Application states/species

[JT1992]

Since I wanted to ask about several states and species I thought this would be the best place to ask.

So I have gotten preference points in Colorado for both Mule Deer and Elk, and an Arizona Elk point. But I am no longer a broke college kid and am wanting to apply across more states, but I probably won't be able to do more than one of these hunts per year so no need in applying for both Muley and Elk in every single state since I could probably end up wasting money applying for a tag I may never use. So my question is for the following states, what should I focus on, and should I drop or swap a state? The idea is, I could (possibly) hunt every year for a trophy class animal and even if I don't draw I can always call up my guide buddy in AZ and get on some Muleys or Coues. Also I think Idaho could be a fun state to hunt whitetails OTC and still get in some scouting for Elk/Muleys.

Utah
Arizona
Colorado
New Mexico
Nevada
Idaho

 

[wy-tex]

No Wyoming, mistake in my mind. Get some antelope PP for Wyoming at least.
Sorry , just biased for Wyoming.

 

[hunter25]

I do points in colorado which is home, utah and wyoming. Plus bear points in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Those are really cheap. All the money I'm willing to spend.
I didn't think new Mexico does points?
None would ever be wasted though as the best tags take a lifetime. You'll use them eventually.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[LCH]

I've personally picked and chosen which states I think give me the most bang for my buck. Sure, I could probably buy points for a decade and eventually have a good hunt in "State A", but if I could have an equally enjoyable hunt in "State B" every 1-3 years, "State A" isn't worth the investment IMO.

I also have a long list of OTC hunts I'd like to try, so I don't have any big fears about not drawing tags.

MY personal selections, for MY hunting goals, are the primary species (elk, deer, pronghorn) in CO, MT, WY, and SD (minus elk). I can hunt OTC or zero-point draw tags for blacktails, coues, bears, etc. in various other states.

Other folks' strategies may look very different, depending on their own budgets and hunting goals.

 

[JimP]

Unless you have a lot of time to wait for a better hunt, mind you I did not say great hunt scratch Utah off of the list. Granted you can use the required hunting license to put in for 2 years and you can put in for all the animals in the draw your chances of drawing a tag are next to nothing.

For Colorado you will be waiting a very long time up to and over 20-25 years for a "trophy" deer or elk unit.

Nevada can get expensive just getting points. So can Arizona with their required $160 hunting license. New Mexico is a straight draw, no points just luck.

 

[RICMIC]

I would absolutely buy points in Wyoming. You can still get them this year if you purchase them before the end of Oct. Antelope -$32,
deer - $42, elk - $52. You can get a very good deer tag with 3 pts., as well as a GENERAL elk tag, and there are lots of antelope options with 0-7 pts. I've taken 3 6X6 elk, all with less than 3 pts., and 3 4X4 deer with less than 3 pts. The points needed to draw may be a moving target, but I've found that it has been a slower creep than the areas where I have applied in Colorado.

 

[HuskyMusky]

I would not buy sheep points in WYoming.

You'll perfect your points plan over the years...

good luck!

I remember my 1st western points I applied for.... Nevada Elk and Montana Sheep! dream hunts eventually...that'll happen.

 

[Maxhunter]

I'd also drop Utah except for maybe deer. Elk will be a long wait. Definitely WY points. Also your probably aware NM is luck of the draw no points.

Good luck!

 

[Gr8bawana]

While Nevada is has great trophy deer and elk hunting, non-resident drawing odds are dismal. Unless you get extremely lucky you're looking at probably 10-15 + years to draw a tag.

 

[JT1992]

Ok, I will definitely consider that, I am applying for the strip so I think 15 year wait for one unit is long enough. I think Nevada may get dropped and add wyoming. I have friends in Wyoming anyways who may not be too good of friends because they never mentioned to me anything about applying there but they sure do like to come hunt with me around new year in Louisiana.

 

[JT1992]

"Unless you have a lot of time to wait for a better hunt, mind you I did not say great hunt scratch Utah off of the list. Granted you can use the required hunting license to put in for 2 years and you can put in for all the animals in the draw your chances of drawing a tag are next to nothing.

For Colorado you will be waiting a very long time up to and over 20-25 years for a "trophy" deer or elk unit.

Nevada can get expensive just getting points. So can Arizona with their required $160 hunting license. New Mexico is a straight draw, no points just luck"


So..... Don't apply for anything and save your money?

JK.

I'm obviously no expert on this stuff. I'm glad I came here to ask. Colorado is definitely a weird one since there is a lot more private land than the other states. Being that my Father in-law is partners in an African Safari and also part of an awesome Kansas whitetail lease and he knows a lot of people (guides) in the industry. He has a good friend that is going to africa with him and he just so happens to have an awesome private land area in Colorado for deer and some elk so I would be taking advantage of that.

 

[LCH]

"Unless you have a lot of time to wait for a better hunt, mind you I did not say great hunt scratch Utah off of the list. Granted you can use the required hunting license to put in for 2 years and you can put in for all the animals in the draw your chances of drawing a tag are next to nothing.

For Colorado you will be waiting a very long time up to and over 20-25 years for a "trophy" deer or elk unit.

Nevada can get expensive just getting points. So can Arizona with their required $160 hunting license. New Mexico is a straight draw, no points just luck"


So..... Don't apply for anything and save your money?

JK.

I'm obviously no expert on this stuff. I'm glad I came here to ask. Colorado is definitely a weird one since there is a lot more private land than the other states. Being that my Father in-law is partners in an African Safari and also part of an awesome Kansas whitetail lease and he knows a lot of people (guides) in the industry. He has a good friend that is going to africa with him and he just so happens to have an awesome private land area in Colorado for deer and some elk so I would be taking advantage of that.

I think you probably just need to jump deep into research for each state, then make your determination on what's worth it or not. Colorado is a no-brainer for me for deer and elk, but forget about drawing any of the "glory" tags unless you want to play the game for the next 50 years.

 

[nv-hunter]

Ok, I will definitely consider that, I am applying for the strip so I think 15 year wait for one unit is long enough. I think Nevada may get dropped and add wyoming. I have friends in Wyoming anyways who may not be too good of friends because they never mentioned to me anything about applying there but they sure do like to come hunt with me around new year in Louisiana.

Do the research as has been said, however in your first post you wanted to hunt trophy class animals almost every year so that means banking points to use in different states in the future. Where you hunt state A with 2 to 3 points, state B with 4 or 5 points, State C with 5 plus points. That being said also look at what type of point system is used preference vs bonus. Nevada and its bonus system gives you a small chance of drawing every year and it increases as you gain more points. Where a true preference point system of the majority of the tags going to only the highest point holders might not ever let you in the game. Also look at other animals that you might want to hunt at some point like sheep or moose and if starting to get those points now will put you on a path to draw a tag in the distant future.

Good luck as this can be as addictive as the actual hunt.

NV-hunter

 

[JimP]

Actually hunting trophy class deer or animals is more of a state of mind rather than points.

Here in Colorado there are units that you can draw every year and find trophy class animals, you don't need points to hunt them. You just have to be willing to go where they are located at that that means work, both getting into the area and getting the animal out. Also you need to learn the unit. I live in unit 44 here in Colorado which is considered a very good trophy deer unit but if you don't know the unit and are unwilling to hire a guide or pay through the nose for a trespass hunt your odds of shooting a trophy deer go down along ways. Same with elk, I saw 2 350 class bulls come off of this unit which is a OTC unit for elk, but those hunters knew where to go and they hunted hard to get them.

It is the same in any state and units where you can draw a tag every year even being a non resident. But those trophy animals don't come easy.