Preference Points for Deer

[MOhunter28]

Hi, new to the forum and also slightly new to western hunting in general. Trying to plan a mule deer hunt in the future (2-3 years) and am curious about preference points. I see some guys say the have 15 pp or 12 pp does this mean they have really bought a single point for the past 15 or whatever years?! sorry if this seems like a stupid question. Thank you for any advice.

 

[Musket Man]

You can only get 1 point per year so yes it would take 15 years to get 15 points.

 

[MOhunter28]

Thank you for answering such a simple question but I is amazing some guys wait that long for a deer tag!

 

[Tim McCoy]

My brother cashed in 21 deer points this year... It gets confusing. Bonus points vs preference points vs hybrid's draws, general seasons, ... There are cases where you can get more than a point in a year. For example OR for youth. AZ gives one added point each for loyalty and hunter safety course, so at the end of 5 years you could have 7 points I believe. But for the vast majority of situations it is a point a year. It pays to study what ever state (s) you plan to apply in so you do not miss opportunities or mess up. They are all different.

 

[shootbrownelk]

Thank you for answering such a simple question but I is amazing some guys wait that long for a deer tag!

I'm a resident and we don't have PP's for anything other than Sheep and Moose. I've applied for good deer areas for 20+ years and haven't drawn. So, at 12-15 points, you are lucky as Non-residents have better odds at deer/elk and antelope than residents do.

 

[Slugz]

MO hunter,

what TM said above.....if you do a little studying you will see most states you don't have to wait.....build points then go hunting........you can build points while hunting with a general, leftover...etc etc...depending on the state......enables you to really learn an area. But you are also correct some guys don't even hunt at all and build points.

 

[PlainsHunter]

You can keep your points in WY if you draw your 2nd choice in the drawing- so this is an option along with left over tags after the drawing are done.

 

[cmbbulldog]

Once you start applying in multiple states, a strategy is a good idea. I have some states where I plan to draw every 2-3 years, but then build big points in other states for a once in a lifetime hunt. I think that's why you see folks with big points.

 

[hoshour]

Unless they are applying in several states, I can't understand why people put in for so many years. You have a much better chance at a trophy buck by hunting 4 or 5 times in 20 years in what Eastmans' would label a Good unit, than once in a super blue chip unit.

That's especially true if you are going DIY because if you are hunting a unit where the top end is higher than your minimum trophy size, knowing the unit well is much more important than how many B&C bucks come out of that unit.

 

[MOhunter28]

Thanks everyone for the info, I'm starting to figure this out more and more. I have the MRS now so that is very eye opening.

 

[Naturebob]

Yup, in AZ. if You take hunter ed. You get a permanent point and after 5 yeaers ina row of applying you get a loyalty point. So when you draw you start over with 2 points already on all species this goes. Thats about the only good thing about the draw. So some low demand elk hunts you can get pretyy often if a res maybee non res too..............BOB!