Good luck to everyone that is in the running. I think everyone who is high on the point totals is trying to unload them.
Hopefully I’ll be back with a sheep tag later this week!
I've only got like 3 points on a Ram so this will be my last year.
I've strongly suggested to many of my fellow non-Ressy friends to go for units; 9, 10, 20 or 22 with their over 20 Moose points.
Good luck, Robb
I am very excited for Friday I will be on a plane in the air when results come out. I am ponying up the $7 for wifi access so I can check my results:)
Yes that was a joke I am spending $7 to find out if I drew my $2k tag:)
Good luck everyone!
Nothing for anyone in my house. 23 points for sheep now. May have been our last chance until I move to WY.
If there was ever a time to put in for WY sheep, it was this year. If you knew the stakes (and if you had 22+ points, you had to know the stakes as you've made a huge investment to get where you are), you did what you could to make it happen (I realize there are guys out there that just couldn't, so don't bite my head off). Sure, not everyone could, due to life-circumstances. Not all, but many of the rest will still not be able to go "next year" and will continue to buy points. Likewise, the year before the "CO bump" where the up-and-comers had 2 weighted points and weren't competing yet for moose and sheep hunts, didn't see a big spike in people applying for a hunt who usually just buy a point.
Sure, there's a lot of guys that will continue to put in till they're as sure as they can be that they'll draw so that they can plan (in preference point states). But that perfect time to draw will never come for many and their wheels will fall off while they wait. And there's lots of reasons for that: family, work, being 100+ lbs overweight (one day I'll get in sheep shape), money, time off (or lack thereof), delayed retirement, retirement coming too late for personal health, wife never giving the go-ahead, hunting partner never getting on board, and I could go on.
There's also a ton of guys who either want to, or by nature of life-circumstances, can only go on one hunt per year, who don't go all-in on apps, so they put in for their hunt-of-preference, but then go with points on everything else. And/or when they get a tag, apply for points in the rest of the draws or limit the amount of apps they put in vs points because drawing too many tags is a huge problem for them.
I also believe that there's a large contingent of people who apply who just like to dream. They like the idea of going on these epic hunts, but they actually don't really like going on them nearly as much as they like dreaming about them and they'll continue to put in for points and dream, but won't actually put in for the hunt. I feel this way because I've met some of these folks. I've talked with two different guys who have 20+ points in multiple states who don't even hunt every year - at all, even in their home state. Further evidence of this is the Alaskan draw hunts (pure lottery, no points) where many of these hunts have a fraction of the tag winners hunt the tag - even tags that could be regarded as OIL tags due to how difficult it is to draw. How could 1/2 or less of the winners of a particular tag end up not hunting the tag? The only answer is that they were never going to hunt the tag in the first place, had they won.
You also have guys who can or do go on multiple hunts per year, but they also book 1 or more guided hunts per year and would have a conflict of hunting dates if they drew 1-3 tags unexpectedly.
And then you look at the situation with Bonus Points, which drives this point home even more. If you look at a state like Nevada, where you really only keep your odds from going down by getting another bonus point (very different situation compared with say, elk in CO where 20 years ago, you felt you just had to slug it out), you're never going to be guaranteed a tag, no matter how long you hold on to your points, so your chance of drawing "eventually" by putting in for just points is basically nil, even if you have 20+ points.
It's more evidence that there's a large contingent of folks out there that put in for Western bonus/preference points year after year and will die with most, if not all of them, irrespective of odds.
My buddy drew 12.
Good synopsis on the points issues in the western states, Ike. Sucks, but you gotta pay if you ever want to play! As a guy high in the points for most of the western states, I have to be careful not to bite off more than I can chew. It really sucks when these states change the rules after many years and it hurts chances, but gotta keep plugging along…
Luckily, sitting on two great hunts so far (elk in AZ and antelope in NM) and have the ability to dump either if I do ring the bell for sheep, goat or moose somewhere!
Some good points there Iddy,
Robb
