I've not even applied this year. Have for the last 4 years. The last 2 years were bad enough due to the drought. Giving them a break this year. May go further south for something else (Colorado OTC elk or New Mexico)
We bumped into a few while pronghorn hunting in Wyoming. It seems certain types of hillsides with brush tend to hold more rattlers than the open grassy areas. I dunno. But we had 3 different ones rattling around us while we were busking through some sage on a hillside. We beat a hasty retreat to...
...have you thought about applying for doe tags? You could keep building points, and use a doe tag to learn an area and bag a doe. That's what we've done for the last 4 years now.
We might be in 37, just to the south, chasing a cow elk, IF the leftover draw works in our favor. Looks like a lot of dark timber, some open meadows, and a few rocky areas, but not too many. Trail access looks doable, just depends on the weather.
Some of us aren't into that game anymore, not at those rates, besides, I gotta keep buying 'points' for tags! I'm old enough now, that I don't need to 'keep up with the Jones's', and I'm still young enough that I can crawl under my ride and work on them. Replacing wheel bearings and CV axles...