Yeah, this is an old thread, but always good to see what people want. Comments from viewers, added to what we have as our core message and the hunts/locations/style that have attracted sponsors to our show, and the path is pretty much set for what we apply for.
Sponsors already have a lot of coverage in the whitetail world, the Midwest, Asia, Canada, and Texas hunts. They look for us to provide coverage in the areas of the average big game hunter who wants to travel to the Rockies and hunt accessible lands. Exactly the kind of hunts we excel at.
We have represented to sponsors that each year, we will try to have five elk hunts, possibly six, and never less than four. Elk hunts are always a big hit for our show and our viewers.
After that, we are looking for at least one antelope (though if left to me, we would have five or six) and two mule deer. Usually one western whitetail and one bear. The filler hunts then come from some lottery-type odds for moose, goat, sheep, or something like the bison tag we had this year.
Locations are almost always going to be the Rockies, or other states where their is a lot of interest in non-residents traveling to hunt. That usually puts Washington, California, and Oregon further down the list, though two of my dream hunts are Columbia Blacktails and Roosevelt Elk.
We try to have as many "easier to draw" tags as we can. MT deer and elk is virtually over the counter for NRs. OTC elk in Colorado will almost always be on the docket. Alaska bear, though now a draw for NRs, was undersubscribed last year. The NV archery mule deer is always the easiest tag to get in NV, with there being leftovers in the unit we hunted last year. Wyoming antelope is a draw, but the units we apply for usually can be had with one or two points and we always put in for a second and third choice in units that have leftover tags. Kansas whitetail is 100% draw, with leftover tags in the area we have hunted them. We are doing a left-over Coues whitetail in AZ this year, unless some miracle tag is drawn and defers that hunt for a year.
Want to make it to Utah, but the tags have yet to come our way. Idaho has seen us there once, but it is still in the edit room, due to how the footage turned out. That will probably make a YouTube channel original. Would love to come there and archery hunt mule deer, soon. Have yet to draw and elk, antelope, sheep, or moose tag there. In 17 years of applying in ID, I have drawn two deer tags, both of which were slam dunk draws. Need a some luck to come my way.
I do think it adds some intrigue to apply for some of the glory tags. Don't draw them very often, but when we do, it adds to the storyline that people can draw these kind of hunts if they apply. To let them know that you don't need an outfitter.
The other thing we like to show are the overlooked hunts. AZ elk being the most obvious. Same with archery antelope hunts and the Kansas whitetails. So many people think those are out of reach.
You will not see any muzzleloader hunts. Nothing against muzzy hunts, just not part of who is paying the bills for the show. I own a muzzy, but we commit to our sponsors that we will do only rifle hunts (75-80%) and archery hunts (20-25%).
You won't see much bird hunting, as that is not part of our gig, even though I do a lot of it. Our sponsor already have a lot of coverage in that area. And, bird hunts have almost as low of ratings as fishing. Personally, I don't watch bird hunts, even though I love to hunt birds. Ratings show that many of the other hunters feel the same way.
Predator hunting is fun. Something I will be doing a lot of in the next month, as I crank up my wolf hunting days. But, they are not watched very heavily, so we might do one here or there, but will not make it a big part of our story.
We will continue with western big game hunts that have a cool conservation story, both in terms of the animal and the location. We will have a mix of draw tags and over-the-counter or easier to draw hunts. We will always try to add a mix of family and friends, feeling that reflects how many viewers travel in a group to hunt the Rockies.
For the upcoming season, we already have a bunch of hunts on the board.
MT deer
MT elk
CO OTC elk
AK bear (already drew the tag)
AZ elk (assume the odds will stay the same as last year, and if so, we will draw)
WY elk (assume the odds will stay the same as last year, and if so, we will draw)
WY antelope (assume the odds will stay the same as last year, and if so, we will draw)
AZ Coues deer (assuming there are left overs, as there have been the last ten years)
With that many hunts already "on the board," the remainder of our apps are going to be points only, or long shot lottery-type odds. Those long shots will be all species in NM, UT, NV, and deer/elk/antelope in Idaho. Sheep in every state that will let me apply, other than Wyoming. Moose, goat, and sheep in Montana. Moose in the Northeast states of VT, NH, ME. Points for deer in Iowa and Wyoming. Points only in Colorado, for elk and antelope. And a few others I have probably forgotten.
Also, the states that have their drawings earlier in the application season end up being more common on our show. I can't do "points only" in the early deadline states, then hope to have a windfall in the later drawing states. That could put us in a situation where we don't have enough tags to film a season. So, Wyoming, Arizona, and New Mexico end up on our list more often than some of the others.
Hope that explains some of the process that goes into selection of hunts.
