What happened - Draw Tags?!?!

[Landrover]

I have 7 or 8 pref points for a wilderness area for bowhunting in Colorado. When I started it was a 8 or 9 pref point area to get drawn. Now it is pushing 14+ , if memory serves correctly. I said screw it and will just pay to play.....just way outta hand at this point. One of the reservations or big ranches are on tap for 2022. Globally, I also have canceled, (well I prefer postponed) my hippo/croc and my Saskatchewan for deer/bear. Also, cancelled 2 family trips Monaco and Montreal for Formula 1 races. Maybe the Austin race will happen, but not holding my breath.....literally. I still have Michigan deer and possibly pheasant in South Dakota. You are right, waiting to get drawn out west is definitely not a winning strategy.

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[quackadikt]

I have 7 or 8 pref points for a wilderness area for bowhunting in Colorado. When I started it was a 8 or 9 pref point area to get drawn. Now it is pushing 14+ , if memory serves correctly.

And that's the problem with preference point states.

[BigJimmyRustler]

$8500.00 dollar mule deer tags and 20 year waits to get drawn for an elk tag.... just unreal.
The whole system is a joke.

[El General]

I have 7 or 8 pref points for a wilderness area for bowhunting in Colorado. When I started it was a 8 or 9 pref point area to get drawn. Now it is pushing 14+ , if memory serves correctly. I said screw it and will just pay to play.....just way outta hand at this point. One of the reservations or big ranches are on tap for 2022. Globally, I also have canceled, (well I prefer postponed) my hippo/croc and my Saskatchewan for deer/bear. Also, cancelled 2 family trips Monaco and Montreal for Formula 1 races. Maybe the Austin race will happen, but not holding my breath.....literally. I still have Michigan deer and possibly pheasant in South Dakota. You are right, waiting to get drawn out west is definitely not a winning strategy.

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I have a buddy that has 4 elk preference points in Wyoming (I have 3) and wants to draw an elk unit that will take 7 where we have a hookup on some private. I am trying to explain point creep to him. It isn't as linear as Colorado because of the special draw, but I'm still not sure that we will ever catch up.

[El General]

Guide called me too for NM 34, have LO tag for $8500. I said your crazy!!!!

In 2016, a buddy of mine got the same tag for $4500. That was a little below market, but still.

[WItoTX]

WyoBull I would much rather have a true random draw than PP for us residents. You have no chance at tag in a PP system unless you have some PP. Random for residents is just fine with me.
We need more of the tag quota for residents, imo. No offense NR, just give us more tags in the draw.

Non-residents fund 80% of Wyoming's fish & game license fee's, and only get 20% of the tags. Residents fund 20% of fish & game fees, yet get 80% of the tags.

My idea of fairness? Start paying higher resident prices, and you should get more tags. Hell, even if residents paid 2/3's of what a non-resident pays, then for sure residents should get more tags. But all the money is coming from non-residents, and Wyoming F&G won't turn off that money.

I agree and I’m not sure there are many people that understand the draws better than I do. I understand the species and units I put in for are popular, and therefore making my odds not so favorable. However, just the sheer unpredictable amount of increased entry’s makes it everything wacky. Example: I’ve been putting in for the same mule deer tag for 6 years. After the 2nd year (1 preference point) the odds to draw was well over 50%, based on the previous years statistics. Each year the odds of drawing increased substantially, and again based on previous year entry’s. Even this year I had the most preference points in the unit and season and did not draw. Drawing good tags on public land, is just simply harder.

If you had the most preference points you should have drawn, unless you and a couple thousand other people had the same level, which likely is the case. What unit are you looking at, and how many points do you have?

I generally agree, Colorado is getting a little crazy. And CPW's poor bear management is only going to drop elk and deer numbers.

[12ring]

When I started applying for AZ elk, 5-7 pts were expected to get drawn.

I have 7 or 8 pts now, and no luck.

Hearing that the pt "creep" has it up to 12-13 pts now. No telling what itll be by the time I get there.

But..... still a "chance" any year!

[STGS]

In 2016, a buddy of mine got the same tag for $4500. That was a little below market, but still.

I am curious about some of the Unit 34 LO Tags and the pricing. I assume the unit wide (UW) tags are commanding a materially higher price than the ranch only (RO). I see the UW designation as a double edged sword..... Sure you want access to the whole unit, but if you have a good private ranch, that could be better than a forest/ranch full of other hunters.

My ranch in Unit 34 abuts the National Forest (Lincoln) for almost 3.5 miles. We opted to stay ranch only for our permits due to not wanting the "forest people" on our private property.

Elk have sure become popular in New Mexico, especially Unit 34. Likely has something to do with the decrease in Mule Deer population and quality. The elk herd is doing very well and hopefully everyone has some success this year.

Good luck and be safe in the coming months....

[El General]

I am curious about some of the Unit 34 LO Tags and the pricing. I assume the unit wide (UW) tags are commanding a materially higher price than the ranch only (RO). I see the UW designation as a double edged sword..... Sure you want access to the whole unit, but if you have a good private ranch, that could be better than a forest/ranch full of other hunters.

My ranch in Unit 34 abuts the National Forest (Lincoln) for almost 3.5 miles. We opted to stay ranch only for our permits due to not wanting the "forest people" on our private property.

Elk have sure become popular in New Mexico, especially Unit 34. Likely has something to do with the decrease in Mule Deer population and quality. The elk herd is doing very well and hopefully everyone has some success this year.

Good luck and be safe in the coming months....

Yes, those prices are for UW tags. In my experience, ranch only tags are generally just utilized by outfitters with access to the property or the landowner's themselves for guided hunts. You just don't see many RO tags being advertised for public sale in that unit for DIY hunters.

Also, while landowners are supposed to allow access to their property if they are given unit wide tags, I think that gates end up staying locked in many cases until someone points it out to NMG&F, at which point it is an "accident" that their nephew, ranch hand, etc locked it.

[Dc78]

The tags I was offered was UW. Was told price increase was drought conditions, ranchers are having to feed, cattle prices are down. I could not justify tag cost and guide fees!

[MooseontheLoose]

I generally agree, Colorado is getting a little crazy. And CPW's poor bear management is only going to drop elk and deer numbers.

Colorado is going to get a lot more crazy with the wolf initiative. I know they're there already, but with the reintroduction efforts, the poor bear management, and already poor calf recruitment in a lot of areas, there could be some rough times ahead for the elk herds.

If there's any weather this year or next, the deer could get crushed with the late season dates as well.

Going to be interesting to see how it plays out.

[trophy8]

It is getting a lot more difficult to draw tags here in Wyoming as well. As a resident, I have drawn one special permit elk tag in the last 11 years and it was a late season tag. This year, the only thing I drew was an Antelope tag.

I know it is different here for residents as we don't have preference points for Elk, Deer and Antelope like the non-residents do but I feel I am going to have to support resident preference points if it gains traction. I have many, many friends that are avid hunters and we all draw very few tags so it is frustrating. That's why I mostly focus on varmint hunting.

I’ve been building points there. I feel it’s one my only chances for a true giant bull with 6-8 points. I’ll probably holler at you at some point for outfitter help

[Saltyag15]

I just wish I would have been educated on how the system works about 10 years ago and started building points then. I'm so far behind the curve right now, and with yearly point creep in most states, I'll probably never see a "premium tag". Even a mid-tier unit is starting to look more doom and gloom.

[WyoBull]

WyoBull I would much rather have a true random draw than PP for us residents. You have no chance at tag in a PP system unless you have some PP. Random for residents is just fine with me.
We need more of the tag quota for residents, imo. No offense NR, just give us more tags in the draw.

Based on my experience in drawing tags in my home state as a resident, I would have to respectfully disagree. Like I said in my post, I have drawn one elk tag in the past eleven years. Yea, I know it is random and luck of the draw for us residents but one tag in that many years for a special elk permit is nuts, especially in a state with the number of elk we have.

I know I could buy a general permit for elk and deer but I am not interested in hunting those areas.

I would rather have the opportunity to hunt a "good" elk area every 3-4 years through a point system. I know there are trade-offs to each side of the argument but as I sit right now, I would have to support a resident preference point system.

[WyoBull]

[QUOTE=quackadikt;14941625]Don't residents have plenty of OTC/General tag options in Wyoming?

There are definitely general licence options for us residents here in Wyoming. Those are typically not in prime areas, or areas I am interested in hunting. Those general areas also get a lot of pressure in most cases because of being general.
I have friends who hunt elk every year between Dubois and Jackson in the general area and every year they have encounters with grizzly bears. I am just not interested in doing that so that is why I put in for tags in areas that are draw only which I am familiar with and want to hunt.