Should I have known..Wyoming 2013 Antelope Quotas...reduced when?

[davidmc]

I do want to thank every one of you for your contributions and help; I understand the system much better than I did. I will save this thread for reference.

Concerning 2nd choices, I thought that paying the Special price, and having 1PP, we would draw 2nd choice before others with no PP or not Special price would even get their 1st choices.....but from the explanation above, that is not true. Understanding this will help us apply next year also.

We hunted 63 in 2011, paying Special with 1PP. All 3 got bucks, not large, but we had a great time on a first-time DIY antelope hunt. Hopefully we will return next year, applying with all this new info I learned. We will have 2PP. We are somewhat restricted on when we can hunt, I am a full time grain farmer, and must hunt units with early seasons....these mid Sept. opening dates are about all that will work, and we must hunt the first few days so I can get home for harvest.

Thanks again to everyone for their time. Good hunting!

 

[Kevin W]

One thing forsure David; 63-1 with 2 points and special tag price coupled with 1st choice next year would seem to put you in a pretty good position to draw your tags. Thanks for starting the thread, lots of good info in it; especially the part about revising unit choices after the tag allotments get locked in.

 

[WapitiBob]

The Special price draw is totally separate from the Regular price draw....
Points are only used in the PP side of the draw.....
EVERYONE is included in the PP draw, even those with 0 points...
Everyone that did not draw a tag in the Special PP draw is included in the Special Random draw = points are not used here =
all "recommended" season/tag numbers are available 3rd week of MARCH, prior to public meetings. Very few changes are made after the meetings.
All final season/tag numbers are available prior to app change period...

If you have questions prior to the draw, just ask. someone will answer..

 

[EBOLAVIRS]

One thing forsure David; 63-1 with 2 points and special tag price coupled with 1st choice next year would seem to put you in a pretty good position to draw your tags. Thanks for starting the thread, lots of good info in it; especially the part about revising unit choices after the tag allotments get locked in.

63-1 took three points in the special draw this year, all six tags went to those with three points. Next year it will likely take 3 or more. He could get 63-2 provided there is no point creep. Personally, from what I have seen, three points for 63-1 is insane. Like I said I would look at other units.

 

[davidmc]

63-1 took three points in the special draw this year, all six tags went to those with three points. Next year it will likely take 3 or more. He could get 63-2 provided there is no point creep. Personally, from what I have seen, three points for 63-1 is insane. Like I said I would look at other units.

Yes, I realize 63-1 would not work with 2PP any longer with the reduced quota. , 63-2 should....however, not sure whether either of these would be our choice for next year. The important thing I have learned is how the system works, and modifying our application after final quotas....that should put us in an excellent position to pick the proper unit next year and really go hunting.

Keep any further good info or helpful hints on the application process coming.

 

[Topgun 30-06]

63-1 took three points in the special draw this year, all six tags went to those with three points. Next year it will likely take 3 or more. He could get 63-2 provided there is no point creep. Personally, from what I have seen, three points for 63-1 is insane. Like I said I would look at other units.

***I'd sure agree with your comments and I have no idea how KevinW made his statement about 2PPs giving them a shot next year when it took 3 for even a chance to draw 63-1 this year. In fact, there were another 58 applicants with less than 3PPs that had it as their first choice and if a bunch of them buy another PP this year, which you can be pretty certain will happen, and apply for it again there will be a lot of them that won't even be able to draw the tag next year. There is no way I'd be putting in for 63, especially paying the higher price along with all the PP money needed to draw a tag the way it has gone downhill. That's what happens though when people read magazine hype that is based on past years and go by that instead of doing some real research on a bunch of internet hunting websites before they apply. The latter generally is better because there will be a bunch of people that have been on the ground and can offer better information. This thread is a good example of how people in the know can help others.

 

[Doe Nob]

The only other thing I can add to this conversation is we didn't draw a unit that took 1 or less last year, and took 3 or more this year, we had 2 points, and tag #'s didn't get cut in the unit. Tag cuts in some units have people moving to look at different units, I'm also a firm believer that the bill before the legislature to raise non-resident fees that was being debated at the time applications were due caused a lot of non-residents to want to put in and burn points before the prices went up. It didn't pass this time around, but I think you have a lot of people burning more points than necessary traditionally on units this fall because of that.

 

[EBOLAVIRS]

You hit the nail on the head, the last couple years in Wyoming it has been getting harder and harder to predict what it will take to draw different units, applicants and preference points have varied wildly in some units from year to year. I would agree the talk of raising fees has had an impact and will continue to do so.

 

[Topgun 30-06]

I definitely agree to that synopsis on PPs. Next year may be just as bad because something has to happen in the Legislature next year to get some fee increases through before the G&F goes bust. That would mean the increase would go into effect in 2015, so IMHO people should expect more goofy stats in the 2014 draw!

 

[Kevin W]

***I'd sure agree with your comments and I have no idea how KevinW made his statement about 2PPs giving them a shot next year when it took 3 for even a chance to draw 63-1 this year. In fact, there were another 58 applicants with less than 3PPs that had it as their first choice and if a bunch of them buy another PP this year, which you can be pretty certain will happen, and apply for it again there will be a lot of them that won't even be able to draw the tag next year. There is no way I'd be putting in for 63, especially paying the higher price along with all the PP money needed to draw a tag the way it has gone downhill. That's what happens though when people read magazine hype that is based on past years and go by that instead of doing some real research on a bunch of internet hunting websites before they apply. The latter generally is better because there will be a bunch of people that have been on the ground and can offer better information. This thread is a good example of how people in the know can help others.

Great thread indeed!!! Being I am new at this is it possible for an antelope to have 3 of the 4 circumference measurements below the prong?

 

[Topgun 30-06]

QUOTE=Kevin W;59500]Great thread indeed!!! Being I am new at this is it possible for an antelope to have 3 of the 4 circumference measurements below the prong?[/QUOTE]


It certainly is if the prongs are high enough so that the third measurement of the four works out right. This one I shot last year out there just barely made that third measurement right below the prong and because his mass was so good he hit 80", but then lost a couple inches after the drying period. He was right at 14" in length, which is not that great, but because his prongs were so high the third measurement at 7" was just as good as the first two. A little difference on that measurement at half his length would have cost as much as 4-6 inches if it was above the prong.

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[MWScott72]

The only other thing I can add to this conversation is we didn't draw a unit that took 1 or less last year, and took 3 or more this year, we had 2 points, and tag #'s didn't get cut in the unit. Tag cuts in some units have people moving to look at different units, I'm also a firm believer that the bill before the legislature to raise non-resident fees that was being debated at the time applications were due caused a lot of non-residents to want to put in and burn points before the prices went up. It didn't pass this time around, but I think you have a lot of people burning more points than necessary traditionally on units this fall because of that.

Yep - exactly. I burned my NR points this year to try and pull a decent tag before the fees go up. I think a lot of people did the same.