Curious Question - all species

[CODAK]

Out of curiosity, do more people put in for points/hunt OTC and wait until they are able to hunt a "preferred" unit, hunt a pointless unit every year and learn areas, or hunt OTC until they draw a "preferred" unit while scouting yearly to understand the unit they want to burn points on? Does it not seem like people build their points only to burn them when never stepping foot into a unit and expect to kill a booner?

Thoughts?? All species considered

 

[bowrunner]

My dad and I hunt OTC archery every year and build points. Still have not drawn a good tag, nor killed an elk. lol

 

[mallardsx2]

I think most people are like me.

-We have limited time to scout because we dont live in the state we are applying.
-We can't afford to go 10+ hours from home and just cant justify a scouting trip when the cost of a tag costs more than the gas to get there.
-We hunt wherever we can while we are building points. Be it at home or OTC units
-We spend countless hours on google earth trying to get a plan together. (I spend at least an hour a day looking at options)
-We expect that if we do buy/build points to hunt a better unit that we should have a better chance at killing a "Booner" than we had before. Thats why we buy the points. Less pressure and better animals...If thats not why I am building points then please someone tell me why the hell I am?! lol
-We scout and ask questions to the best of our abilities but with families and jobs sometimes getting boot on the ground ahead of time isn't practical and we are forced to come early and scout or extend the trip and hunt longer and harder than everyone else hoping for that chance to fill a tag.

For those of you who live in the states I travel to I envy you. For those of you that don't and are like me and cant afford to scout all the time, I get it and I dont fault you any more than I fault myself.

I long to hunt the west every year. When I am sitting in my treestand shooting these little whitetails in Georgia I am constantly wondering why I never moved out there.

Get out there and go get em and if you come home empty handed, get on here and cry about it like I did in 2016!!! lololol


Best of luck to everyone in the draws.

 

[JimP]

When I was gaining points I archery hunted every year and hunted OTC units for elk.

As for scouting I knew the unit that I was going to hunt deer in and knew where I wanted to go. On elk I started to scout it 2 years before I drew my muzzle loader tag and scouted it heavy the year that I drew the tag.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

I am scaling back my points accumulation in out of states tags. After I use my mule deer point in Wyoming (I have max points), I'll only be buying point for antelope. Most units I hunt only require 3 to 5 points so it is not too bad. I am 76 now and I just can't wait 8 or 10 years to draw a tag.

Locally in Colorado, I put in for a point for my first choice, then add a second choice (usually for a cow) in a unit I have scouted and know, that has good odds that I will draw. If I get no tag for elk, the OTC is my fall back.

At my age, I can't wait years to draw a tag, so my plans usually are to got with an outfitter that has tags or get a landowner tag. I just plan to spend the money and go hunting......the hell with the cost!!! Can't take it with me...right.

 

[JimP]

I am scaling back my points accumulation in out of states tags. After I use my mule deer point in Wyoming (I have max points), I'll only be buying point for antelope. Most units I hunt only require 3 to 5 points so it is not too bad. I am 76 now and I just can't wait 8 or 10 years to draw a tag.

Locally in Colorado, I put in for a point for my first choice, then add a second choice (usually for a cow) in a unit I have scouted and know, that has good odds that I will draw. If I get no tag for elk, the OTC is my fall back.

At my age, I can't wait years to draw a tag, so my plans usually are to got with an outfitter that has tags or get a landowner tag. I just plan to spend the money and go hunting......the hell with the cost!!! Can't take it with me...right.

You my friend would love to hunt Africa.

 

[Hilltop]

In my opinion, premium areas are a moving target out west. Winter kill, disease, fires, etc all can impact an area so many build points not knowing where they will apply once they actually have a lot of points. I do this because having a lot of points gets me into lower pressure hunting situations on public land. That said, I don't go in blind- I know several areas ahead of time that I would like to hunt but I also keep in mind that things can and often do change.

 

[Umpqua Hunter]

I keep a journal in Microsoft Word that is organized by state, then species, then unit for that species. Everything I learn about a unit, or pictures of animals taken in a unit, gets cut and pasted in there. I date my entries. This gives me a sense of how a unit is trending, places to go and what the genetics in the unit look like and who has hunted there before.

I work on developing mutually helpful relationships with other hunters where we can share info on the units we have hunted.

Our family applies widely throughout the west and we rarely hunt the same unit twice, though I do try to leverage out time out of state to learn certain areas. With the points we've accumulated, we should be hunting quality draw tags about every year. This year we want a break and we staying near home, unless we hit a long shot, best in state, kind of tag.

 

[CODAK]

Umpqua:

I'm glad I'm not the only one doing this. Journals help pattern and timestamps on photos also help keep track. Units go up and down on caliber based on several factors, and animals grow different every year. I understand the thought that more points means a better hunt, but its not always the case. When I decide to burn my out of state points, I will have spent time in the areas during the season I want to hunt, as much as possible. I understand it is always tough to get away, but say you are burning max points in WY, and have invested nearly $1000 just to get to that point, what is another 500$ to make a trip out and ensure that the $1000 tag is worth it that year and area? Just food for thought. Maybe it because I don't gamble and never will, and that philosophy carries over to hunting. I like to maximize my odds no matter what tag my family, friends, or I have. It is a tall order, but so it the time invested getting to these points....

 

[Umpqua Hunter]

Umpqua:

I'm glad I'm not the only one doing this. Journals help pattern and timestamps on photos also help keep track. Units go up and down on caliber based on several factors, and animals grow different every year. I understand the thought that more points means a better hunt, but its not always the case. When I decide to burn my out of state points, I will have spent time in the areas during the season I want to hunt, as much as possible. I understand it is always tough to get away, but say you are burning max points in WY, and have invested nearly $1000 just to get to that point, what is another 500$ to make a trip out and ensure that the $1000 tag is worth it that year and area? Just food for thought. Maybe it because I don't gamble and never will, and that philosophy carries over to hunting. I like to maximize my odds no matter what tag my family, friends, or I have. It is a tall order, but so it the time invested getting to these points....

One factor that certainly helps you is being from CO which puts you within striking distance of most areas we hunt with points. If I lived closer, I would likely set foot on the units I hunt too.

In Oregon, it's a two day drive, 1000 to 1600 miles, both directions (4 days total) to most of the areas we hunt. At 50 cents a mile (fuel and wear and tear on my truck) that's $1000 to $1600 just in travel there and back. For us and the distances we travel, arriving early has been proving most beneficial use of our time and money. We just did that again on my wife's AZ elk hunt this year, I flew her in to visit friends down south while I scouted for 8 days. She then joined me for her hunt. I had located 39 bulls with half a dozen over 350 before the hunt opened. By the time season opened, I knew the roads, had a strategy an knew which bulls were in a location that she could hunt them.

 

[mallardsx2]

I wish my wife had friends who lived in Colorado or Wyoming. It might make that negotiation for scouting trips out west go a little smoother. lol

 

[JimP]

I wish my wife had friends who lived in Colorado or Wyoming. It might make that negotiation for scouting trips out west go a little smoother. lol

Just tell her about the great vacation spots like Rocky Mountain National Park. Or if she likes to do touristy type of things there is Vail, Aspen, Breckenridge, Silverton and a host of other towns to venture through. All are within a short drive of some great hunting spots.

 

[RICMIC]

Just tell her about the great vacation spots like Rocky Mountain National Park. Or if she likes to do touristy type of things there is Vail, Aspen, Breckenridge, Silverton and a host of other towns to venture through. All are within a short drive of some great hunting spots.

If you leave your wife in those places for a week with a credit card, then your hunting trip may well end up costing you far mare than you ever imagined.

 

[mallardsx2]

Ya right. She aint gonna go into some mall while I'm out killing deer....that aint happening. And I'm not leaving her anywhere with a credit card...

I looked my wife in the eyes last night at the kitchen table and told her she was a camouflage addict.

She buys more crap than she will ever dream of using. I guess its better than shoes...

Meanwhile I am still using the saddle-cloth jacket my dad bought me when I was 12. Literally....

I'm not complaining, I'm just saying. There is a difference between the two. lol

 

[Catahoula12]

I?ve kept a hand written journal for every scouting trip and hunt I?ve ever done in Arizona (27 years there). Moved back to my home state of Colorado (2 years ago) and I?ve started the same kind of journal here. Very helpful/useful information to keep because we all forget things/experiences. I try to draw but points usually the case. Maybe try for left overs if there. Otherwise hunt OTC archery and continue on with the scouting different areas...