NRs are getting the shaft more and more in western state draws. Politicians take care of their constituents. It's understandable. It is what it is. Here is my thinking on what a NR hunter's best strategy is in this environment....
Add up what you would be spending each year in license and draw fees and put that aside in a savings account or in a mutual fund. You will accumulate enough money to buy a quality tag a lot faster than you will ever draw one.
I don't agree with this, depending on the tag you're talking about.
I'm almost reluctant to post this, but the way to "beat" the point systems is to do more research, hunt harder, hunt smarter and quit trying to draw tags that other sources claim to be the "best". IME, many of the "best" units are not worth waiting 15 years to draw. Plus, when you look at what many hunters take in these "best" units, a vast majority of their animals are average at best. It makes NO sense to wait 10-15-20 years to draw a tag, then settle on an average animal. Animals that you could have taken several of in the same time frame by hunting smarter, harder, and doing a bit more research.
Also, when you never accumulate many points, its no big deal if the system changes. My thought on who "wins" is NOT the guy that dies with the most points, but rather the hunter that dies with zero points, and the most hunts under their belt.
In the case of AZ, I have done exactly what I just described. Since 2002, I have drawn 3 rifle bull elk tags, a desert sheep, 3 late coues deer tags, and a bunch of javelina tags. I used my time hunting javelina to not only escape the cold weather of Wyoming, but also to poke around in lesser known elk and deer units for future applications.
I've never had a bad hunt in Arizona, even though I didn't draw the "best" units or tags.
Also, it would take a lot of drawing fees to save enough for a desert sheep tag.