Is chasing Wyoming permits worth it?

[WapitiBob]

I buy, then use, points in OR, WY, AZ, and somewhat in UT. I will continue to buy points till I can't hunt anymore. That said, I understand the landscape changes. Because I've cycled thru points in all those states, I adjust my expectations on what I can draw, based on current points, and that changing landscape. My perspective is also influenced by where I live and the hunting available to me here. One example, we shoot forky's here, because that's all there is, meanwhile, they pass on 4x4's in WY, so when I Deer hunt WY, a hunt area that takes 2 points looks pretty darn good. If I was a resident of WY, buying points in some other states might not look all that appealing. It becomes a personal decision and the blanket statements you see online saying points aren't worth it is pretty much just white noise.

 

[brockel]

I’ve got 10 elk points this year. Thinking I might pair up with a buddy that’s got a couple points and burn them on a general tag.

 

[R.K.]

I’m building points. My current plan is to get my brother out west and both of us hunt elk and ride into a drop camp. I don’t have the background or resources to do anything with horses myself. Don’t care if it’s a general or grizzly unit- just want to do it with my brother. And I don’t think there’s a better place to do that than Wyoming.

 

[jimss]

It's obviously up to your budget and feast/famine mentality of drawing high demand tags. If $ tossed to the wind doesn't matter, apply in every state and game critter in the West. Obviously these charges will never decrease and it's hard to say if 20 years from today what states will charge just to apply. If you add up the charges over 5, 10, 20 years that is a pile of $ that could be spent on a family vacation or other hunting/fishing trips. I've been fortunate to draw many high demand, limited tags over the years but was lucky to start applying years before Garth Carter first recommended this.

If you are lucky in lotto you may be lucky drawing lotto-odds big game tags. One consideration often ignored is that state's draw systems often change. Colorado is a prime example switching from OTC to all limited tags for nonres elk. Colorado is also switching systems from pref pt draw to a 50/50 random/pref pt draw. It obviously is the shits for Colo res and nonres alike that have invested years upon years to a pref pt system. For nonres it isn't cheap applying all those years for points. I really think the CPW should be kept accountable for the investment and value loss of points, $, and time....especially nonres!

The fact is, every year there are more and more applicants for limited tag draws. With mule deer and antelope populations across Wyo and other states at all-time lows there are obviously more hunters vying for a chunk fewer tags! Even antelope units in Wyo that used to have hundreds of left-over buck tags currently take several years to draw. What happens if there is more disease, winterkill, or die-offs? Just pray that land managers continue to support wildlife improvement projects that enhance habit, fencing, water, and other improvement projects that encourage population growth.

Wyo res keep claiming that 90/10 is inevitable. Although I don't think this will happen with a, d, e because nonres support such a high portion of the WG&F limited license/pref pt budget. With that said, 90/10 "could" happen and it would take at least 2x longer for nonres to draw coveted tags.

There are a lot of considerations when it comes to long-term tag strategies. Many considerations are overlooked!