guys to chase.
I’m starting to think buying landowner tags might have been cheaper and easier.
I don’t know of an all in one book or YouTube video but Gohunt and Randy Newberg have done pieces and parts. It really isn’t as complicated as it seems, but there are some tips and tricks to save a little bit of money.
You also need to decide whether representative animals of the species are fine with you or whether you are looking to have a chance at a pretty nice sized animal of that species. Some states are noticeably better than others for the different species, but they are also much harder to draw.
OP, try gohunt.com.
You will never draw a sheep tag. Wyoming and Colorado are good states to apply in.
For elk, one state to avoid is Utah. They have really crappy timing for the archery hunt and very limited tags...that take a long time to get. I lucked out once and drew as a NR with 4 points.
With that said, you'll have steep random draw odds to beat and it doesn't cost too much for applying. Averages out to $45/year.
Wyoming (general elk) AZ (elk and deer) and UT (just about everything) would be my choice. No chance I would do CO for elk, but I would for deer. NV is too long of odds for any real chance. I would possibly look at NM for elk.
Another idea would be to save all the money you would loose to point scheme and buy a great tag every 10 years or so. I spend almost a $1000 a year for my points and could buy a great tag for 5-8 k for elk.
I have done the point game for over 20 years and have points in AZ, CO, UT, WY and NV.
Good luck with what ever you decide.
To follow up on some of these posts...I though to even buy a tag or a guided hunt in some states where I'd be putting in for preference points you still had to win the tag? Is this not the case? This is one of the reasons I included sheep hunts is bc I thought you still had to draw a tag to be able to even go on the hunt even if it was guided. If that's not the case, I have no problem kicking that out of my list of preference points to buy in order to save $ and spend the money once in my life to go on a guided hunt.
And with the chances of narrowing it down, say with a budget of $4-500/year for mule deer and elk I should be able to put in for quite a few states right?
In the lower 48 the only way to get a sheep tag. Is auction, raffle or state drawings.
What everyone is referring to for landowner tags applies to predominantly elk, antelope and deer. Mainly in New Mexico and Colorado, but also includes Nevada and maybe Utah.
If you applied for every western state for every species you are going to spend roughly $2k a year. Plus you will have to float about $8 to $10k in tag money that you will get back when you don't draw.
Wow. I had no idea. That makes more sense now of why so many of you say to narrow it down!
I still don’t see the value of points in CO. Starting from scratch you’ll never draw anything over what is now a 6 pt unit. If your into 2-3 or units than go for it. Mid tier units in Arizona are worth it IMO. NM has no points but you have a chance. There are some other states out there of value and I guess with CO new system points are cheap but don’t plan on drawing a good tag while you’re young enough to give it a go.
after being in the points game for 15 years i am cashing them all in asap and just going to landowner tags where available. cheaper in the long run imo.
I am by no means a fan of the Colorado change, but it will be interesting when people realize they potentially have to pay $30 to $50 for those points how many people will stick with it. I also believe that those prices will go up and eliminate many folks.
One thing with preference points is they are just like time.......once a year is gone you will never get a chance to get it back, and with all of the changes you just never know how it will pan out.
Look at all the guys with max points in AZ that just kept saying "next year" I will try and draw that tag. I bet most are kicking themselves for that now.
Just try to digest the difference between bonus points and preference points. More mud in the permit water.
Colorado mule deer archery is a great hunt that can be had with just a couple points. But, I personally wouldn’t waste my time and money trying to draw a upper elk unit there.
I’d focus on Wyoming and Montana for that. You could apply for a Wyoming and Montana elk point for $75 plus fees. Now that you have to basically have them for a gaurantee opportunity as a nonresident, it’s simply a down payment in the amount you likely blow on unnessecary things in the course of a couple weeks.
Here is the best solution for western hunting-
#1: Move out west, NOW! residency helps a lot!
#2 Make more money! (if you ever want to hunt sheep, or modify #1 to Alaska, BC, YT, NWT)
Get out and hunt!!!!! Elk hunt on general tags in co, mt, and wy until you find an area that fits your style of hunting. Then go thier and learn it and after a couple trips you’ll b killing stuff regular. Might take you 10 years. Took me 15 to find it but I now have those places set. If you like 300” bulls the mid tier units in az are worth it and u will b able to use the deer tag eventually. Apply in nm. It costs you nothing. Apply late archery season in the 16 units. It will b worth your time when u draw. As far as the big 3 are concerned? Start saving and go on a trip when you want to hunt. I have 15+ points in az, Utah, co, wy, and Nevada and put in for the draws every year and have yet to pull a tag. Probably will some day but maybe not. My application strategy costs me $1300 non refundable a year.
I took the advice of most on here and did WY elk, deer, and antelope. Are there any other states still open as of now to purchase preference points?
prodefiant. You done good. I am not aware of any other states where you can buy points this late in the year. Most states you have to buy PP's at application time. Many good pointers above. My best advice is get yourself a "hunting fund". Many states require full payment at the time of application, and then return the balance (minus PP fee) a few months later. You can definitely hurt your savings account while waiting for reimbursement. January starts the application season and research. I cannot speak highly enough regarding Randy Newberg YouTube videos on each state application process. Probably the best and most current state by state breakdowns you are going to find.
Someone mentioned NM. It is NOT a preference point state, but worthy of applying. Your application is totally random. You have no higher preference than someone applying for 20 years. Odds are low, but someone has to draw.
Sheep- Plan on a guided hunt in BC or Alaska. Or save your pesos for an auction tag. (Think $50-75K) The PP odds in lower 48 are not good. The only hope 99.9% of the people have is false hope. I apply in ND because I am a resident and app is cheap. I think I am more likely to be hit by lightning than draw a sheep tag.
Epic outdoors is a 10 issue a year magazine. It cost $100 a yr. It will break down all western states preference pts for you. Odds of drawing for each unit. It’s helped me a lot.
bowbender makes a good point. Understand the difference between states with bonus points and those with preference points. For the most part, preference points means that all of the permits go to those with the highest number of points each year. Bonus points means there's an element of chance that you could draw a tag with a very low number of points, but your odds increase the more points you have.
buy buy buy. don't don't don't.
Surprised nobody has mentioned mountain goats. Wyoming has no point system for them. Everyone has an equal chance and you can easily do diy hunts.
With point creep continuing to sky rocket, the bonus point systems seem to be the only decent buy. I did draw a Montana moose last year on my 3rd year of trying ??
I would like to have my Arizona money back! damn not worth it. 13 years of nothing
