My question to TheDude is why do you equate coddling to youth and new hunters to not accepting a system that dictates years of applications and fees for the slimmest of opportunity to hunt?
I love point systems. I'm relatively new to serious big game hunting. I hunted in my youth and then went to college and was hooked on the duck and goose hunting. I put in for points while I was going to school and strapped on cash. I loved the fact that I wasn't going to hunt and could still build for a hunt in the future. Now, I can see all of these youth hunts and a lot of parents are footing the bill. I see a lot of these kids take it for granted, because they do not have to earn it (coddling). I see what I did in college and after college as a way of earning my way into the hunting pool. I can still get over the counter tags and draw low demand tags, while building towards hunts. Opportunity is about growing the population of hunt-able animals. No point system or lottery system will fix a 2 tag draw or make the Henry Mountains easier to draw. It would be hard to convince me that a youth starting today in Montana would never draw a mountain goat tag in Montana, because the population of hunt-able goats is higher. A point system gives the state more resources (Money) to grow populations, which has a chance at increasing hunt-able populations. Even though, I'm relatively new - I still would prefer someone who has been applying 20 years to draw a head of me. They have sacrificed and earned the right to hunt that area through years of diligence and disappointment. I hope that makes sense and answers your question.
Systems that encourage consistent long term money grabs for opportunity to hunt highly sought after big game could be equated to Pay to Hunt systems you would see when people are buying land owner tags? The only difference being the state is operating as a layway while people purchasing land owner tags are just paying a convience fee.
They might be money grabs, but where is that money going. I'm not sure, but I think it does back into habitat development and growing of species. The more animals we have to hunt, the less the way the system to draw the tag matters.
Systems like Idaho's give equal creedance to parties involved. I can understand the frustration if you dont get lucky but why would you want to subject yourself to long term expensive point accrual when you can enter the draw with equal chance year after year? If your answer to that is i am increasing my odds and i deserve to be rewarded for my consistent applications you are essentialy coddling those who are bitter about not drawing?
I view it more as investing and building towards a hunting future rather than being bitter that I didn't draw. Even though, it is a little chaffing to strike out on moose 3 years in a row - I turned that money around on the refund to buy deer/elk/bear tags in Idaho. I still will probably put in for Moose and try to chase bears in the reduced zone when I can, but would love it even more if I could get slightly better odds the next year for moose. I've only ever drawn General Deer, Cow Elk, Turkey, and Swan. Part of the game is building spreadsheets and seeing what I can do with the points that I have. Building points and getting up to the max point pool is the goal. I can always go over the counter if I don't draw (Wyoming res next year, Colorado/Idaho Elk, Nebraska ML, etc). I throw shots in the dark in states I do not plan to hunt and hope to get lucky and I plan out tags that I can draw in the future. So, it's a process with microsoft excel and statistics. To me the application period has been the best part of big game hunting.
Non bonus/preference point states are doing the exact opposite of coddling and saying come try your luck and that is that.
Additionally, it sounds like you are expressimg that was what you had to endure and why shouldnt others have to endure the same thing. My goal as a sportsman is to leave the system better than i found it and if that means we all end up with equal opportunities i feel that has been accomplished.
With the endurance, what will mean more. Drawing that tag after 20 years or drawing that tag on the first round? I think we will have to agree to disagree on the answer to that question.I appreciate your opinion and your response.
