Future hunts for my daughters

[Muskeez]

My daughters are age 18 and 15. They are doing antelope hunts now and hopefully mule deer also in the near future. They want to start to acquire points for a Mt. Goat or Sheep hunt. As a beginning western hunter I have only researched my options for antelope and elk in WY, UT, and CO. Are there any states where they could start applying now and have a decent chance of drawing a tag in the next 5 years? 10 years? 15 years? It would be nice if I could buy the youngest daughter some points at a lower price before she turns 18, but maybe that age limit is 16 in most states? Thanks for any advise on where to start my research anyway! I'm open to other hunts as well if anyone has advise on where to start gaining points for them. I'm not concerned with hunting myself, I'd rather only have 1 tag to focus on.

 

[Oak]

In Colorado you have no reasonable chance of drawing until your 4th year of application (except for ewe sheep tags). However, there are decent odds for mountain goat once you receive that 3rd preference point. One non-res goat tag had 1 in 4 odds this year. Nothing is guaranteed, though. You could apply in a 1/4 unit for 20 years and not draw. Archery tags are much easier to draw here.

No reduced price for youth applications or for ewe/nanny tags in Colorado.

 

[2rocky]

I remember trying to hunt while in college. It sucked and I got bad grades. School is so timeline based that missing a week to do a hunt was asking for trouble. The point game for OIL tags seems to be a shaky proposition. Sheep, Moose, and Mtn Goat tags are my long shot draws I expect to NOT draw them.

If you want to do hunts with your daughters while they are in school, I would concentrate on second choice "point preserving" draws and OTC tags. You can build points in the upcoming years and have some Holiday hunts in the mean time.
Some ideas in the meantime:

Idaho Panhandle Late season Whitetail (Thanksgiving)
Montana has late season hunts, but I have no experience there...
Oregon, Idaho, Montana Spring Bear
California Blacktails in Azone (July/August) you can combo with hogs too.
New Mexico late season Elk Hunts (Chama Area?) Landowner tags.

I might not have really answered your question, but I think in the next 5 years, those would be doable hunts.

 

[Muskeez]

Thanks for the replies guys. I am planning to do some OTC hunts with them each year and build points, didn't imagine they could draw any time in the near future. I'm thinking I may be too old to get into the 20 year waiting game, but they are not. Of course who knows where life may take them in and after college, but they love this stuff so hopefully we can still get one hunt out of state and a couple at home each year when they are in college. The oldest one is already wondering how it will go to get out of classes this fall for our WY hunt. We'll see,.. I hear ya Rocky, I hunted deer, ducks, and geese more hours than I attended classes in college, and it didn't do me any favors other than we sure had a good time!

 

[2rocky]

I was fortunate that I was in a Fraternity with guys who hunted, in a part of the state with a lot of Agriculture and forestry ground. It fed my appetite to hunt enough that when I got out and had actual paid vacation, I could do those hunts I'd dreamed of.

Our Local Fair manager, in her 20's first time applying in the draw, drew a California Sheep tag. She tagged out real early in the hunt, close to a road. Imagine, First hunting success, a Desert Bighorn!