A little overwhelmed.

[ShaneW]

I did not realize how complicated the process of getting tags out west was going to be.

So far I have subscribed to and received my first issues of EBJ and EHJ and joined this forum. I have managed to buy deer, elk, and antelope points in Wyoming for both me and my son with Bighorn Sheep points to follow shortly and have decided that next season we will buy licenses for general hunts in Montana which will at least get us some experience while we are building points elsewhere.

I have already spent numerous hours online on different states websites studying the regulations, hunt areas, etc., but still am quite confused about the way things work in some of the States.

My next step is to get on the phone with the State game departments to try and get a better idea of how to approach things, as far as getting the tags/licenses to hunt.

And after all of that we are still complete newbs to hunting any of the western species, being familiar with their habits and routines, back country camping/hunting, etc.

I do have a few things going for me however. I am a map whiz, I am motivated, and I am an experienced outdoorsman albeit in flat land.

So with all that said we plan on getting some experience this fall/winter with some hike in hunting and camping in the National Forests of Arkansas, I plan on studying up on the game animals we will be chasing out west, and as said before, I will be in contact with the various State's wildlife agencies for clarification and guidance on getting licensees and tags.

Any other pointers to get us started in the right direction? Any resources ya'll can recommend to familiarize ourselves with the game animals of the west and backcountry hunting/camping?

 

[JimP]

What specific animals do you plan on chasing and what states are you looking at?

Mule deer for the most part are draw only in all the better states. Idaho and Montana are the exceptions.

Elk can be had in just about all the states over the counter, the best units will be draw only and you'll have to aquire a number of points through the draw system. Either by putting in for a unit and not drawing or purchasing a point through the draw system. For Wyoming you can purchase a point for both deer and elk until September.

 

[ShaneW]

Well I am interested in elk, mulies, and Pronghorn as well as Bighorns. I think pronghorn is at the top of the list for me and my son however. For some reason all he can talk about is hunting a Grizzly lol.

The States we are most interested in are Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, but we are willing to go anywhere.

It will be next season before we are able to go anywhere very far from home. My son is 18 and a senior in High School this year so we will need to wait until he is out of school before we can take a couple of weeks to hunt away from home.

We have 1 point apiece in Wyoming for Elk, Mule Deer, and Pronghorn, and would like to build up enough points there before we go to draw a really good unit where we have a shot at a trophy class animal.

Like I said right now we are looking at Montana for next season as we should be able to get over the counter tags there and get some experience but I am open to going somewhere else if it gives us a better shot to connect.

My main goal right now is to come up with a strategy that let's us make a trip out west every year or every other year at a minimum and have a decent shot at quality animals. We are not really hardcore trophy hunters but would like to take nice sized animals.

 

[hoshour]

The second MRS Annual book will be out this fall and will have all the research sections from the past year on all the states and species, including all the maps, full tables from the digital version, charts and write-ups. The first article is one I wrote called, "Understanding the Draw" and it looks at how the draw works in all 11 western states. I think that would be helpful to you in getting a good handle on things.

 

[ShaneW]

The second MRS Annual book will be out this fall and will have all the research sections from the past year on all the states and species, including all the maps, full tables from the digital version, charts and write-ups. The first article is one I wrote called, "Understanding the Draw" and it looks at how the draw works in all 11 western states. I think that would be helpful to you in getting a good handle on things.

Yes that sounds like it will be extremely helpful.

Must the MRS Annual be ordered separately or does it come with my subscriptions? I have subscriptions to EHJ and EBJ both print and digital.

 

[hoshour]

It is a separate order.

 

[ShaneW]

It is a separate order.

When it is available I will surely be ordering it.

 

[buckbull]

Your probably too old to apply for sheep. You could buy sheep points for your son and maybe he could hunt before he turns 70. If you want to hunt sheep i'd suggest saving and going to alberta. An antelope hunt is good hunt to start out with. Lots of land and lots of lopes and its not a physically taxing hunt compared to elk hunting as well as high success. I'd suggest doing an over the counter elk tag just to get your feet wet and to see if this is something you want to do again prior to dumping a bunch of money into the points systems. Elk hunting isn't for everybody, it can be physically taxing.

 

[ShaneW]

Your probably too old to apply for sheep. You could buy sheep points for your son and maybe he could hunt before he turns 70. If you want to hunt sheep i'd suggest saving and going to alberta. An antelope hunt is good hunt to start out with. Lots of land and lots of lopes and its not a physically taxing hunt compared to elk hunting as well as high success. I'd suggest doing an over the counter elk tag just to get your feet wet and to see if this is something you want to do again prior to dumping a bunch of money into the points systems. Elk hunting isn't for everybody, it can be physically taxing.

Thanks for the input.

I know the sheep hunt is a long shot but I know I am not gonna get to go if I don't make the attempt.

As far as the physicality of the hunting... If I can't hack it I'll give up the ghost trying. I am in decent shape, just gonna have to work at it to get back in peak physical condition. I have worked like a mule most of my life. I'll be ok.

 

[ivorytip]

good luck to you, exciting! as far as sheep, buck bull nailed it. go north and buy a tag if you want one. its going to cost you a huge penny over the years building points anyway.

 

[gonhunting247]

I think putting in for antelope is a great way for you to start out west. It's a blast. MT tags are not OTC except leftovers, but the General tag is 100% so far. That may change as each year there are less and less leftovers to buy. You might think about throwing CO in the mix, it's a great state to hunt. ID and NM are no point system states, so they are also great for starting out. Good luck, it will be fun no matter what you do first!

 

[njdoxie]

It seems like you are trying to go from zero to 90 mph in 1 second....it takes time to understand points systems and gain experience hunting western animals and acquire gear....it takes patience and time, you can eventually get there, but not by tomorrow, hooking up with a veteran hunter would appreciably shorten your learning curve

 

[hoshour]

good luck to you, exciting! as far as sheep, buck bull nailed it. go north and buy a tag if you want one. its going to cost you a huge penny over the years building points anyway.

Get on the cancellation lists for Dall's sheep outfitters in Alaska, NWT and the Yukon, especially the latter two. I've gotten calls the last two years asking if I wanted to do a Dall's sheep hunt for $10k. Also got a call for Alaskan brown bear both years, same price.

Alberta bighorns, Stone's sheep, Mexico bighorns - forget it - you're talking $30-$60K, not counting tips, flights, taxidermy, etc.

 

[ShaneW]

I think putting in for antelope is a great way for you to start out west. It's a blast. MT tags are not OTC except leftovers, but the General tag is 100% so far. That may change as each year there are less and less leftovers to buy. You might think about throwing CO in the mix, it's a great state to hunt. ID and NM are no point system states, so they are also great for starting out. Good luck, it will be fun no matter what you do first!

Thanks for the advice. Antelope is definitely at the top of our wish list. I have always heard that they make some of the best table fare there is if handled and cooked properly. Can't wait to try it.

I spent several hours today on Colorodo's website studying up on the regs and different places to hunt. It is definitely going into the "to apply in next year" category.

With my son and I both applying and planning on making each trip together regardless of which of us get drawn we should be able to get some experience fairly quickly I would think.

I can't believe I forgot about NM. I can remember as a youngster being obsessed with NM for a time after watching "Young Guns" over and over lol.

 

[ShaneW]

It seems like you are trying to go from zero to 90 mph in 1 second....it takes time to understand points systems and gain experience hunting western animals and acquire gear....it takes patience and time, you can eventually get there, but not by tomorrow, hooking up with a veteran hunter would appreciably shorten your learning curve

You are probably right about the 0 to 90 part. That is how I approach everything. Go big or go home lol.

At least I am not trying to make a hunt out west this season lol.

 

[ShaneW]

Get on the cancellation lists for Dall's sheep outfitters in Alaska, NWT and the Yukon, especially the latter two. I've gotten calls the last two years asking if I wanted to do a Dall's sheep hunt for $10k. Also got a call for Alaskan brown bear both years, same price.

Alberta bighorns, Stone's sheep, Mexico bighorns - forget it - you're talking $30-$60K, not counting tips, flights, taxidermy, etc.

Thanks for the advice. I will definitely look into it. Alaska is on my bucket list for sure. If I were 15 years younger I would relocate to Alaska, Wyoming, or Montana in a heartbeat.

30 to 60k??? Wow!

When I tell my son about the Alaskan Brown Bear for 10k he is going to start saving immediately. He is obsessed with them.

 

[Alabama]

https://wgfd.wyo.gov/WGFD/media/content/PDF/Hunting/TOTAL_PREF_POINTS_MS.pdf

They aren't saying you are too old to hunt sheep in Wyoming, they are saying you are too late to the points game to draw. When people look at the tables in the link above it gives them false hope. You look at it and say: if I apply for the next 20 years I'll draw. That would be true if you got in the points system in the first 7 years or so. Those of us who didn't get in early it's hopeless without change. The system has broken under it's own weight. There were 44 tags given to non-residents last year. 75% go to those with the most points and 25% random. There are 8919 people with more points than you. Let's just say attrition gets 40% of those ahead of you (death, failure to buy points for 2 years) That leaves around 5350 applicants: let's even say lamb survival improves, herds grow and they issue 50 tags per year to NR. In that very optimistic scenario, it will only take you 107 years to draw a tag there.

Unless you get really lucky in the random draw (about 0.3% odds last year) you will never draw a tag by points.

 

[B&C Blacktails]

https://wgfd.wyo.gov/WGFD/media/content/PDF/Hunting/TOTAL_PREF_POINTS_MS.pdf

They aren't saying you are too old to hunt sheep in Wyoming, they are saying you are too late to the points game to draw. When people look at the tables in the link above it gives them false hope. You look at it and say: if I apply for the next 20 years I'll draw. That would be true if you got in the points system in the first 7 years or so. Those of us who didn't get in early it's hopeless without change. The system has broken under it's own weight. There were 44 tags given to non-residents last year. 75% go to those with the most points and 25% random. There are 8919 people with more points than you. Let's just say attrition gets 40% of those ahead of you (death, failure to buy points for 2 years) That leaves around 5350 applicants: let's even say lamb survival improves, herds grow and they issue 50 tags per year to NR. In that very optimistic scenario, it will only take you 107 years to draw a tag there.

Unless you get really lucky in the random draw (about 0.3% odds last year) you will never draw a tag by points.

Wow! That really puts it into perspective.

 

[ShaneW]

https://wgfd.wyo.gov/WGFD/media/content/PDF/Hunting/TOTAL_PREF_POINTS_MS.pdf

They aren't saying you are too old to hunt sheep in Wyoming, they are saying you are too late to the points game to draw. When people look at the tables in the link above it gives them false hope. You look at it and say: if I apply for the next 20 years I'll draw. That would be true if you got in the points system in the first 7 years or so. Those of us who didn't get in early it's hopeless without change. The system has broken under it's own weight. There were 44 tags given to non-residents last year. 75% go to those with the most points and 25% random. There are 8919 people with more points than you. Let's just say attrition gets 40% of those ahead of you (death, failure to buy points for 2 years) That leaves around 5350 applicants: let's even say lamb survival improves, herds grow and they issue 50 tags per year to NR. In that very optimistic scenario, it will only take you 107 years to draw a tag there.

Unless you get really lucky in the random draw (about 0.3% odds last year) you will never draw a tag by points.

Wow. Well that is just depressing. Seems like I would have just as good of odds doing some of the super tag raffles and such.

 

[Musket Man]

I have subscriptions to EHJ and EBJ both print and digital.

go back in the digital and read all of the MRS's from this winter and spring. That will answer alot of your questions!