2017 Plan???

[Foxtrot1]

I am at a crossroads in planning my hunts out west this year and I am not really sure which path I should take. Currently I am sitting on 6 Pts for Elk and Deer in Wy. I seem to be on the edge of being able to draw some quality tags, but each year that mark seems to move up. I also have 2 pts for antelope. In Utah I have 5 pts for elk and deer. So far this year I have decided to try for the following:

WY- elk- taking a long shot at a good unit. Not too heart broken if I don't draw this year.
antelope- group application with family. This is my "primary" want to go on hunt. We take a couple of weeks to fish, antelope hunt, and bird hunt over the dogs. Not very confident in our odds. Probably 50-50?
deer- No idea what I should do?

Utah- Deer and Elk, more points

New Mexico Elk and Oryx applications will go in.

Kentucky Elk app will go in

Alabama Gator app will go in

Maine Moose app will be submitted. No confidence in this one ever coming thru, but I have been trying for 15 yrs....

And finally a return trip to SD for pheasants is pretty likely.


What do you guys think? What would you do? What are you guys in similar situations planning?

 

[JohnCushman]

There's some good units in WY for antelope you can get for 1 or 2 points without the special drawing.

 

[LCH]

How much time do you have to fit it in? That's always the limiting factor in my hunt planning.

 

[Foxtrot1]

LCH, honestly time MAY be an issue, but I won't know until I find out if we draw antelope tags. From a leave stand point I have planned 2 weeks (17 days, I work 4 day weeks) for the antelope hunt, 1 week for SD pheasants. I would be willing to use another 1-2 weeks of leave, but it would have to be a very GOOD deer or elk hunt.

But we may not draw antelope tags or I might could stay 3 weeks and combine it with a deer tag? Only possible issue with that is we usually set our antelope hunt to coincide with sage grouse season so I can take the dogs.

 

[Zim]

IMHO as a 20+ point holder in many states, your moves are obvious. Buying into the Utah scam 5 years ago was your biggest mistake. I'd do some serious odds study and bail on that immediately. Utah is the scam capital of the US and SFW owns UDOW, skimming way too many primo tags for auction. Just look at their dismal NR powerball odds and prognosis at the 5 point level. Money much better invested elsewhere. Cut your loses and bail.

I'd also stop applying for KY elk another bad investment regardless it's cheap.

Add Arizona & Colorado and target 3-5 point hunts. These are good values.

Keep the faith on Maine. I'm at 18 and finally getting my points expanded to beat their scam as well. You are in range. It's realistic. I drew New Hampshire (1%) in 2012 and scored a toad.

Good luck.

 

[Addicting]

My hunting partner was a second time draw in Maine moose in 2001. So don't count it out with their system.

 

[Foxtrot1]

Maine and Kentucky are such long odds, I never plan on them. I will shuffle leave/schedule to make one of those happen when I do draw. It's funny, with such horrible odds that between myself and 2 friends we've drawn 3 moose tags (2any moose, 1 cow) and 1 bull elk tag in Kentucky over the last decade.

I got a call from a friend last night, perfect timing, and he's just been transferred to White Sands Missle Base. He's gonna check next week, but he's pretty sure he can escort me on one of the security badge hunts. That should significantly improve the draw odds. If so, I think that'll round out the year. Fingers crossed!

 

[Zim]

My hunting partner was a second time draw in Maine moose in 2001. So don't count it out with their system.

I'm fairly certain 2001 was before Maine's embarrassingly rediculous point cheapening scheme involving bonus point peddling. Buy all the bonus points you want.........What a joke. You should read some of the comments made by their lame brained legislators when they passed that fiasco. They did that to their own residents as well until PO'd hunters beat down the statehouse doors. Anyway the NR goal posts were moved many years ago, since your friend drew twice.

 

[Magnum Sherpa]

I am in pretty much the same boat as you as far as Wyoming. I have 6 points each for elk, deer, and antelope. I hope to eventually do a rifle hunt for elk somewhere between Cody and the Park, but some of those units require a lot of points. I'm in my mid 30s, so hopefully I can wait it out until I have enough points. I plan to do a Region G deer hunt within a few years. Will probably burn the antelope points in 2-3 years as well.

This year I will hunt archery cow elk and a 2nd rifle bull here in CO, and keep building points here and in Arizona. I'll also hunt whitetails in TX in late December for a break from the cold.