Which western states have been disproportionately good to you in drawing tags?

[tboltz34]

I've only been applying for 5 years now so not as long of history as some. I keep track of every application I've applied for and the GoHunt odds for the correct year (not the prior year to estimate your odds).

I apply for enough random or weighted random tags that I'm bound to get lucky at some point. Prior to this year, I would have said I've been unlucky with my best pull beating the odds was Montana archery antelope at 35%. However, this year I pulled a late archery New Mexico mule deer tag that had a 1.3% chance of drawing last year. I also pulled a Montana rifle antelope tag that I'm guessing will be around 25% chance of drawing. At the same time, I had a 50.5% chance (both random and preference) of drawing a Wyoming General elk tag that I did not get. I probably would have traded the 1.3% New Mexico mule deer tag for the 50.5% Wyoming elk tag, if that was possible.

 

[noharleyyet]

NM and CO...

 

[elkduds]

i've shot more animals in wyoming than in my resident state of colorado.

 

[Hawk Tuah]

Obviously more people need to move to Wyoming. That's where the tags are.

 

[338win]

I have been playing the draw game since 2013. Have not drawn anything with less than 60% odds and I lived in Ak for 6 of those years. My dad on the other hand has drawn Ak bison first time applying and 3 Gila elk tags in the last 20 years.

 

[BuzzH]

I hesitate to say disproportionate, but AZ has been really good to me. Have drawn 4 rifle bull tags, 5 late coues, desert sheep, a ton of javelin tags.

AK gave me a musk ox tag my first try

Montana I've drawn moose, sheep, goat, 2 rifle breaks tags, and one good deer permit.

Wyoming I've drawn 2 bull moose, sheep, dozens of good pronghorn, 4 good elk tags.

But, considering the number of years and total applications, not really all that lucky.

The 2 states that hate me are Utah and Nevada...no tags in either.

 

[Johnny Bravo]

I hesitate to say disproportionate, but AZ has been really good to me. Have drawn 4 rifle bull tags, 5 late coues, desert sheep, a ton of javelin tags.

AK gave me a musk ox tag my first try

Montana I've drawn moose, sheep, goat, 2 rifle breaks tags, and one good deer permit.

Wyoming I've drawn 2 bull moose, sheep, dozens of good pronghorn, 4 good elk tags.

But, considering the number of years and total applications, not really all that lucky.

The 2 states that hate me are Utah and Nevada...no tags in either.

And here I was literally thinking Buzz needs to answer this...lol

 

[Huntnut60]

If we are talking about tags that were not influenced by bonus/preference points, New Mexico for me. 2 antelope tags, 1 deer tag, and a gemsbok tag as a non-resident.

 

[BigHornRam]

Resident or not, Montana has been good to me with a sheep, moose, and 2 mountain goat tags. Bighorn tag in Idaho as a non resident. Time to find out how good Wyoming is.

 

[brownbear932008]

I'm ashamed to admitting my good fortune in NM. But here goes, 3 exceptional elk tags, 2 antelope tags, 1 pretty good mulie tag, 1 OIL oryx. Since 2018. Sorry guys! The system loves me! But we won't talk about all the years I drew nothing.

 

[bigsky2]

I would say Arizona has been disproportionately good to me. I’ve drawn three deer tags there in the random portion of the draw. NM and NV have each given me a good random tag also though.

 

[thusby]

Never drew anything worth talking about in a random draw and I’ve entered a lot over the last 15 years. Fingers crossed I’m not a skeleton before the variance swings my way.

 

[PRO MO]

they all like me about the same. one elk permit in home state MT, one easy to draw deer permit in AZ, one elk permit in NM, one elk permit in ID, one general elk permit in WY.

 

[D_Walt]

I’d vote for none - I've drawn plenty of preference point tags, and couple of the better odds NM deer tags. I’m sure the luck will change and I’ll draw at some point. NM elk has been my nemesis, 12 years of applying for me, 5 or 6 for my wife and kids all usually with a “better” odds option as the 3rd, and nothing. My AZ, NV, and UT apps are all long odds and some years points only, so no surprise in not drawing those.

 

[sclancy27]

I've drawn exactly 1 tag that I had worse than 50/50 odds to draw.....and I think I had something like 25-30% odds on that one. I'm due.....

 

[npaden]

Thanks to everyone responding and voting.

Early on in the poll, Wyoming was up to around 50% of the votes but is trailing off now but still #1 by quite a big margin. I think the way they do the draw with both the special and the random helps reward the folks that apply each year.

I'm curious on New Mexico how much of that love is prior to the new tag allocation limiting non guided nonresidents to 6% of the tags and then the new rounding method that wipes a bunch of tags completely off the board.

Arizona seems to be one state that is either getting better or worse depending on where you are at in the preference point scheme. I have drawn 2 tags since the new random pool. Sure gives a guy hope at least compared to the old days where you didn't really have a chance unless you had the points.

 

[TheDudeAbides]

Utah.

But I'm out now. Not going to pay their prices anymore.

$190 for the licence and then $15 for an app fee. It used to be $80 with a $10 App fee

• Drew LE elk back when it was $800 and now it is $1,950.
• Drew Swan multiple times when it was just the App fee, now it is $195 + the app fee.
• Drew Turkey back when it was $80 and now it is $175.
• Drew Cow Elk Multiple times when it was ~290 now it is $649.
• Deer general deer multiple times when it was ~$300 and now it is $599.
• Drew Doe Pronghorn when it was ~$65 and now it is $236.

98 current points than are all going to go down the drain, but I am ok with it.

Could draw a muzzle or archery pronghorn next year, but not going to pay $571 for it especially since I live in Wyoming.

The only thing that sucks is that I have friends, I would like to hunt with in Utah.

The hunts were not as great as Wyoming, but at the lower prices I could justify it.

Not anymore.