Hey yall I'm William. I am from eastern NC and I am just getting into hunting out west with some guys from my work. I hunt whitetails and black bear here in Nc but would like to hunt out west. Any and all advice is welcome.
Very new and very green
- Thread starter William Leroy Sykes
- Start date
sneakypete
Veteran member
ElkTrout
Veteran member
kesand72
Active Member
Your best place and species to get your feet wet out west imo: Wyoming antelope!! Hands down. Get preference points, get a tag n go hunt!! While you're at it get points for elk n mule deer too, cause once you go, you will be addicted!!
Last edited:
hoshour
Veteran member
crzy_cntryby
Active Member
- Dec 9, 2014
- 269
- 0
Great idea. Will give you a feel for elevation and gear without killing your budget.
missjordan
Veteran member
How do the preference points work? I've had people tell me it would be a minimum of 5 years before I get a tag and some people have said I would be able to get a tag in the next year or two.
siwulat
Active Member
Depends on the unit. There are units that can be drawn with no pp, but they generally have limited access. Refer to the drawing odds to get an idea of which units you can draw easily and which take a few years.
Pure preference point systems are essentially seniority based, tags go to the highest point holders. Every state is different and often individual species in a state are done differently. Bonus point systems give point holders more chances in the draw, no guarantees for top point holders. Quite a number of states use blended or hybrid style draws with elements of both systems along with a random draw. Basically you need to select a state (s) and study it's rules for species of interest.
Eastmans does a nice job describing western states systems and breaking down tags/areas in their MRS sections in both of their journals. You need to subscribe to both to get all the states they cover. I think you can also buy all the 2015 MRS info in a seperate book, which would really give you a jump start in learning states before the 2016 draw deadlines. Then read the 2016 MRS update and off you go.
Eastmans does a nice job describing western states systems and breaking down tags/areas in their MRS sections in both of their journals. You need to subscribe to both to get all the states they cover. I think you can also buy all the 2015 MRS info in a seperate book, which would really give you a jump start in learning states before the 2016 draw deadlines. Then read the 2016 MRS update and off you go.
firebeck
Very Active Member
Slugz
Veteran member
Welcome! All good advice.....My 2 sense......don't wait to hunt while bagging points. I'll use my home state/elk as an example........as a non resident you can hunt every year over the counter bulls and more likely than not have a cow tag on you at the same time. (while building points) Pick 2 areas you want to concentrate on and start to study. A common mistake is people bounce around from area to area and never learn one thoroughly. Expect 3 years at a minimum before you really understand whats going on and can predict the animal movement.
More importantly.....get out and do it!!!! Don't wait. Welcome again and happy holidays!
More importantly.....get out and do it!!!! Don't wait. Welcome again and happy holidays!
hoshour
Veteran member
They're both right, if you insert the phrase "very good" before "tag" in the quote from the guy that said it would take 5 years.
In the 9 western states that have some form of point system, whether bonus points or preference points, the better the tag, the longer you wait, usually. NM and ID have just random draws. See the "Understanding the Draw" article in the October EHJ for more info on how each state's draw system works.