Who here has been compiling points out west? I know it has been discussed a bit in the past. I'm starting to think about doing some research and diving into it next year. I've got a list of animals I want to chase, and other than Moose and Caribou, I want to do it in the lower 48. Realistically since I just recently went back to finish school I won't be able to travel for a hunt until 2016. And also money will be slightly tighter than usual so I may not be able to fully start everything I want to right now. I'll provide my list, and kind of what my outline is for it, I may be way off as well so critique as you see fit. Antelope (OTC option would probably be fine) Elk Mule Deer Bighorn & Desert Sheep (Hard to draw, but I want to say I've at least done it. For now my thinking is I could use Colorado OTC elk or deer as a fall back option for when I don't draw. Apply for elk and deer points in CO, WY, AZ. I'm okay with drawing areas in CO and WY with only a few points every few years, and then waiting in AZ for a more top end unit. The sheep part is where I'm kind of lost at. CO for Bighorn and where to for Deserts? Also am I missing the boat by not looking more into NV and UT? I've also thought about draws for elk in NM, but think OTC areas in Colorado are better bang for the $$$ invested. This is a new world to me. I've read a bit here and there, and plan on researching it out more in the next few months if I think it is something I can foot the bill to this spring. Some tags may have to wait for a different year. I've talked about hunting out west for a few years now, I'm ready to just finally go do it.
Scott...see this link for tons of great info! I'm all ears - any info on buying/building points per state?
Haha funny you mention that forum, I finally posted a thread on it last night. Great site, a little dangerous if you read too much about some of those hunts though! I'll check the link out later when I have time to pull info from it. Have you started applying Matt?
Only building points for Elk and Rocky Mtn Sheep in CO. For me - not sure the point system is worth the cost in most states...I'm totally fine with OTC and General tags as antler size is not that important to me...plus with 4 kids coming up in the ranks, by the time the top end tags would be coming thru for me, I will much rather be spending my money on taking my kids West to hunt. Personally, Sheep and Goat will require playing the game if you want to hunt them...most everything else (Elk, Muley, Bear, Pronghorn, Moose(Alaska)) can be had each year with some form of general tag. Good luck with it all!
I may wait on sheep so I don't have to foot the bill for the tag right now. Might just start with Elk and Deer in AZ and CO, and think about UT and WY and sheep tags once school is done next year. If I do Arizona this spring, I may be able to try to save up to go chase deer while classes are out in December/January in '15/16.
So if/when I draw in Utah you guys have a couch for me to crash on then right? I'd hate to sleep on nothing but rocks and rattlesnakes!
Well, there are tarantulas too. They're soft and fuzzy. Heh But yes, you're welcome to crash here. Eventually I might even figure out where there are some deer and elk. Trying trying to pull a sheep or moose tag in utah is about an effort in futility. Pulling a mt goat tag is doable with points. Limited entry bull and buck units can take many, many points too. Tho' there are some nice animals to be taken. Just don't tell anyone. Lol
Be careful Scott...you'll end moving permanently out West There are some prime locations that you could live, say Western/Central Colorado for example, that you could hunt the best CO has to offer, plus only be short day trips to UT, WY, AZ, NM...and not much farther to ID and NV. The problem would be having time left over to actually work and make money I'll choose to forever live in IL since both my wife and I's full families live in the same town...which is awesome...but I'll never be able to get out west enough, so much to hunt...so little time.
Oh I don't doubt that for a second. I have only spent 2 days out there and I never wanted to leave. It damn near killed me having to bail out on Will's camp this year lol.
At one point I was applying in MT,WY,CO,UT,AZ,NV,IA etc for most species but once the kids came along I didn't have the luxury of spending over 1K in non-refundable fees PLUS go on 1-2 out of state hunts a year... So I've limited it now to about half a dozen tags I'm building for - I still end up spending around $300 in non-refundable funds PLUS end up fronting a couple of thousand dollars every spring - but it's cheaper then it was... Trying to get the best bang for my buck so to speak...
As far as refundable tags go, I could charge them to a credit card and just pay it off when the refund comes back I assume??? I'll have to really sit down after the New Year and put a financial plan together on what each stat costs, how long to draw, etc.
As I think about it more and look things over, I'm thinking about only building points for true trophy and hard to draw hunts that take 10-20 years to draw. Other than that I'm sure I'd be completely satisfied using general tags for elk and muley when I can. I'll be 27 if I start building this spring so that gives me some time to wait some of those tags out.
You do get a lot of that money back, but there is still a portion that you don't. In many states you not only have to buy an out of state license to apply, but then you have to pay for your preference points... I figure at my peak of applying I was fronting around 10K +/-... Man I hope the wife doesn't see this post... :-) I never actually wanted to figure out the exact numbers but just shooting from the hip I probably got about 85% of that back after the draws - minus hunting licenses and various fees that I was getting charged.. Of course some states are better about timely draws vs. application deadlines... While other states can hold onto your money for months - so you end up paying some interest too if you don't have money to cover your entire CC bill.... Figure all those costs plus the fact that I would actually try and draw 1-2 tags and you can see how you could legitimately spend in the 3K per year range total when you combine all the tags you didn't draw with the 1-2 that you did draw.. Plus you have to have cash to GO on your hunts... That's why I started to get more selective - much like your talking about. I still splurge on a few draws but I'm not a high roller - so I needed to really be more selective on the hunts that I'm building for. Not that I'm an expert but I've applied in most of the western states at one point and hunted a bunch of them so if you have any questions about anything specially drop me a PM...
You do get a lot of that money back, but there is still a portion that you don't. In many states you not only have to buy an out of state license to apply, but then you have to pay for your preference points... I figure at my peak of applying I was fronting around 10K +/-... Man I hope the wife doesn't see this post... :-) I never actually wanted to figure out the exact numbers but just shooting from the hip I probably got about 85% of that back after the draws - minus hunting licenses and various fees that I was getting charged.. Of course some states are better about timely draws vs. application deadlines... While other states can hold onto your money for months - so you end up paying some interest too if you don't have money to cover your entire CC bill.... Figure all those costs plus the fact that I would actually try and draw 1-2 tags and you can see how you could legitimately spend in the 3K per range total when you combine all the tags you didn't draw with the 1-2 that you did draw.. Plus you have to have cash to GO on your hunts... That's why I started to get more selective - much like your talking about. I still splurge on a few draws but I'm not a high roller - so I needed to really be more selective on the hunts that I'm building for. Not that I'm an expert but I've applied in most of the western states at one point and hunted a bunch of them so if you have any questions about anything specially drop me a PM...
