Chasing Preference Points.

[mallardsx2]

I'm one of the hunt every year types but having said that I have enough points to rotate trips every year. So I will basically be hunting a 5 point unit every year for something for the rest of my life. Elk / Deer / Antelope in multiple states. My success rate may not be high because I dont hunt the same area and year it year after year like some people but I enjoy different scenery every year. Some of the places I have points I know it will be a once and done type of hunt and for those I will give it a full two weeks to hunt.

Right now from what I have seen is that the pressure on the public ground where people can hunt year after year just isn't worth it. I will wait every couple years to get into a limited entry unit to avoid the bigger crowds.

Honestly though I would give it all up to have 14 days in the bush moose hunting with my bow every year....I enjoy that the most.

 

[Bonecollector]

I'm one of the hunt every year types but having said that I have enough points to rotate trips every year. So I will basically be hunting a 5 point unit every year for something for the rest of my life. Elk / Deer / Antelope in multiple states. My success rate may not be high because I dont hunt the same area and year it year after year like some people but I enjoy different scenery every year. Some of the places I have points I know it will be a once and done type of hunt and for those I will give it a full two weeks to hunt.
Right now from what I have seen is that the pressure on the public ground where people can hunt year after year just isn't worth it. I will wait every couple years to get into a limited entry unit to avoid the bigger crowds.

I can echo this comment.

 

[tim]

I am that lucky guy that kills a bull every year in idaho. it is otc and i live in the unit i hunt.

With that said, i did my first limited entry elk hunt this year. Even went guided, and did a wilderness pack hunt next to yellowstone. I had big dreams of big bulls. I used 8 pts and did not kill an elk. I never saw anything bigger than i see off of my deck at home. Kind of disappointing. ACTUALLY really disappointing. I went on a guided wilderness hunt to escape the crowds. Well outfitters bring the crowds with them. This hunt needed snow to push the bulls out of the park. WE never got any snow. The camp went 1 for 5. The guide was great, the food was good, the scenery was awesome, lots of bears, but i came home bummed big time. I actually saw less people hunting at home in the otc than i did in the wilderness, but that has been my expierence in the past. When all 11 of us rode out of camp together one morning i was telling myself, this is not what i signed up for.

So the solo backcountry hunter that turns 50 in a couple of months is trying to figure out how to pursue the next avenue in my hunting life. I can keep packing elk out solo, but they are getting harder to do. IT might be time to look at llamas or helicopters.

 

[Slugz]

I think Idaho has some great opportunities with elk, tag system, public land etc etc. Most hunts I've seen up there were varsity though. Long shots, heavy timber, lots of up and down hiking.
Like KD said.....what's normal for some is torture for others.

 

[Hilltop]

I chased high points once because I wanted to hunt desert elk. I shot a great bull but in the end I realized that I have a lot more fun hunting the general areas with my buddies. I worked my butt off this year to shoot a small bull in a general area and loved every minute of the hunt.

 

[Slugz]

I chased high points once because I wanted to hunt desert elk. I shot a great bull but in the end I realized that I have a lot more fun hunting the general areas with my buddies. I worked my butt off this year to shoot a small bull in a general area and loved every minute of the hunt.

Uh huh......that's it.....it's about the dudes and the experience more times than not. I feel lucky to be taught that early on.

 

[DanPickar]

Most hunts are not worth the points they require. I would say 20% of the tags across the Western States are actually worth the wait, and the best take 25 years to draw. Draw odds get worse every year in Montana and Wyoming for hunts that simply aren't worth it. I'd rather hunt general every year than a hard to draw limited entry every 10 years!

 

[kidoggy]

it becomes more and more a rich mans sport each year. that is probably the largest factor contributing to declining hunters.

 

[Mnbogboy]

I've only played the point game in CO and WY, but have gone on 17 hunts since 2006. Most of those hunts were OTC, or used 0-3 points, and I have taken 17 critters. My biggest disappointments were when I didn't draw that "special" tag that my point totals should have been high enough to draw. My only higher point hunt that I made used 10 deer points, and I saw only one buck after 13 days in the mountains. Still, that was one of my favorite hunts, as I did it all DIY, saw some fantastic country, and made some new friends. (Thank you gypsumreaper,JimP, JPseveland, Topgun and other un-named hunters in the back country. I have booked a guided elk hunt in CO for 2019, hoping to use my 11 pts. there while I can still hump it in the high wilderness.
So, my advice is to get a group of friends who will ALL buy the same points that you do, and in more than one state. Find a way to hunt every year somewhere, and don't wait for 20 years to get out there. Good luck.

While searching through old posts trying to decide of where to use my 9 elk points in the next year or two I found this post and see that you knew Topgun. I tried to PM you but obviously cant get through. If you haven't heard, Mike died back in March of cancer. He was on another forum with me and he wasn't afraid to say what was on his mind. I had a chance to meet him and we did a short antelope hunt together in A27. He didn't have an antelope tag only a deer B general. Sadly I got violently I'll with a head cold & vertigo and had to cut my hunt short. He certainly was mad at me but eventually got over it. He helped a lot of people on various forums and really knew about WY game law.
Just thought you should know.

 

[AKaviator]

That's sad news.

 

[Prerylyon]

Very sad news. Despite some of the candor and intensity that he brought to many posts in many forums over the years, I silently followed TG for many years online and can say that I benefited from the knowledge he shared; despite what may have been less than the best bedside manner. Rest in Peace, TG, and Thanks for what you brought to the internet world of western hunting. Godspeed. [emoji257][emoji254]

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337Z using Tapatalk

 

[ScottR]

That is very sad news, the whole group here sends their condolences to his family!

 

[hunter25]

Didn't know him personally but did have a couple interesting discussions on another forum.
Sorry to hear his passing

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[mooretitan]

I have had one tag that would be consider "special" Waited roughly 10 years to draw it. The year I did we were in the 4th year of a huge drought. It was a December hunt and never got the needed snow to push the deer out of the parks. Scouted 5 days before the opener and best I saw was 160 type bucks. The unit was been known to kick out 180-190 type deer but with no horn growth it wasnt looking good. Opening day looked over some decent bucks and around mid day shot a 160ish buck. I had my dad and young son with me when I pulled the trigger. I was a 2 hour hike back to the truck so I wasnt just driving the roads. I made it a hunt but the weather/drought did not work out.
I look back and have mixed emotions about the hunt.
1. Glad I got to take a good deer with my dad and son togather
2. The buck was pretty heavy just not great length
3. He was the best buck I had seen in 5 days and I did not shoot him off the road

4. After 10 years I was looking more for a 180ish type deer. Sucks a little
5. Getting people that are willing to help or even excited about a hunt of a lifetime was hard. Really turned me off to some of my hunting partners that they were not there for me in an area that was about a 3 hour drive from the house
6. I really should have enjoyed the hunt more and not shot one opening morning. Could have probably found the same type of buck later and really enjoyed the hunting/camping more with my dad and son.

If I ever draw another special tag I will make sure I go in with a different plan of attack. Until that tags come I enjoy hunting each year in state and out of state. I am more into getting my sons and dad on bucks than pulling the trigger these days.

 

[Kevin W]

I am around 5 or 6 points for elk and am seriously considering burning them on a cow tag or spike tag. 5 years ago I went elk hunting once when my son then 13 yrs old drew a general tag and I took him to the Snowys during archery season. I didn't even see an elk, we heard them bugling though and had a great time. While I would love to shoot a bull after "building" the points I have now I think a cow or spike would suit me just fine.

 

[NEWHunter]

I started buying points in WI for black bears to hunt the area where my family has hunted for a couple generations. Took 9 years to draw the tag and shot a 20” seven footer. Took 10 years to pull the tag again. This time I had an even bigger bear coming in, had him come in, and long story short, I shot the wrong bear. I still get sick about it years later. Couldn’t stand to wait another 15 years to pull that bear tag again, so I started researching western hunting. Did a solo DIY hunt last in WY for antelope and got an OK buck on a 2nd choice tag - an extremely rewarding hunt. This year my Dad and I?ll be burning our 5 pts in the special for WY antelope. These antelope hunts likely wouldn’t have happened/won?t happen if I hadn?t screwed up and shot the wrong bear. And if i did do the antelope hunts they would likely have happened years from now and without my Dad. So now I?ll get to give my Dad his first western hunting experience and hopefully get a crack or two at some dandy antelope.

My long wait should have paid off with a trophy but didn’t because I screwed up. But, the moral of my story is banking points and screwing up a rare tag is paying off for me. Good luck to all, and remember, just cause you didn?t have the hunt you wanted doesn’t mean you didn?t have the hunt you needed.

 

[RICMIC]

While searching through old posts trying to decide of where to use my 9 elk points in the next year or two I found this post and see that you knew Topgun. I tried to PM you but obviously cant get through. If you haven't heard, Mike died back in March of cancer. He was on another forum with me and he wasn't afraid to say what was on his mind. I had a chance to meet him and we did a short antelope hunt together in A27. He didn't have an antelope tag only a deer B general. Sadly I got violently I'll with a head cold & vertigo and had to cut my hunt short. He certainly was mad at me but eventually got over it. He helped a lot of people on various forums and really knew about WY game law.
Just thought you should know.

Sorry to hear that; Mike was beyond helpful to me for my first antelope hunt, he sent maps, gave lots of good advice, even more strong opinions, and then met me in the hunt area and hunted with me for three days and helped spot and ultimately drag out my first pronghorn buck (as well as two does.) God-speed Mike, and Happy Hunting.

 

[Mnbogboy]

I'll get to give my Dad his first western hunting experience and hopefully get a crack or two at some dandy antelope.

Topgun went on a hog hunt with his Dad in Texas probably only a year or so before his Dad died. His stories of that hunt while we ate "hog polish" on the WY prairie have haunted me for several years now. My Dad was my first & best hunting partner and mentor. I never got a chance to bring Dad on a western hunt before he became too ill to go.
My Dad shot his last buck in WI at age 81 and his last archery doe with his left hand Bear recurve at age 82.
Dad died last month of CHF at age 92.

Have fun on your antelope hunt with your father. Memories that will last forever.