Wasting my money in Utah?

[Jd259]

So I’ve got 5 points in Utah for le elk and deer and am gettin ready to buy them again but am I wasting my money? I don’t fully understand how Utah works for non res are there any units that can even be drawn with 6-8 points or does a guy have to get flat ass lucky to draw anything if he doesn’t have max or close to max points? Same kind of question on the limited entry deer?
Thanks guys

 

[orionthehunter1]

After SFW stole so many tags for the expo it is hard for non-residents to draw anything as most units only have one tag available anymore

 

[realunlucky]

After SFW stole so many tags for the expo it is hard for non-residents to draw anything as most units only have one tag available anymore

Most units have 2 or 3 tags but that's pretty close to accurate statement.

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[realunlucky]

So I’ve got 5 points in Utah for le elk and deer and am gettin ready to buy them again but am I wasting my money? I don’t fully understand how Utah works for non res are there any units that can even be drawn with 6-8 points or does a guy have to get flat ass lucky to draw anything if he doesn’t have max or close to max points? Same kind of question on the limited entry deer?
Thanks guys

Here is a quick summary. Half the tags are reserved for people with the most points other half is a drawing where everyone except top point holders are entered. If a unit with only one tag it's open to everyone to draw. So yes you can get lucky draw any tag. For every point you have you get assigned a random number you keep your lowest number Utah then awards tags starting at the lowest number working to the highest until tags are distributed

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[elkyinzer]

I'm in about the same position so I would encourage you to drop out, naturally! But yes, the SFW tags are beyond ludicrous. I'll continue to piss away money. I don't ever gamble or play the lotto or any raffle tickets or the like, so this is my one vice in that regard.

 

[Brianb3]

Man for 140 for all draws or if you are ahead of things and utilize the 365 lisc over 2 years n cut it to 80$ish a year I say why not. You never know things can change down the road how they allocate people may rise up against point creep n make changes.


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[orionthehunter1]

yeah money wise it is not a bad deal, but odds wise it is even with the random tag in some units the odds are still bad. Not to mention if you are just starting out you will never draw a henries deer tag or san juan elk tag

 

[Jd259]

Yeah the cost of the points is the only thing keeping me in the game I was just curious if there were actually any hunts that I could bank on drawing in the next five years but by the sounds of it I’m basically putting for the 1 random tag per year until the day I die lol still the cheapest points around I guess I’ve drawn general deer before and had great hunts and killed nice bucks so I guess I’ll keep donating to them twenty bucks at a time.

 

[realunlucky]

Yeah the cost of the points is the only thing keeping me in the game I was just curious if there were actually any hunts that I could bank on drawing in the next five years but by the sounds of it I’m basically putting for the 1 random tag per year until the day I die lol still the cheapest points around I guess I’ve drawn general deer before and had great hunts and killed nice bucks so I guess I’ll keep donating to them twenty bucks at a time.

General deer is different point system (bonus points) they always award from highest point holders to lowest until there are no tags left.
Also a few units set up for opportunity over quantity have multiple non resident tags in the random draw but your odds are always going to be low.

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[Jd259]

General deer is different point system (bonus points) they always award from highest point holders to lowest until there are no tags left.
Also a few units set up for opportunity over quantity have multiple non resident tags in the random draw but your odds are always going to be low.

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Thanks man I appreciate the info guess I’ll just keep planning my normal hunts I can count on and maybe I’ll get lucky one of these years and pull a Utah tag... for ten bucks it’s worth it I guess.

 

[mtnrunner260]

There are archery elk tags you could draw with 5 or so years. Deer is another story...

 

[realunlucky]

There are archery elk tags you could draw with 5 or so years. Deer is another story...

Only a cache tag there is a reason only 24 total non residents applied in those three archery units. That's a tough area without private access

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[mtnrunner260]

What about the snatch?

 

[realunlucky]

What about the snatch?

Not for non residents it takes 10 and residents with 5 are 67% in max point draw. For residents there are a few choices with 5 but non residents have slim pickings

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[krojemann]

So...as a nonresident looking to start building points in more western states, am I understanding correctly that Utah isn't a recommended state to do so?

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[realunlucky]

So...as a nonresident looking to start building points in more western states, am I understanding correctly that Utah isn't a recommended state to do so?

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Utah cost is pretty low and everyone has a chance at the best units in the state. Someone drew an antelope island deer tag with no points last year arguably the best place to kill a monster in the state.

Quick stats from 2017 for you
Non residents with zero point drew 13 limited entry elk tags and 17 le deer tags 7 le antelope tags and 2 bison tags. That's 39 tags drawn by guys applying for thier first time to Utah

Utah sounds to me like a great place start applying to me

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[krojemann]

Utah cost is pretty low and everyone has a chance at the best units in the state. Someone drew an antelope island deer tag with no points last year arguably the best place to kill a monster in the state.

Quick stats from 2017 for you
Non residents with zero point drew 13 limited entry elk tags and 17 le deer tags 7 le antelope tags and 2 bison tags. That's 39 tags drawn by guys applying for thier first time to Utah

Utah sounds to me like a great place start applying to me

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That's good to hear because I'm already $75 too late, ha.

From reading this though, are you saying that Utah is great because even low point holders have a chance at good units? How about Utah as a state for sitting back and building six or seven points, then looking to draw a good/descent unit?



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[wannakillabigbull]

Utah cost is pretty low and everyone has a chance at the best units in the state. Someone drew an antelope island deer tag with no points last year arguably the best place to kill a monster in the state.

Quick stats from 2017 for you
Non residents with zero point drew 13 limited entry elk tags and 17 le deer tags 7 le antelope tags and 2 bison tags. That's 39 tags drawn by guys applying for thier first time to Utah

Utah sounds to me like a great place start applying to me

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That's good to hear because I'm already $75 too late, ha.

From reading this though, are you saying that Utah is great because even low point holders have a chance at good units? How about Utah as a state for sitting back and building six or seven points, then looking to draw a good/descent unit?



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Utah sounds good when you put it like realunlucky did. While the numbers he gave are accurate, the odds of drawing are incredibly slim. For those 13 guys that drew elk tags with no points, there were 2238 guys that didn't. For those 17 guys that drew LE deer tags with no points there were 1829 guys that didn't. For those 7 guys that drew LE antelope tags with no points there were 831 guys that didn't. Utah is really hard to draw all around pretty much for limited entry tags.

Kroj, Utah isn't a great state for drawing at six or seven points. With seven points in 2017 for elk you were only guaranteed to draw one of two tags (archery or late rifle) in the worst limited entry unit in the state. For deer with 7 points last year you were guaranteed early rifle in North Slope Summit or November muzzy in Nine Mile. For antelope you could have been guaranteed Plateau Parker Mtn for muzzy or archery. And the odds of drawing in the random draw even with 7 points isn't particularly great either. Those are all units that very few people apply to for a reason. Point creep will certainly be a factor in the future and likely make those all harder to draw. All the draw stats are available to the public so take a look at them yourself if you'd like.

https://wildlife.utah.gov/hunting/biggame/pdf/2017/17_big_game_odds_report.pdf
Utah Elk Hunting, Draw Odds Results and Harvest Data - Toprut.com

IMHO Utah is a state to apply to if you like to gamble. Some other states offer you guaranteed draw on some good tags with 7 points or fewer, so if that's the route you want to go there are better options. I throw my name in the hat in Utah but haven't been drawn for anything yet.

 

[Wapiti1]

It won't help draw, but you can cut cost by using the license 2 years in a row to enter the draw. Since the license is good for a full 365 days, just apply for the draw before your license expires the next year. If you draw, you'll have to buy a new one, but if you don't draw, you cut the license portion in half.

Utah gets my donation every year. One day, I'll pull a tag or two out of Utah. One day............

Jeremy

 

[NoWiser]

Utah is a bad state to build points in if you expect to cash them in, in 10 years on a good tag. It just isn't going to happen. If you are starting now, you'd better be very young and patient if you plan on drawing a tag using your points as preference points. But, if you build points by actually applying every single year hoping to get lucky, it's a pretty decent value. Odds are tough, but someday it could happen! I apply every year for mid-tier tags. I have no expectation that I'll draw anything in the next couple decades, but hope I get surprised at some point.