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Having a hard time finding it from a search and just curious if anyone knows odds for Utah bison tag for a nr.
Not worried about weapon choice and curious about both Henry mountains and antelope island
Thank you
I kinda figured I was wondering if it was even worth trying. I guess might look elsewhere.
I've been mt biking on Antelope Island and it will be a lot like shooting a domestic cow as far as hunting, except for after you shoot, you'll probably get charged. Henry's and Book Cliffs will be a whole different story.......you will need lots of points, or lots of money and/or luck.
How many points do you have for UT bison
It's worse than 1000:1 if you don't have any points.
One in 500-700ish for the cow only hunts in the Henry's with no points.
chasin bugles, there's only one hunt that has a tag going to the bonus round. It was at 20 points last year and it has a point of creep every year.
For the most part, bonus points in Utah for bison just gets you another ticket in the pot.
Idyllic is right. With no points for antelope island you're looking at 1 in 5445. No tags were given to max points last year. For the Henry's early season tag, 1 in 8135 with no points. The max point tag went to 20 points. For the Henry's late season tag, 1 in 3466 with no points. No tags were given to max points last year. Divide those numbers by how many points you have for your true odds. Chasin
It's not worth it, or I should say it's simply a $5 lottery ticket if you are already applying for other hunts. If you want to hunt Bison you should try Wyoming or get a tag in AZ on 12 AW . I like AZ because you can hunt deer (a few years to draw) and at least have an opportunity hunt Bison.
Prior to 2009, the NR odds were much better. That's the year they started letting NR apply for all of the OIL species. In the previous scheme, not many NR's opted for bison each year as their one OIL app, so the odds were decent back then. Unfortunately the draw odds now are about as poor as any of the other OIL species. Possibly worth trying @ 20.00 but very few of us will ever draw.
Thanks guys. Yea I figured it was long odds but wow didn't know it was that bad. I will look elsewhere
Still better odds than Powerball and may give it a shot this year!
Guess I was lucky when I drew a Henry Mts bull tag back in 2000 after 10 years of applying! I didn't realize the odds are so poor now!
I've been applying for a Henry Mts bull tag and have 18 points this year. Don't know if it's worth it any more.
I think that I have 18 points as well. Those considering Antelope Island should be aware that P&Y does not recognize animals shot there. I am not sure about Boone and Crocket. I think that they might.
IMO there is no reason to apply to Antelope Island-
Not P&Y eligible- there are hundreds of ranches/reservations/state parks that you can buy a bison hunt for $2k+ for a bull hunt and $1k+ cow hunts that aren't P&Y eligible. That's the same price you'd pay even if you did draw a UT NR Antelope Island bison hunt which cost $2,615.00!
You would probably have a similar hunting experience as well.
Might consider the opportunity for a cow in Arizona. Would be considered fair chase and the odds for drawing as a NR are not too bad I don't think. For bison all the tags are lumped in one pool and most of the bonus pass tags selected if not all are any bison or bull hunts. This means 80% of the tags roll into the 1/2 random part of the drawing where zero points can draw a tag. Many of these are cow only hunts, some archery only. I am a resident but drew a cow tag with only 3 points for the upcoming 2016 season. I know of at least one NR who posted his story of his hunt from 2014 that had minimal points as well. Good Luck!
+1 wildwilderness. Ziek & Madtrapper, with 18 points there are 11 applicants ahead of you. Based on last years draw numbers and assuming none drop out of the draw, you would have an 11 year wait to have a shot at the bonus (max points) permit. There are 15 NR with 18 points, so you would have a 1:15 chance at that point, 1:14 the following year, etc. Assuming NR quotas (a pretty big assumption) stay the same you will be guaranteed to pull your permit by 2041. Not very comforting news but it is what it is. Your true odds with 18 points would give you a 1 in 16 chance at a Henry's cow tag if thats of any interest to you.
The Ute tribe up until a few years back offered wild Bison hunts on a draw. They sold cow hunts for 1000 and management (3-5 yr-old) bull hunts for 2500, fully outfitted. Then they'd auction one trophy bull hunt that typically sold for 8-10k as I recall. But they stopped all hunting for all species by non-tribe members a few years ago...not sure why. Might be worth keeping an eye on in case they start up again.
Last time I checked.... You cannot get a bull hunt for $2500 anymore...anywhere...
For a mature bull... 99% of the time... You are paying $4750+
Buffalo hunting is simply amazing.
Here is the thread that I wrote about my hunt on Arizona's Kaibab Plateau in August 2014.
We are a bowsite.com sponsor and do Buffalo hunts in Northwest South Dakota on private ranches that are low fence. If that would be of any interest let me know.
Yea the cost for buffalo hunts has gone through the roof, always been a dream hunt. With Custer state park pretty much eliminating nr from drawing a tag not many "reasonable options" left
The reason I no longer think it's worth it is I always wanted to do it DIY, and at 63 (which I'll be if I draw this year) I don't know if I'm up for getting one of those suckers out. If I wanted to pay for help, I'd have already gone up north on an outfitted hunt and not worried about the draw. It would have completed what I call a "mini" slam - one species from each genus of north american big game. Not interested in anything not considered free range.
Those Henry's Mnt. Buff hunts can be exhausting not only physically but even to find them.
Good luck, Robb
Man you guys have depressed me. They say that a Henry buff hunt is about as tuff as it gets! Doing the math, I'll be closing in on 80 by the time I draw...
The bison in the Henry Mountains 15 years ago were difficult to locate in the November hunt period. We had a dry fall making the jeep trails and other roads quite dusty. In the 8 or 9 days I spent there hunting we never saw a single track cross a road. We finally glassed up 3 bison about 3 miles away on about the 5th day but they were a small bull, cow and calf and were the only ones we saw from the road.
By process of elimination we figured out a couple of remote spots where they might be.....and a week into the hunt we found them. The herd was a long way from anywhere up in "sheep" country. I waited them out all afternoon for them to get into a better place to stalk, and finally was able to get a good 34 yard shot about sundown.
It was a younger bull, (but still the size of a holstein of the same age) which was a good thing as it took my buddy and I 24 hours of darned hard work to back pack it all out! It was as fine a meat as anything I've had, and well earned. There was nothing easy about the Henry Mt bison hunt, including drawing the tag! The mule deer bucks around there that year were a sight to behold!
Kurt, you should have listened to your buddy when he told you which Bison to shot and it would not have been as hard or taken as long to get it out. HeHe
Rock, don't believe every thing my buddy tells you.....he was just tired from packing bison meat. Anyway, I'd still be packing bison if he wasn't there to help. We stashed Gatoraid along the trail to stay hydrated during the mid-day pack trips as it was quite warm for mid-November.
Also, that was the last trip I ever used my Kelty external frame pack for meat, as the loads were too heavy and carried too high above my shoulders to be stable in rough country (took a couple of good tumbles). I bought a Kifaru Longhunter after that hunt and started using hiking poles when I packed. Much better, although I've not packed a moose (or elk) since that was as large and heavy as that 2-1/2 year old bison bull.
By the way... I know of an older gentlemen that cashed in all his Bison points and drew a Henreys tag. He lasted 3 days and quit. All those years for nothing.
He thought you could just drive up to them and shoot them... But was only going to hunt "free-ranging" buffalo. Lol
I have 19 Utah bison pts after the 2015 draw and still don't think I stand a chance in h$ll of drawing a tag for a long time! MOST years they haven't issued 2 nonres bison tags for early or late season dates so there has been 0 nonres either sex bison tags available to those in the high bonus pt pool. If they don't offer nonres max pref pt tags it means even those with max bonus pts may wait a lifetime (or 2 or 3) to ever draw!
