I personally like point systems. Here are some of my thoughts.
THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN AT IT FOR YEARS: I like the point systems and have been investing in them for 25 years. The point systems have paid off and will pay off. I have four prime elk tags that I should draw in the next 5-7 years barring a change in the systems. On the other hand, I have "lesser quality" tags I have drawn 3, 4 or 5 times on points. In my personal situation if there was a change, I would lose thousands of dollars that were spent as an investment, so states would have to address that seriously if they considered changes. I could have drawn tags in every one of these states by now, but I chose to stick it out for the best of the best.
NEWCOMERS TO HUNTING: My wife has been hunting 3 years. When she started hunting, I knew I had to employ a different strategy than trying to get her the best tag in the state. As a result, she has drawn three antelope tags, a sheep tag, two prime mule deer tags, one of the best blacktail tags in Oregon, and a Coues deer tag in the past three seasons. She has drawn tags in 5 different states, all of which have point systems. ALL of the tags she drew had point systems in place with the exception of her Oregon sheep tag. I expect over the next 5 years she will draw several more tags, including some high quality elk tags. This year my son drew the second best antelope tag in the state of Oregon with only 2 points. A person just has to do their homework and find the right places to apply. I honestly I would love to teach the stuff I've learned over the years, but if I do those opportunities will be gone for my friends and family. Even with point systems, the opportunities are out there for newbies, you just have to be strategic.
YOUTH HUNTING: Some states, like Oregon, are remedying the concern about youth, by having youth only tags, and also "First Time Hunter" program where if a child has not drawn a certain type of tag, they can pick ANY tag in the state they want so long as there are a certain number of tags in the unit (buck deer for example it has to have 51+ tags). The youth in Oregon WILL get some good tags if their mentor understands the system and how to best utilize it.
POINT CREEP: Point creep will eventually stop, there is just so long a person can hunt.
The problem with saying certain units take 15, 20 or 25 points, is those units are the best of the best. Those same units in a random draw would have odds so ridiculous that most people would never draw it even if they applied their entire lifetimes. One elk tag I am applying for has something like 1:600 simple draw odds. In a random draw it will take 600 years to draw statistically, most of us would die before then ;-). I will draw the firearm tag in a few years, even though I did not have max points to start with. I could have drawn the archery tag in that same unit many years ago, and had a tremendous hunt. Guys with far less points than me are drawing the archery tag. When you have a unit that has 1:600 odds, statistically it will take twelve hunting lifetimes to draw, if you applied for that unit every year for your entire lifetime (20 to 70 years old or so). That means 11 out of 12 people would never draw if they applied their whole lifetimes. At least with a point system someone can actually plan to draw certain tags eventually.
A very general approximation is tags take 1/3rd to 1/5th the time to draw with point systems that without. Most people don't think of this in terms of.....I will have 1:50 odds to draw...and even though I have a chance, I will likely never draw....OR I could draw that tag with 10 points if I stuck with it.
