UT bonus point, worth the purchase?

I did not apply for an elk tag in Utah this year, but I did purchase a bull elk bonus point. I thought I may as well start building them up. After some research I am still not sure if it was worth the effort. I am having difficulty understanding the difference between bonus points and preference points in Utah. Is the bonus point I purchased going to increase my chances when I eventually have the time to try for a Utah hunt? Should I keep buying them? Thanks for any insight.

The bonus point is like putting your name in the hat extra times. It’s not worth as much if you aren’t actually putting it in the hat though. The preference point actually gives you preference over anyone with fewer points than you. In UT they split the tags. In the preference portion of the draw, he who has the most points, gets the tag. In the bonus portion, everyone’s name goes into the hat. If you have zero points, your name goes in once. If you have five points, your name goes in six times.

Elk tags in UT are hard to come by. For some of the better units, if all you did was build points you would would probably never be guaranteed a tag. If you apply every year for twenty years, you have a good chance of drawing a good elk tag at least once, and a reasonable chance at doing it twice. If you have the money, by all means do it. If it keeps you from applying in a different state, then there are better options than UT. It’s really that simple. Either apply almost everywhere including UT, or focus your money on some other states. For states that use a point system, Wyoming gives a pretty good bang for the buck. You should be able to hunt elk there every 3-5 years, vs every 10-15 in UT.

Can you draw with zero points? Of course! Last year ten people with zero points drew limited entry elk tags. There were 2951 applicants with zero points, so that’s a .339%. There were nine applicants with twenty points that drew limited entry elk tags...but only twenty applicants had twenty points. That’s 45%. If you just buy the point, then twenty years from now, you can apply and have a 45% chance of drawing(assuming things stay the same, which they won’t, and actually 45% of those with 20pts drawing doesn’t mean they had a 45% chance. Calculating those odds would require me to actually do an awful lot of data compilation that I’m not interested in) OR you could go into the draw and let all of those odds compound. A simple example would be a unit in a state with no point system that always has ten tags and one hundred applicants. The odds of drawing this year are 10%. The odds of drawing at least once this year or next year would be 1-(.9X.9) or 19% over a ten year span you’d have a 65% chance of drawing at least once, and over a twenty year span an 88% chance. said another way, 12 of those 100 people would never draw a 10% hunt over a twenty year span. In UT getting points instead of going into the draw is not the worst thing in the early years because your odds with zero points are so low. But, by the time you have a few points, you’re giving up a lot of your already limited chances by not being in the drawing. Even then, there will be a lot of people who apply to UT for twenty years and never draw an elk tag. If it keeps you from hunting somewhere else, it’s a bad trade. If it has no bearing on what you do anywhere else, then by all means, go for it.
 
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My biggest complaint with Utah is that they recently started splitting hunts into multiple periods and splitting the NR tag allocation.

Since 50% off the tag allocation goes to lottery, and 50% goes to high bonus points it means that a hunt that once had two NR tags now has one, which means the bonus point tag is now gone. Leaving everything to extremely low odds in the lottery.

There were a lot of great LE hunts with two NR tags that are now pure lottery. As a high point guy that has invested a lot of years applying for high point incentives, this frustrates me because the next problem is that during the application period you don't know the tag allocation. With as many hunt changes utah does annually, you're left to guess whether or not a bonus point tag is available for a hunt.
 
Utah's draw system strategy is pretty obvious in that they pick which hunts they want to usher NR in to. For instance, Utah is sacrificing the Book Cliffs any weapon for deer with higher NR tag allocation. I believe, above and beyond a herd management perspective, it's to try to clear out point creep from hunters that get too old or get tired of applying unsuccessfully for more premium areas. Like other states, Utah's point creep is a huge problem.
 
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The only thing u need to know about Utah is it’s too cheap not to apply for elk and deer. It literally costs 50 bucks a yr. cheapest state in the west now to apply
 
The only thing u need to know about Utah is it’s too cheap not to apply for elk and deer. It literally costs 50 bucks a yr. cheapest state in the west now to apply

It is nice that you can put into the Utah draw without buying a license every year.
 
Took a stud in WY but I don’t go around bragging like some every time I score. Didn’t get a good field shot anyway. And was only rifle, not bow like I prefer.

See JimS post #13: https://www.monstermuleys.info/xf/threads/archery-deer-unit-87.179476/
Zim had a hunt in the unit a couple years ago and ate his tag....do a search and you'll likely find his post. I brought the 3x genetics up in his post and the same guys laughed at me! Prior to Zim applying for 87 I warned him about all the 3x's. Zim and several other serious nonres muley hunters that I've contacted have drawn tags after years of applying...and eaten their tags.
 
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I have 8 "limited entry bull" points for Utah... I dont even plan to try and draw for 5 years or so... I'll have 13+ points, I have to believe that I'll draw in my life time(I'm 37 now)
Also have 4 points in Arizona. Was curious what opinions would be for another state to build points maybe draw a good tag in 10 to 20 years?? Colorado would be nice since it would be the closest drive!
 
I don't ever actually "plan to try and draw". I did spend a Benjamin and a half last night applying. I'd love to pull a permit - especially early rifle elk someday.

Looks like I have 22 elk points, 19 moose points, 11 deer, antelope and mtn goat points, and 9 for desert, rockies, and bison.

@Zim how's my return on investment looking?
 
I have a bunch of points a well...

20 for deer, 20 for desert sheep, 11 for bison and elk, 7 general deer, 7 rockies.

My wife has 20 for deer, 20 for moose, 11 for elk, 5 pronghorn, 7 rockies, 5 general deer.

Decisions…
 
Just applied with 23 deer points, piles for everything else, but no expectations. Got a far better chance for NM elk this year, where I also just applied. CO next with 24 elk & 12 deer.
 
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Limited Entry Deer - North Slope and Kamas 100% draws for Non Residents and have 170+ Trophy Potential.

General Deer - All units guaranteed with 3 points on rifle. Units like Zion and Southwest desert have 180+ Potential and many have 170+ potential.

Limited Entry Elk - Cache North has 100% draw odds for muzzleloader with rut dates. It's not a legendary Utah Unit, but has 340+ potential. It is reasonable that if you started this year on the ground level putting in for Fish Lake, Manti, or Wasatch late hunts or archery hunts that would draw in the next 15 years. If you want to hunt the rut, then you will have to wait. To say it isn't worth your investment is just personal preference or opinion.

Pronghorn - North Slope was 100% archery draw odds. There are units like plateau and cache north rich that you could draw with minimal points.

OIL's - All are tough, but as a non resident it is all about getting lucky.

It comes down to what you want. If you want a rifle elk or rifle henry's deer, then you may have to wait a long time. You may also draw in the random 50% pool. Only 50% of the people at the top draw the tags and the other 50% are distributed randomly and each year you don't apply you get an additional chance to pull a low number.
I just moved to UT from CA and will more than likely hunt Kamas next season for mullies. Any suggestions on canyons or peaks to check out for scouting this coming summer? Happy to help you scout in return.
 
I just moved to UT from CA and will more than likely hunt Kamas next season for mullies. Any suggestions on canyons or peaks to check out for scouting this coming summer? Happy to help you scout in return.
No, never been in that area. I would do some online research this winter, Randy has lots of great videos on that, and then put boots on the ground in the spring. Exploring a new area is a huge part of the fun.
 
I just moved to UT from CA and will more than likely hunt Kamas next season for mullies. Any suggestions on canyons or peaks to check out for scouting this coming summer? Happy to help you scout in return.

It depends on your weapon of choice.

Archery- you can go up high, You can take the trail from crystal lake to smith and morehouse lake and look over a ton of country. Really any of the trails to lakes in the area will be worth a look. You can at least catch some fish on the lookout for deer country for the early hunt. Brook Trout and Arctic grayling are in the lakes.

Muzzleloader- you can go high, but the deer will be moving from high to low. You can also get an early storm storm up high, which makes it pretty dicey if you cannot make it to the truck quickly. I would look around Mirror Lake Highway, Smith & Morehouse, or Enter the mountains from Kamas or Oakley and just plan day trips. If you can get private access, then it would be the best route to go.

Rifle - I wouldn't go up high. The best route is similar to muzzleloader, but the ticket will be getting private access into some of the fields in Kamas. It is a really tough hunt if you do not have access to private land and if the snow comes.

This unit is a really tough unit. I don't know if it is worth your time if you got the tag for free and all expenses for the trip paid for.

Just my 2c
 
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