Wyoming Preference Points Question

[Jaeger62]

General question here, but I am working on accumulating points in Wyoming for a quality hunt. Not necessarily a trophy, but I'd like a chance at a good quality buck.

Ball park what level of points are the better Units generally requiring? Will probably try to get out and try some doe hunts in the meantime just to get my feet wet.

 

[Gear-Reviewer]

That’ll change every year. How nice of a buck is nice to you? I’d say 3 points is a decent hunt, there’s a handful that are 4-6 that can be pretty dang good especially with weather and more than that you’re just seeing less people normally with a little better age class of antelope. Also more public land is a reason some units take more points...

 

[Jaeger62]

That’ll change every year. How nice of a buck is nice to you? I’d say 3 points is a decent hunt, there’s a handful that are 4-6 that can be pretty dang good especially with weather and more than that you’re just seeing less people normally with a little better age class of antelope. Also more public land is a reason some units take more points...

I am generally more of a meat hunter than a trophy hunter. But a good quality buck that would make a nice shoulder mount just once would be nice. I'm not the type to hold out 10-15yrs to try and shoot a B&C critter. Currently have 2 points and will buy another point once they open that back up this year.

I know I should probably sign up for GoHunt and start doing research on where to draw, but figured I'd get some general advice from some of you more experience speed goat chasers.

 

[realunlucky]

It's not a stagnant process. As more people enter the points game the more the number of points each tag takes to draw will grow (point creep)

You can go on Wyoming website and get all the information for free

Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk

 

[ScottR_EHJ]

It's going to be a few years until we figure out what the new normal is, if there is such a thing. The data out of Colorado on application numbers suggests that we may in for some whiplash when it comes to planning.

The only silver lining is that a LOT of people in the top tiers may be trying to get out of the mousetrap and applying way down just to get tags and then get out.

 

[NEWHunter]

P&Y minimum is 67 I think. Mid 60s can be had in 0 point units. I’ve got a 66 and 72 mounted from 0 point units and both look nice. Side by side the 72 definitely looks nicer than the 66 though. 3ish points in the special and options start to look better. Right now with 5-6 points things really start to open up. Keep in mind point creep isn’t going anywhere and if the allocations get changed the landscape will look a lot different

 

[Jimss]

Draw odds for Wyo nonres antelope has been going up every year in just about every unit in Wyo. Winterkill and drought years makes it even worse because there are more applicants vying for even fewer tags. I just looked through this year's tag allocations and doe tags have been severely cut through most of Wyo. Buck tags also tend to be cut. Buck tags in some units have actually been cut in 1/2. It may take twice as long to draw tags when that happens!

One other consideration is that Wyo res have been complaining about not drawing tags. There has been a push by Wyo residents to cut nonres tags in 1/2! That means it would take twice as long for nonres to draw tags.....and may even be longer for the prime units that get a lot of attention.

Nonres should be on the watch for 90/10 legislation and write emails with comments to legislators this coming winter! Nonres that have applied for tags for years and have spent a lot of $ on application and pref pts fees could possibly have things suddenly changed and pulled out from under them! Their pref pts that they've paid high fees for and waited years to draw limited tags will suddenly not be worth as much since nonres tags are cut in 1/2!

 

[BuzzH]

As tags become tougher to draw, its going to get easier and easier for 90-10 to pass.

Not a matter of if 90-10 passes, just when.

 

[MuleyFever]

The only silver lining is that a LOT of people in the top tiers may be trying to get out of the mousetrap and applying way down just to get tags and then get out.

For people in that "a couple of points" group this is actually not a silver lining. As people with a lot of points "settle" for a lesser unit to burn their points they drive point creep in those units.

 

[wytx]

Yeah well Jimss, residents would be happy to get to keep their true allotment of licenses and not roll our under allocated licenses from the 1st draw right into the NR draw. That is far from 90/10 on pronghorn.

Thanks for reminding me to write to my legislators, and commissioners.

 

[wytx]

Sorry to the OP, to answer your question about 5 PPs. Hunting trophy, horned doe is a fun way to fill the time gap while building PP, take advantage of buying all the doe tags you can. Enjoy a relaxed hunt, do some fishing, and look over some bucks to get comfortable judging them. Even have tags in 2 different areas, or more ,and get to know different parts of the state over a few years.

Always a chance at a random drawn tag too though, apply for the best areas and just maybe draw one .

 

[Jaeger62]

Sorry to the OP, to answer your question about 5 PPs. Hunting trophy, horned doe is a fun way to fill the time gap while building PP, take advantage of buying all the doe tags you can. Enjoy a relaxed hunt, do some fishing, and look over some bucks to get comfortable judging them. Even have tags in 2 different areas, or more ,and get to know different parts of the state over a few years.

Always a chance at a random drawn tag too though, apply for the best areas and just maybe draw one .

Yep, that sounds like my plan. For the most part I am a meat hunter who just likes to get out and enjoy the experience. I don't need a B&C buck, just a nice representative buck as a reminder on the wall one day. But I could have a great time just being out there and filling the freezer with doe for the most part.

 

[Rich M]

Don't listen to the doom & gloom talk. There are guys with 7-10 points bemoaning their draw potential. I used to say 5 points and you are golden. The increase in demand has changed that. Do a scan of various forums and see all the guys who are gonna go on 0 or 1 point and check the state application numbers to see the increase every year. Leftover licenses and getting on the 2nd draw is a thing of the past for NR hunters.

Basically - my advice as a NR who wants another antelope hunt - pick your unit and just APPLY. Just keep buying points and applying until you get it. Remember to apply for a doe tag or two and hope to pull one. Then maybe you can get 2 critters for your efforts.

Antelope are fun and that's why so many guys want to hunt them. They are very visible. It is a nice experience if you go expecting a crowded opportunity kind of thing. It wasn't like the You Tube videos when i went - folks everywhere, guys being very competitive and jerkish.

Buzz is talking about WY going 90/10 is that 90% of the tags go to residents and 10% go to NR hunters. They been pushing this for a couple of years. The Res hunters are crawling all over themselves and thinking the world would be better without NR - after all only res hunters deserve trophy animals. The license fees for NR will basically double. It will be a new world. This change is most likely a few years out. They are trying to iron out the details and gather support - the outfitters are worried about not getting enough business, and they should if they are gonna reduce the pool & pump up the prices.

 

[Jaeger62]

Don't listen to the doom & gloom talk. There are guys with 7-10 points bemoaning their draw potential. I used to say 5 points and you are golden. The increase in demand has changed that. Do a scan of various forums and see all the guys who are gonna go on 0 or 1 point and check the state application numbers to see the increase every year. Leftover licenses and getting on the 2nd draw is a thing of the past for NR hunters.

Basically - my advice as a NR who wants another antelope hunt - pick your unit and just APPLY. Just keep buying points and applying until you get it. Remember to apply for a doe tag or two and hope to pull one. Then maybe you can get 2 critters for your efforts.

Antelope are fun and that's why so many guys want to hunt them. They are very visible. It is a nice experience if you go expecting a crowded opportunity kind of thing. It wasn't like the You Tube videos when i went - folks everywhere, guys being very competitive and jerkish.

Buzz is talking about WY going 90/10 is that 90% of the tags go to residents and 10% go to NR hunters. They been pushing this for a couple of years. The Res hunters are crawling all over themselves and thinking the world would be better without NR - after all only res hunters deserve trophy animals. The license fees for NR will basically double. It will be a new world. This change is most likely a few years out. They are trying to iron out the details and gather support - the outfitters are worried about not getting enough business, and they should if they are gonna reduce the pool & pump up the prices.

One would think they'd need to bump the price of resident tags a fair amount if they want to make the same kind of money. Non Residents aren't going to finance Game and Fish like they do now with only 10% of the tags.

I'm all for State residents having a better odds than non-residents, but there needs to be some balance better than just 10% of tags going to non residents. Not sure what the ideal balance is.

 

[Rich M]

One would think they'd need to bump the price of resident tags a fair amount if they want to make the same kind of money. Non Residents aren't going to finance Game and Fish like they do now with only 10% of the tags.

I'm all for State residents having a better odds than non-residents, but there needs to be some balance better than just 10% of tags going to non residents. Not sure what the ideal balance is.

The residents get much better odds and even left over tags. NR folks don't really even get 2nd choice draws cause there are more folks applying than there are tags for most units. It's your first choice or bust pretty much.

The F&G department has to figure out the budget and how to distribute the funds. I'd think the NR would have to pay more for permits, but no idea. Someone was doing number crunching and said that the 90/10 idea didn't change stuff as much as we would think. Not sure of what to think.

I just know if you haven't gone and want to go - make the effort. It's a great trip.

 

[ScottR_EHJ]

One would think they'd need to bump the price of resident tags a fair amount if they want to make the same kind of money. Non Residents aren't going to finance Game and Fish like they do now with only 10% of the tags.

I'm all for State residents having a better odds than non-residents, but there needs to be some balance better than just 10% of tags going to non residents. Not sure what the ideal balance is.

Resident prices will increase at some point. Just a matter of when and where they have to do it. Won’t surprise me if a big game license is proposed like a lot of other states already do and then fees for your tag.

 

[wytx]

Like I stated just roll our resident unallocated tags from 1st draw back to residents for a leftover draw , you'll still get your 20-25% of tags.

 

[BuzzH]

The residents get much better odds and even left over tags. NR folks don't really even get 2nd choice draws cause there are more folks applying than there are tags for most units. It's your first choice or bust pretty much.

The F&G department has to figure out the budget and how to distribute the funds. I'd think the NR would have to pay more for permits, but no idea. Someone was doing number crunching and said that the 90/10 idea didn't change stuff as much as we would think. Not sure of what to think.

I just know if you haven't gone and want to go - make the effort. It's a great trip.

First paragraph isn't true...at all. NR's get a metric shit ton of tags leftover from the resident draw that roll to the NR's in the initial draw. Thousands of tags actually.

I crunched all the numbers and going 90-10 for LQ elk, moose, sheep, goat and bison would decrease license revenue about $150k, a rounding error in an 82 million a year budget.

If we went 90-10 for everything it was about 1.4 million in lost revenue (a vast majority of which is NR LQ deer tags), but keep in mind the region deer tags would NOT change. The funding could be made up for by raising RESIDENT full priced licenses $10 each and raising the RESIDENT annual fishing license by $3.

 

[BuzzH]

One would think they'd need to bump the price of resident tags a fair amount if they want to make the same kind of money. Non Residents aren't going to finance Game and Fish like they do now with only 10% of the tags.

I'm all for State residents having a better odds than non-residents, but there needs to be some balance better than just 10% of tags going to non residents. Not sure what the ideal balance is.

Lets see...Montana, Arizona, New Mexico, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, North Dakota, all have from 0-10% of their tags allocated to NR's.

That seems to be a fair balance in all those States, would work fine in Wyoming too.

 

[Laramie]

To the OP - You should count on an area requiring about 3x the number of points currently required by the time you draw imo. If starting now, a decent tag with a good amount of public land will likely take you 10 years to draw. That isn't a premium area but rather an area that takes 2-4 points currently. Premium areas will likely be 20+ year waits for someone starting now. Yes, you will be able to draw areas sooner than that but they will be primarily private land areas with limited to very limited public access.

Antelope permits will be available to non-residents in the future but a guy will just have to wait longer to get them. Doe tags are getting much harder to draw as well. That isn't going to change. That doesn't mean a guy should stop applying, you should just view the hunt with the right perspective. Enjoy the heck out of the tags when you do draw. Take a week vacation- see the sights, fish, camp etc. I agree with Buzz- 90/10 will eventually pass. It really won't change the antelope that much. There is already way more demand than supply so odds are getting tougher and points required will only continue to rise.