Deciding on where to buy points?

[st59]

Hey y’all,

Being from Texas I’m new to the western side of things, I have an interest in bow hunting for pretty much anything out west, but interest mainly is moose and big horn (I know, long shot)

But my main question is if I’m at ground zero when it comes to preference points, I gohunt worth it, even though I’ll probably just do OTC elk/pronghorn for a while, until I build up points?

I’m young (21) so plenty of time to grow points. Just don’t know the best way to get started on this side of things. Any help on gohunt.com or anything similar is hugely appreciated!

 

[wapitibob]

You missed AZ Elk by a few weeks. Should have bought the license and a point; license would be good for next year too. Not the case for a license bought next year as the dates kick back 2023.

Utah Elk you can buy the license and a point up to March 18 and it'll be good next year too. If you want to apply for a hunt you'll have to do it by March 4.

WY Antelope/Deer app period ends June 1, If you don't draw buy all 3 points later in the point only period.

Those three will provide some value for your money with AZ/UT getting two years off the license. All 3 species points in WY is $125. AZ is about $95/year for Elk, UT is about $50. AZ and UT will be a raffle tickets for a while but better odds each year because they use Bonus Points. Look at units with the best random odds in UT and you might look at late archery in AZ for better odds at hunting sooner.

 

[j_volt]

There isn’t a wrong answer, but I can share what I did.
Year 1: Wyoming only
Year 2: Arizona + Montana + WY
Year 3: Colorado + MT + AZ + WY
Year 4: Utah + Nevada + CO + MT + AZ + WY
I wish would have started all in year 1, but I started this as a broke college kid. Desire and income have led me to more states. I recommend everyone think about what future them would want as this takes some time. I’d pay double (or way more) to go back in time on some states.

 

[bojangles808]

top rut i think is 2 states odds for 10 and all for 20$ way cheaper than go hunt

 

[Rich M]

There is no OTC antelope. You have to draw.

I never felt the desire to have to hunt all the states - stuck with WY and CO. YMMV.

 

[Scottyboy]

Nebraska has OTC NR archery license for antelope

 

[Wapiti1]

GoHunt can be useful, but you can get the information off the fish and game websites as well. Just be warned its not easy info to get to and interpret in most cases. I would look at Epic or Huntinfool if you are gong to spend that money. They have all that Gohunt offers plus you can call them to talk strategy.

There are some good draw hunts for elk and deer that take no or 1-2 points, but you have to ferret them out. They also tend to be backpack hunts, or have some other limitations. Still good hunts.

A subscription to Eastman's is probably the cheapest way to get a view of each state's system in a boiled down format. They'll also cover units and generally give you a good start, IMO. Just know they have more than one subscriber.

For moose, ID (no points, can only apply for one of moose, sheep, or goat), MT, UT, CO, WY. Save money for Alberta and BC.

For sheep, ID (see restriction above), MT, CO, WY, NV, NM (no points), AZ. I'd skip Utah for sheep. So few tags as no auctioned these days, it's even more not worth it than the other states.

CO has a hybrid system where you aren't entered into the draw until you have something like 3-4 points, then you can enter, but you don't have to keep buying points, you can just enter for the random odds. Or you can do both.

Jeremy

 

[Wapiti1]

CO also has an archery only antelope OTC tag. See page 54 of the Big Game Brochure.

MT has a really easy draw archery only permit as well for antelope.

Jeremy

 

[Brendan]

One thing to consider: OnX has been on the partnership train lately.

I'm a big Gaia fan, but with OnX you get access to TopRut and Huntin' Fool. If you have OnX already or are considering it, make sure you check out the partnership programs for research.

 

[Cschlimm]

Hey y’all,

Being from Texas I’m new to the western side of things, I have an interest in bow hunting for pretty much anything out west, but interest mainly is moose and big horn (I know, long shot)

But my main question is if I’m at ground zero when it comes to preference points, I gohunt worth it, even though I’ll probably just do OTC elk/pronghorn for a while, until I build up points?

I’m young (21) so plenty of time to grow points. Just don’t know the best way to get started on this side of things. Any help on gohunt.com or anything similar is hugely appreciated!

Personally I feel GoHunt is a great website easy to find the info your looking for but things are still very unpredictable with Point Creep and the increase number of guys going out west. For example this year I applied for a tag in WY that I had 4 points for and in 2020 Gohunt said I would draw 100% but I didn't draw this year. I dug into it and in 2020 there was 5 people that applied with 4 points this year in 2021 65 people applied for that same tag. Not to mention every year they are giving less and less tags to NR. I'm not telling you to not buy preference points can get you into some good general tags every couple years but find some OTC tags as back up. Also look into states like NM that has no point system. Good Luck!!

 

[vanish]

For Non-resident Moose and Sheep, save your money and buy a hunt. I'm not BSing you.

 

[jofes]

If you are serious about it, start saving like mad for a sheep hunt, and go hunt the unlimiteds. I would put excess funds to points and lottery tags as a 3rd priority with NR status. Just my .02.
If I don't draw any tags (only waiting on one more draw) I will go hiking/scouting in an unlimited unit I have been E scouting this sept.

 

[William Sublette]

Don't waste your life, and money on points.

It's a ponzi scheme you'll never catch up to.

Work you ass off , save like crazy, and hunt landowner tags, etc.

 

[cgasner1]

The big thing is what are you wanting as a hunter 400” bulls or just killing elk. Get a membership to go hunt and read where they break down how each state draws and how the system works. Find out what the require of you to put in to start playing. Applying for every animal in every state is a waste of time but if you spend enough time doing research you can put together a plan and draw some solid tags every few years and have a great time. It’s a long up hill battle but if you do your homework it’s possible. Just need to manage your expectations for each state


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