The West is unlike many places in the hunting world. The landscape is varied, the animals diverse, and securing a tag to chase a particular species is intricate. Rarely is obtaining a western hunting permit as simple as visiting a licensed vendor and pulling out the wallet. Of course, state residents can often purchase certain big-game tags over the counter (OTC) for specific areas and species. However, those opportunities, even for residents, are shrinking in most locales.
Non-residents have OTC opportunities in some states, though most agencies have gone to an OTC/w Caps system. This means tags are available, usually at a pre-set date/time, until they are gone. But the application process and tag allocation varies from state to state and can be overwhelming for hunters looking to apply for the first time. Building points, entering lotteries, and understanding point creep make the process even more confusing. So we put together this guide to help you with upcoming applications, including basic info on point systems and the best ways to draw your dream tag. Here's how to get started.
Develop a Hunt Plan
I am 44 years old and just now starting to reap the benefits of my Western big-game hunt plan, which includes extensive yearly research. I subscribe to every state fish and game agency newsletter, visit state websites regularly, and use GoHunt's Insider Program daily. Most important, I break down my applications into three categories based on draw difficulty. I categorize them as premium, quality, and easy. Premium tags can take 20-plus years to draw, and even then the draw odds are still low. Quality tags take between 7 and 19 points, and easy-to-draw tags take between 0 and 6 points. I recommend doing something similar to increase your odds of drawing quality tags over an extended period of time.
If your budget allows, apply to as many different Western states for as many species as possible. Develop a plan that gives you lots of options. The way I structure my applications always allows me to hunt while still stacking points for future hunts. Plus, if you pay close attention to OTC w/Caps on-sale dates, you can always put a tag or two in your pocket.
The Western Tag Draw System
Not every state uses the same Western tag draw system. Here's what you need to know concerning preference points, bonus points, and lotteries.
Preference Points
Preference Point systems are the most common. In this system, the more points you have, the better your chances of obtaining a permit. If you have 9 preference points for archery elk in Unit X and it usually takes 7 points to draw, you get the tag.
However, some states offer hybrid draws within a preference point system to encourage those with lower or no preference points to apply. For example, when I pulled my Colorado archery bighorn tag, I had 3 weighted points (necessary to get into the draw) and 19 standard preference points. One of the other tag holders in the unit had 3 weighted points and only 5 standard points. There are exceptions to every rule, and you'll learn this when you play the Western tag draw game.
Bonus Points
This system is tricky and challenging to understand. The main difference between bonus and preference points is that preference point systems ensure that all or some of the tags available in a specific area go to hunters who have accumulated the most points. With a bonus point system, you can always draw a premium tag, even if you only have one or two points.
Lottery Tags
Some states find operating off a lottery-style system simpler. Lottery systems can be a pure lottery, meaning a random draw, while some states, like Colorado, utilize the lottery system for certain species. The Centennial State is purely a preference point state, but regarding the annual Desert bighorn draw, it is a pure lottery.
Arizona, for the most part, is a lottery state. However, each year a hunter doesn't draw via the state's random number generator program, that hunter is issued a bonus point, which improves their odds of drawing the following year.
Secondary Draws, Leftover Tags, & Reissued Tags
Don't tell anyone, but I base my Western tag life off this headline. Many states, like Colorado, Nevada, and Idaho, have a secondary tag draw. Your job is to know when applications are due. Remember, subscribe to those newsletters. The secondary tag draw allows hunters unsuccessful in the primary draw to re-apply for limited draw permits in units where the quota was not filled during the primary draw.
Many states offer leftover tags on a first-come, first-served basis. Leftover tag lists typically hit state game and fish websites in August after the primary and secondary draws. Leftover lists show all tags for all species that are still available. Sometimes, these lists are thin. Other times, for certain species and sexes, they are thick. If you like elk meat, you can obtain leftover cow permits every year and have a fantastic hunt while learning a unit inside and out for a future bull hunt.
Each year, hunters in multiple states turn tags back in for one reason or another. Some reasons include sickness, family emergencies, and drawing numerous premium tags only to realize that some hunt dates overlap. How each state handles turned-in tags varies, but more and more are selling the tags on a reissue list. Some states add the tags directly to the leftover list, while others make a special case for these permits.
Regardless, you need to pay attention. It's common for tags to get returned throughout the year. If you stay on top of when (usually weekly) states put reissue tags up for viewing and know when they go on sale, you may find yourself with a premium or quality permit that took someone 20-plus years to obtain.
What Is Point Creep?
Point Creep is a hot topic out West. Point Creep is accurate, and it is getting worse in many states. For example, in my lifetime, my favorite Colorado archery elk unit has gone from requiring 2 preference points to 7 preference points to 12 preference points. How?
People sit back and accumulate points. Hunters pay attention when a big animal of any species emerges from a particular area or unit. The following year, that hunter, who may have 18 elk preference points, decides to put in for an area requiring only 6 preference points. This drives the point creep up in that unit for that species.
There are ways, sometimes, to battle point creep. My wife cashed in 21 elk preference points this year for a muzzleloader tag that required 14 preference points. Yes, she hurt the creep in that unit, but she wanted to hunt elk. She had been applying since she had 17 points for a First Rifle Bull Only unit that she could never catch. The year she had 17 points, she had a 56 percent chance of drawing the permit. By the time she had 22 points, she had a 36 percent chance of drawing. That is point creep at its finest, and one way to combat it is hunting with a primitive weapon.
Use GoHunt for Planning
The best Western hunt investment I ever made was purchasing an Insider subscription to GoHunt. This online program is the most effective way to research draw odds, harvest statistics, etc., for any species in the West. In addition to drawing filtering and research tools, GoHunt's article base is remarkable. They provide up-to-date alerts and stories that pertain to state draw changes, fees, and those that walk you step-by-step through state draw processes. It's a remarkable tool. This year, for instance, GoHunt's Draw Odds system tells me I have a 19 percent draw chance in Nevada for archery elk and a 78 percent for pronghorn in Wyoming. This system saves time and helps me plan hunts well in advance of drawing a tag.
