WEBVTT - Ep. 81: Applying For Big Game Tags, Part 1

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<v Speaker 1>As a guide and hunter, I've spent thousands of days

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<v Speaker 1>in the field. This show is about translating my hard

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<v Speaker 1>won experiences into tips and tactics they'll get you closer

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<v Speaker 1>to your ultimate goal success in the field. I'm Remy Warren.

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<v Speaker 1>This is cutting the distance. Welcome back to the podcast. Everyone.

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<v Speaker 1>Now is going to be the time of year where

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<v Speaker 1>we're planning for those fall hunts. I like to think

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<v Speaker 1>of it as application season. Applying is as much a

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<v Speaker 1>part of the hunting process, especially out West, as getting

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<v Speaker 1>into the field, because the reality is you can't hunt

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<v Speaker 1>without a tag, so it's really going to be the

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<v Speaker 1>first step in the planning phase before we go out hunting.

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<v Speaker 1>For a lot of people, securing a tag may seem daunting,

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<v Speaker 1>especially those that are new to it, because the draw

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<v Speaker 1>systems can be difficult to wade through an understand, and

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<v Speaker 1>planning for hunts can be confusing with so many deadlines,

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<v Speaker 1>different types of point systems. It's just a real process.

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<v Speaker 1>Lucky for you. I've been playing this game across the

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<v Speaker 1>West for many years, so over the next few weeks,

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<v Speaker 1>I want to bring to light the various processes and

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<v Speaker 1>break down some of the nuances of applying and securing

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<v Speaker 1>a tag. In this week's tag draw breakdown, we're gonna

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<v Speaker 1>be focusing in on the basics the types of tags

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<v Speaker 1>and points that are available, and how point creep will

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<v Speaker 1>affect you, and whether or not it's too late for

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<v Speaker 1>you if you're just getting started. We'll also do a

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<v Speaker 1>dive into some of the upcoming state draws and glaze

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<v Speaker 1>over a couple of states, including Wyoming, Arizona, Utah, Nevada,

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<v Speaker 1>and Montana. But first, let's share a story of a

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<v Speaker 1>hunt when I got past the point creep and cashting

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<v Speaker 1>on some preference points for California mule deer tag. My

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<v Speaker 1>first real experience with what people like to call point

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<v Speaker 1>creep happened on a California deer tag. Growing up in

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<v Speaker 1>the state of Nevada, everything that you would hunt had

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<v Speaker 1>to be on a draw system, so there was no

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<v Speaker 1>over the counter tag, So I kind of started at

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<v Speaker 1>a very young age looking towards other places the hunt

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<v Speaker 1>that were nearby, California being one of them. More places

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<v Speaker 1>that I knew Montana, especially because my grandpa lived up

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<v Speaker 1>there and I spent a lot of time up there

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<v Speaker 1>looking at applying in other places. So maybe if I

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<v Speaker 1>didn't draw a tag around home or in my home

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<v Speaker 1>state that I might have the opportunity to hunt other places.

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<v Speaker 1>I was looking at through the regulations some of the

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<v Speaker 1>California stuff. I know, there was an archery area that

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<v Speaker 1>took two points to draw, So I was like, sweet,

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<v Speaker 1>that's close enough by I can I can hunt that.

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<v Speaker 1>It seems like it could be a cool hunt. Um,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm gonna started applying for that. So I started applying.

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<v Speaker 1>I finally got my two points. I was like, cool,

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<v Speaker 1>I applied and didn't draw the tag. What the heck

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<v Speaker 1>happened here? And so then it was like that year

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<v Speaker 1>For some reason, I think it just became a more

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<v Speaker 1>popular unit and now needed four points a couple more years.

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<v Speaker 1>So I applied the next year with the three points nothing.

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<v Speaker 1>Finally got those four points. You know, everything looked like

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<v Speaker 1>it would draw with four points, didn't draw. I'm like,

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<v Speaker 1>what is going on? I couldn't figure it out. You know.

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<v Speaker 1>The state was on a preference point system, which was

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<v Speaker 1>completely different than the bonus point systems many other places.

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<v Speaker 1>You had to have the most points to get a tag.

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<v Speaker 1>So I applied again five points nothing. Then on my

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<v Speaker 1>sixth year of applying, I finally drew the tag that

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<v Speaker 1>when I started out only needed two points to get.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm like, sweet, Okay, Well, it just so happened that

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<v Speaker 1>I also drew a lot of other tags that year

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<v Speaker 1>as well. I drew a Nevada elk tag, and Nevada

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<v Speaker 1>analope tag, and a Nevada deer tag, all archery tags,

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<v Speaker 1>and then I had a Montana limited entry meal dear permit,

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<v Speaker 1>a general elk license, and then this California tag that

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<v Speaker 1>took me six years to get. But I was only

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<v Speaker 1>thinking it was gonna take me too, so I wanted

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<v Speaker 1>to kind of give it a good go. But I

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<v Speaker 1>also had a lot of other tags and a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of limited amount of time. All these tags were like

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<v Speaker 1>early season archery hunts from the beginning of August through

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<v Speaker 1>pretty much September, so I need to make good on

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<v Speaker 1>this tag with a limited amount of time. I spent

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<v Speaker 1>quite a bit of time during the summer scouting, and

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<v Speaker 1>I really didn't see as many deer as I thought

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<v Speaker 1>I would. For waiting that long for that deer tag.

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<v Speaker 1>I thought, Okay, I've been in a lot of other

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<v Speaker 1>limited entry areas. I should be seeing a lot of deer,

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<v Speaker 1>and it just was not turning up the numbers of

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<v Speaker 1>bucks that I thought I should. I ended up hunting

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<v Speaker 1>my other uh those three Nevada tags antelope, elk, and deer,

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<v Speaker 1>and tagging out on all of them fairly early, and

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<v Speaker 1>I ended up hunting like my antelope for a day

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<v Speaker 1>and my buck might Nevada deer for two days. And

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<v Speaker 1>then ended up having time to before the California season.

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<v Speaker 1>I planned to start Opening Day, but I had a

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<v Speaker 1>few days before the season to start scouting a lot

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<v Speaker 1>closer to the season, so I took that time. I

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<v Speaker 1>packed into some good high alpine areas where I thought

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<v Speaker 1>I might find some summering bucks. It just really didn't

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<v Speaker 1>turn up what I was looking for, so I kind

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<v Speaker 1>of refocused my attention to a burn area. There's a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of little regrowth in there, says an older burn,

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<v Speaker 1>but short little pines, And sure enough I spotted like

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<v Speaker 1>a good bachelor group of buck. Sweet, this is gonna

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<v Speaker 1>be awesome. So Opening Day rolls around, find myself on

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<v Speaker 1>a glassing knob, turning up some younger bucks and some

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<v Speaker 1>other a lot of doughes, but not necessarily the type

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<v Speaker 1>of buck I'm looking for. I didn't really have any

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<v Speaker 1>size expectations. I just wanted to harvest a mature buck

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<v Speaker 1>and that was all that I thought. It would be

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<v Speaker 1>cool to get a mature deer out of there and

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<v Speaker 1>really do that tag justice, especially because I hadn't seen

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of deer. I actually saw probably more bears

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<v Speaker 1>than deer um. So I hunt the tag and I

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't seeing anything kind of glassing and move spots, and

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<v Speaker 1>midday I'm looking up into this place like a betting area,

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<v Speaker 1>and I see a bachelor group of meal dere There's

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<v Speaker 1>a couple of smaller bucks and then one nice mature

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<v Speaker 1>three by four looks pretty heavy, Like, oh sweet, that

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<v Speaker 1>would be an awesome buck to take, So I just

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<v Speaker 1>keep glassing, watching, watching, and all the younger bucks like

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<v Speaker 1>start going down into this creek bottom and the big

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<v Speaker 1>three by four, the buck that I was after, ends

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<v Speaker 1>up just like peeling off and going off on his own,

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<v Speaker 1>and I'm like, oh, yeah, this is perfect. Fewer eyes. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>I just got to make sure that I don't lose him.

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<v Speaker 1>So he ends up going up over a ridge and

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<v Speaker 1>I'm like, it's a lot of cover over here, and

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<v Speaker 1>I could lose him. So I end up running like

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<v Speaker 1>hustling it from my glassing vantage to another glassing point

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<v Speaker 1>where I know I'll be able to see into where

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<v Speaker 1>he went. And sure enough I spot him and he

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<v Speaker 1>starts moving up the mountain. I'm like, okay, well, I'm

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<v Speaker 1>just gonna have to follow him. So I kind of

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<v Speaker 1>just follow him at distance where I can keep eyes

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<v Speaker 1>on him, and I just watch him finally get to

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<v Speaker 1>a place where I can get a good view of him.

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<v Speaker 1>But it's really thick, short little conifers, and he ends

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<v Speaker 1>up going behind this like just out in this wide

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<v Speaker 1>open area, but it's just all this regrowth and just

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<v Speaker 1>plops down, beds down. I'm like, oh, perfect, But the

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<v Speaker 1>type of terrain, it's kind of hard to actually pinpoint

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<v Speaker 1>exactly where he's at because as I'm moving in, it's

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<v Speaker 1>all the same. It's like little tiny pine trees and

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<v Speaker 1>like this man's anita brush that's really thick and about

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<v Speaker 1>waist high. So I started glassing in there. As I

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<v Speaker 1>get closer, I planned out my stock and luckily I

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<v Speaker 1>see antler tips just poking up above the man's in need.

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<v Speaker 1>It's like a big fuzzy velvet rack of a nice

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<v Speaker 1>mature and meal deer buck. I'm like sweet, I range

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<v Speaker 1>it and it's like a hundred and something yards and

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<v Speaker 1>I've got good wind. The winds actually blowing down the mountains.

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<v Speaker 1>So I figured generally the bucks that I think the

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<v Speaker 1>reason that buck, the bigger, more mature buck, cruised off

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<v Speaker 1>as the wind wasn't right for all the other bedding locations,

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<v Speaker 1>so he went off where he could lay down kind

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<v Speaker 1>of facing downhill and the wind would be coming down

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<v Speaker 1>at his back. Luckily for me, it was so thick

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<v Speaker 1>where he bed he actually didn't have a very good view.

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<v Speaker 1>So my decision was, instead of going in from above him,

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<v Speaker 1>I was going to sneak up from below. The trouble

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<v Speaker 1>with that approaches he's looking that direction, but I could

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<v Speaker 1>keep tabs on him because I could just see his

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<v Speaker 1>antler tips above the brush. So I creep in a

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<v Speaker 1>little shoes off situation. Pop my boots off, crawl in

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<v Speaker 1>with my socks, leave my pack, and I'm creeping in

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<v Speaker 1>and just like ranging. As I get closer and the

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<v Speaker 1>arranging points where I can get to you, just trying

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<v Speaker 1>to be super quiet through this thick stuff. The wind

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<v Speaker 1>starts to pick up, which gives it a good little rattle,

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<v Speaker 1>so I know that I'm my sound is a little

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<v Speaker 1>bit more dampened, and I keep creeping in and then

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<v Speaker 1>his antlers disappears. He must be asleep, so I move

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<v Speaker 1>a little bit faster, get into position and set up range,

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<v Speaker 1>and then his antlers come back up range thirty yards

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<v Speaker 1>and I just keep this bush where his head is

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<v Speaker 1>so I know that I can't see his eyes, so

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<v Speaker 1>he can't see me, and he's facing me like okay,

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<v Speaker 1>and there's this one little opening and it's just worked

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<v Speaker 1>out perfect where his head was behind some brush and

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<v Speaker 1>his body was over here. So I get set I'm like, okay,

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<v Speaker 1>pick my pin that I'm gonna use to think about it. Drawback.

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<v Speaker 1>And now I'm drawing back like below the brush line,

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<v Speaker 1>but I'm gonna have to stand to shoot, so I

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<v Speaker 1>slowly stand up. My thought was I could see whereas

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<v Speaker 1>he was bedded, and I knew that I could get

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<v Speaker 1>a shot of him while he was bedded. So I

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<v Speaker 1>draw back and he's just bedded perfect. Gives me that

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<v Speaker 1>open kind of like broadside shot, nothing in the way.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm only thirty yards away. He has no clue I'm there.

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<v Speaker 1>I settle the pin and release the arrow, perfect shot.

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<v Speaker 1>The buck runs maybe ten yards I don't even know

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<v Speaker 1>if you're running that like ten yards up the hill

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<v Speaker 1>and then disappears. Sweet. So I sit down and give

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<v Speaker 1>it a few minutes, go look blood trail. I'm like, oh,

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<v Speaker 1>this is perfect, and walk up there's the buck. Awesome

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<v Speaker 1>like heavy three by four, gnarly little bases and just

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<v Speaker 1>a really cool, really cool buck. I was super stoked

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<v Speaker 1>take that buck, especially for the tag that I thought

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<v Speaker 1>was only gonna take me two years but ended up

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<v Speaker 1>taking me six. You really can't talk about elk hunting,

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<v Speaker 1>mule you're hunting, antelope hunting, big horn sheep hunting without

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<v Speaker 1>talking first about tag draws and applications. It's kind of

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<v Speaker 1>unique to Western big game hunting. But the tag system

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<v Speaker 1>is just an attempt to allocate the resource of each

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<v Speaker 1>state in what would seem like a fair way, or

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<v Speaker 1>in a way that makes sense because there's a limited

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<v Speaker 1>number of resources and and now a growing number of

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<v Speaker 1>people that want access to those resources. Western big game

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<v Speaker 1>hunting is often different than a lot of other maybe

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<v Speaker 1>like further East hunting or white tail hunting, in the

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<v Speaker 1>way that we have these large tracts of public land

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<v Speaker 1>and then we have species that maybe have lower densities

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<v Speaker 1>than you might see in white tail areas or or whatever.

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<v Speaker 1>So we need to figure out a way that people

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<v Speaker 1>can kind of get those tags and have a hunt.

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<v Speaker 1>But also those tags are used to manage wildlife populations

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<v Speaker 1>in different ways. Some are used to manage them with

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<v Speaker 1>um more mature animals, Some are used to manage wildlife

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<v Speaker 1>populations like reduce the numbers. There's there's a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>different ways that tags are allocated to manage the resource.

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<v Speaker 1>But for all intents and purposes, every state is a

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<v Speaker 1>little bit different. But I would say that most states

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<v Speaker 1>have some form of lottery that tries to allocate those tags.

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<v Speaker 1>And understanding those different points systems, those different systems for

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<v Speaker 1>every state really is the first step in obtaining a

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<v Speaker 1>tag and understanding and kind of creating your own plan

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<v Speaker 1>on how you're going to get a tag so you

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<v Speaker 1>can go out hunting this fall, next fall, maybe a

0:11:27.240 --> 0:11:29.640
<v Speaker 1>few years down the road. So to start out, I

0:11:29.640 --> 0:11:31.880
<v Speaker 1>think we really need to just break down the different

0:11:31.880 --> 0:11:35.280
<v Speaker 1>types of categories of points and the different types of

0:11:35.440 --> 0:11:39.120
<v Speaker 1>tags available. So we first off have different systems of

0:11:39.160 --> 0:11:42.800
<v Speaker 1>applying and I would say they're kind of all fall

0:11:42.880 --> 0:11:45.240
<v Speaker 1>under one of these categories, which would be bonus points,

0:11:45.400 --> 0:11:49.679
<v Speaker 1>preference points than a modified preference point, a random draw tag,

0:11:50.000 --> 0:11:53.160
<v Speaker 1>and then over the counter tags. Some states have multiple

0:11:53.640 --> 0:11:56.240
<v Speaker 1>of these systems, so we're gonna break those down right now.

0:11:56.320 --> 0:12:00.360
<v Speaker 1>Let's start with a bonus point. The bonus point his

0:12:00.440 --> 0:12:03.920
<v Speaker 1>a system where the longer you apply for tags, the

0:12:04.000 --> 0:12:06.960
<v Speaker 1>more favor you have in the draw. So let's say,

0:12:07.040 --> 0:12:10.280
<v Speaker 1>just in a basic form, you've been applying for five years,

0:12:10.280 --> 0:12:11.840
<v Speaker 1>so you get five names in the hat, and the

0:12:11.880 --> 0:12:13.959
<v Speaker 1>person that's been applying for one year gets one name

0:12:13.960 --> 0:12:16.440
<v Speaker 1>in the hat. Everybody's names in the hat. This is

0:12:16.520 --> 0:12:18.920
<v Speaker 1>obviously computerized, but I'm just giving you an example. Some

0:12:19.120 --> 0:12:21.920
<v Speaker 1>six the hand in the hat pulls out a name. Now,

0:12:21.960 --> 0:12:24.319
<v Speaker 1>the person that applied the first time could get drawn,

0:12:24.760 --> 0:12:28.520
<v Speaker 1>but the person that's been applying longer has more uh

0:12:29.400 --> 0:12:33.920
<v Speaker 1>probability of their name being pulled. Now, most states that

0:12:33.960 --> 0:12:37.320
<v Speaker 1>do the bonus point, actually, like states like Nevada and Montana,

0:12:37.440 --> 0:12:40.600
<v Speaker 1>square your number of points, so as time goes on,

0:12:40.720 --> 0:12:45.360
<v Speaker 1>your your chance exponentially increases above the person that was

0:12:45.400 --> 0:12:47.600
<v Speaker 1>before you. So if you have one name, if it's

0:12:47.600 --> 0:12:50.560
<v Speaker 1>your first year applying, you get that year's name that one.

0:12:50.840 --> 0:12:52.520
<v Speaker 1>But if you've been applying for ten years, you have

0:12:52.600 --> 0:12:55.320
<v Speaker 1>ten times ten should be a hundred plus that year's

0:12:55.360 --> 0:12:57.720
<v Speaker 1>once you have a hundred and one. So your odds

0:12:57.800 --> 0:13:01.280
<v Speaker 1>for applying ten years is exp initially greater than that

0:13:01.360 --> 0:13:04.520
<v Speaker 1>person applying for one year. However, this point system is

0:13:04.559 --> 0:13:08.720
<v Speaker 1>good because anybody can draw at any time, just with

0:13:08.760 --> 0:13:10.760
<v Speaker 1>a little luck. The next point system would be a

0:13:10.760 --> 0:13:13.360
<v Speaker 1>preference point system. There's a lot of states that use

0:13:13.440 --> 0:13:16.400
<v Speaker 1>this in some form or another, and a preference point

0:13:16.400 --> 0:13:18.480
<v Speaker 1>what it does is it gives tags to the people

0:13:18.600 --> 0:13:20.600
<v Speaker 1>with the most points. And you say that that makes

0:13:20.640 --> 0:13:22.760
<v Speaker 1>a lot of sense. Um, if I've been applying for

0:13:22.800 --> 0:13:24.679
<v Speaker 1>twenty years, I should get a tag before the guy

0:13:24.720 --> 0:13:27.120
<v Speaker 1>that's been applying for one year. So a preference point

0:13:27.160 --> 0:13:29.199
<v Speaker 1>system only looks at the people with the most points

0:13:29.400 --> 0:13:33.120
<v Speaker 1>and then allocates the tags to those people first. Over

0:13:33.160 --> 0:13:36.400
<v Speaker 1>the years, that system has kind of created some problems

0:13:36.400 --> 0:13:39.560
<v Speaker 1>where new people getting into it are completely unable to

0:13:39.640 --> 0:13:42.640
<v Speaker 1>draw tags because of what is known as point creep.

0:13:42.720 --> 0:13:46.720
<v Speaker 1>So there's a lot of modified preference systems where a

0:13:46.840 --> 0:13:49.520
<v Speaker 1>portion of the tags go to those with the most

0:13:49.600 --> 0:13:52.040
<v Speaker 1>and then the rest might be allocated in a random

0:13:52.120 --> 0:13:55.800
<v Speaker 1>draw that either favors no one or acts as a

0:13:55.880 --> 0:13:59.000
<v Speaker 1>sort of bonus point system where somebody that applies for

0:13:59.000 --> 0:14:01.560
<v Speaker 1>the first year could get lucky and draw, but a

0:14:01.640 --> 0:14:05.360
<v Speaker 1>portion of the tags are given away purely on preference points.

0:14:05.840 --> 0:14:08.400
<v Speaker 1>The next kind of draw would be a random draw,

0:14:08.480 --> 0:14:11.000
<v Speaker 1>and this is just where everybody's names in the hat.

0:14:11.040 --> 0:14:12.920
<v Speaker 1>Doesn't matter if you've been applying for twenty years or

0:14:12.960 --> 0:14:17.200
<v Speaker 1>this is your first time, you're all in. It's pure draws.

0:14:17.320 --> 0:14:20.160
<v Speaker 1>You know, everybody gets one name, one chance, and then

0:14:20.360 --> 0:14:22.880
<v Speaker 1>the draw is done. And that's just the random draw.

0:14:22.920 --> 0:14:26.560
<v Speaker 1>There's a couple of states, Alaska, um Idaho, and New

0:14:26.600 --> 0:14:31.600
<v Speaker 1>Mexico are the primary states that offer random draw hunts.

0:14:31.640 --> 0:14:35.360
<v Speaker 1>And then there's another type of tag which really doesn't

0:14:35.400 --> 0:14:39.160
<v Speaker 1>involve a draw, is what we call O t C tags.

0:14:39.200 --> 0:14:40.800
<v Speaker 1>A lot of people refer to him as O t C.

0:14:41.000 --> 0:14:43.760
<v Speaker 1>Over the counter um doesn't necessarily mean that they're actually

0:14:43.760 --> 0:14:46.240
<v Speaker 1>sold over the counter, and it also doesn't necessarily mean

0:14:46.240 --> 0:14:49.360
<v Speaker 1>that they're in unlimited quality. But these are ones that

0:14:49.400 --> 0:14:53.000
<v Speaker 1>can be purchased often first come, first serve. Sometimes you

0:14:53.040 --> 0:14:55.560
<v Speaker 1>have to log in and buy it before the next guy,

0:14:56.160 --> 0:14:59.160
<v Speaker 1>or purchase it before a certain date or even apply

0:14:59.360 --> 0:15:01.520
<v Speaker 1>before a certain date, but if you apply, you get it.

0:15:02.080 --> 0:15:05.640
<v Speaker 1>Those tags are the ones that are a little bit

0:15:05.640 --> 0:15:09.800
<v Speaker 1>more guaranteed obviously and um a little bit more dependable.

0:15:09.840 --> 0:15:12.960
<v Speaker 1>But then those hunts also have more hunters and can

0:15:13.000 --> 0:15:16.360
<v Speaker 1>be sometimes a more difficult hunt than other tags. So

0:15:16.760 --> 0:15:21.000
<v Speaker 1>we've got all those different types of points and applications

0:15:21.040 --> 0:15:23.120
<v Speaker 1>for every different state. And what I'm gonna do a

0:15:23.160 --> 0:15:25.240
<v Speaker 1>little bit later on is kind of go through some

0:15:25.320 --> 0:15:27.600
<v Speaker 1>of the main Western states that people apply for, kind

0:15:27.600 --> 0:15:29.200
<v Speaker 1>of give you the pros and cons the type of

0:15:29.320 --> 0:15:31.760
<v Speaker 1>points that they use, in a few little tricks on

0:15:31.880 --> 0:15:36.480
<v Speaker 1>maybe ways to get a tag sooner. One question I

0:15:36.520 --> 0:15:39.400
<v Speaker 1>get asked a lot when it comes to applying for

0:15:39.480 --> 0:15:41.600
<v Speaker 1>tags is well, if I apply as a party, I'll

0:15:41.600 --> 0:15:44.640
<v Speaker 1>have a better chance at drawing a tag. And I

0:15:44.720 --> 0:15:47.400
<v Speaker 1>think almost every state that you look at, party applications

0:15:47.400 --> 0:15:50.000
<v Speaker 1>are primarily done in the same way. How they work

0:15:50.040 --> 0:15:53.520
<v Speaker 1>as everybody in that group goes in as one application,

0:15:53.640 --> 0:15:56.520
<v Speaker 1>so it's not like there's five people altogether and if

0:15:56.560 --> 0:15:59.760
<v Speaker 1>one of those persons get drawn, then everybody gets a tag.

0:15:59.760 --> 0:16:02.880
<v Speaker 1>It's actually everybody goes in is one application, and then

0:16:04.040 --> 0:16:06.880
<v Speaker 1>if that application is drawn they're all allocated tags so

0:16:06.920 --> 0:16:08.840
<v Speaker 1>long as there's enough tags remaining, so it's an all

0:16:08.920 --> 0:16:12.280
<v Speaker 1>or nothing thing. If people have multiple points, like different

0:16:12.320 --> 0:16:17.200
<v Speaker 1>levels of points, often those points are averaged. However, every

0:16:17.200 --> 0:16:20.200
<v Speaker 1>state is different. So Colorado, if you apply as a

0:16:20.240 --> 0:16:22.360
<v Speaker 1>party and you've got twenty points and your friend has

0:16:22.400 --> 0:16:24.160
<v Speaker 1>two points, you go in with the person with the

0:16:24.160 --> 0:16:28.560
<v Speaker 1>lowest points. So too, whereas Wyoming just averages um exactly,

0:16:29.040 --> 0:16:32.320
<v Speaker 1>so you can have fractions of points um, but in

0:16:32.360 --> 0:16:34.520
<v Speaker 1>a preference system even just a fraction of a point

0:16:34.600 --> 0:16:37.560
<v Speaker 1>puts you higher than the person with less than a

0:16:37.600 --> 0:16:39.840
<v Speaker 1>fraction of a point. And then there's other states that

0:16:39.960 --> 0:16:43.720
<v Speaker 1>just average them and round up or round down. So

0:16:43.800 --> 0:16:48.400
<v Speaker 1>that's how party applications work. When you're looking at states

0:16:48.440 --> 0:16:50.960
<v Speaker 1>to apply for. In units, I would say that there's

0:16:50.960 --> 0:16:54.320
<v Speaker 1>two different kinds of units. There are general units and

0:16:54.360 --> 0:16:57.480
<v Speaker 1>then there are limited entry units. So general seasons are

0:16:57.520 --> 0:17:00.240
<v Speaker 1>going to be ones that are often less can troll

0:17:00.280 --> 0:17:02.880
<v Speaker 1>over the number of hunters. Many of those involved some

0:17:02.960 --> 0:17:05.760
<v Speaker 1>form of over the counter hunt, especially for residents, where

0:17:05.760 --> 0:17:08.960
<v Speaker 1>maybe nonresidents have to draw that tag or apply for

0:17:09.000 --> 0:17:11.840
<v Speaker 1>a limited number, but you can often hunt a wider

0:17:11.960 --> 0:17:16.880
<v Speaker 1>range of units. Uh, maybe multiple different seasons. It's more

0:17:16.920 --> 0:17:19.840
<v Speaker 1>spread out, less controlled on the number of hunters. Now,

0:17:19.960 --> 0:17:22.879
<v Speaker 1>limited tag draws or limited entry draws are ones that

0:17:22.960 --> 0:17:25.879
<v Speaker 1>you have to draw in some way or severely limits

0:17:25.920 --> 0:17:28.919
<v Speaker 1>the number of hunters in there. These are often gonna be,

0:17:29.560 --> 0:17:32.919
<v Speaker 1>you know, hunts where you see probably higher demand for

0:17:32.960 --> 0:17:34.640
<v Speaker 1>those tags that they are a lot harder to draw.

0:17:35.119 --> 0:17:38.639
<v Speaker 1>The game maybe more plentiful in those areas or less pressured,

0:17:38.960 --> 0:17:42.000
<v Speaker 1>and you'll probably see fewer hunters in the field. Now,

0:17:42.040 --> 0:17:45.640
<v Speaker 1>not all limited entry units are great, amazing hunts where

0:17:45.640 --> 0:17:48.600
<v Speaker 1>you're gonna shoot the biggest belolk or the biggest meal there.

0:17:48.640 --> 0:17:52.320
<v Speaker 1>Some of them just restrict to the amount of people

0:17:52.359 --> 0:17:56.240
<v Speaker 1>in there over general areas or restricted enough where there's

0:17:56.280 --> 0:17:59.119
<v Speaker 1>a lot of tags, but it's just you have to

0:17:59.160 --> 0:18:06.000
<v Speaker 1>get it through a draw system or some other thing. So,

0:18:06.040 --> 0:18:08.320
<v Speaker 1>now let's talk a little bit about this idea of

0:18:08.359 --> 0:18:11.400
<v Speaker 1>point creep and what that is is if you're looking

0:18:11.440 --> 0:18:14.800
<v Speaker 1>at a different state that has preference points, you might

0:18:14.880 --> 0:18:17.840
<v Speaker 1>see that it will show you how many years of

0:18:18.160 --> 0:18:20.399
<v Speaker 1>or like what level people were drawing tags this. So

0:18:20.480 --> 0:18:24.919
<v Speaker 1>might say for two points to like sweet, in two years,

0:18:25.359 --> 0:18:27.920
<v Speaker 1>I can get this tag. But then what happens is

0:18:28.160 --> 0:18:31.760
<v Speaker 1>the next year, there's a bunch of people with one

0:18:31.840 --> 0:18:34.880
<v Speaker 1>point that put in more than tags available, and so

0:18:35.000 --> 0:18:37.720
<v Speaker 1>they all put in with two points. But then there's

0:18:37.760 --> 0:18:40.440
<v Speaker 1>some people that maybe have been waiting with preference points

0:18:40.480 --> 0:18:44.359
<v Speaker 1>that didn't just got points only, or who knows what.

0:18:44.440 --> 0:18:47.119
<v Speaker 1>Maybe we're applying for a different areas. This area becomes

0:18:47.160 --> 0:18:50.240
<v Speaker 1>more popular or another area becomes less popular, and people

0:18:50.240 --> 0:18:52.439
<v Speaker 1>shuffle around units, and then all of a sudden, that

0:18:52.520 --> 0:18:56.040
<v Speaker 1>area takes three points to draw, and then the next

0:18:56.119 --> 0:18:58.360
<v Speaker 1>year it takes four points to draw. In the next

0:18:58.440 --> 0:19:00.359
<v Speaker 1>year it takes five points to draw, and mean while

0:19:00.400 --> 0:19:02.960
<v Speaker 1>you're always behind, never getting a tag that you thought

0:19:03.520 --> 0:19:05.560
<v Speaker 1>you should be able to get. This has become a

0:19:05.680 --> 0:19:08.359
<v Speaker 1>huge problem in a lot of these Western draws and

0:19:08.800 --> 0:19:11.920
<v Speaker 1>kind of really goes to prove that the preference points

0:19:11.960 --> 0:19:15.360
<v Speaker 1>system doesn't really work for people just getting into it.

0:19:15.920 --> 0:19:20.560
<v Speaker 1>If you're just to get into Wyoming sheep tag and

0:19:20.600 --> 0:19:23.159
<v Speaker 1>hoping to draw on a preference, it's going to be

0:19:23.240 --> 0:19:25.960
<v Speaker 1>physically impossible for you to ever draw a preference tag.

0:19:26.000 --> 0:19:27.800
<v Speaker 1>You look at it now, you go, oh, well, people

0:19:27.840 --> 0:19:30.840
<v Speaker 1>are drawing with twelve to fifteen points or something like that.

0:19:30.880 --> 0:19:33.640
<v Speaker 1>But there's thousands of people in line, and you'll never

0:19:33.720 --> 0:19:36.760
<v Speaker 1>get through that many people for the limited amount of

0:19:36.800 --> 0:19:39.040
<v Speaker 1>tags available. So a lot of states have had to

0:19:39.080 --> 0:19:42.919
<v Speaker 1>kind of modify their preference system and offer essentially offer

0:19:43.080 --> 0:19:47.840
<v Speaker 1>some kind of random draw in these preference points states.

0:19:47.920 --> 0:19:51.960
<v Speaker 1>Because you know, let's face it, tag draw application is

0:19:51.960 --> 0:19:55.159
<v Speaker 1>a huge fundraiser for most state phishing game agencies, and

0:19:55.200 --> 0:19:58.479
<v Speaker 1>if there's zero chance that somebody can actually ever end

0:19:58.560 --> 0:20:01.439
<v Speaker 1>up getting that tag, people are gonna stop applying. So

0:20:01.520 --> 0:20:04.879
<v Speaker 1>they needed ways to make it where people can actually

0:20:04.880 --> 0:20:06.879
<v Speaker 1>get tags, but also kind of make it fair in

0:20:06.920 --> 0:20:10.320
<v Speaker 1>some way, um that new people getting into it might

0:20:10.359 --> 0:20:13.679
<v Speaker 1>be able to randomly draw a tag and get lucky.

0:20:13.760 --> 0:20:16.280
<v Speaker 1>So when you're looking at a state that might be

0:20:16.320 --> 0:20:19.000
<v Speaker 1>a preference point state, there's going to be probably in

0:20:19.040 --> 0:20:22.119
<v Speaker 1>almost all of them now kind of an option for

0:20:22.200 --> 0:20:25.000
<v Speaker 1>a random draw, and that's probably what most people just

0:20:25.040 --> 0:20:27.720
<v Speaker 1>getting into it are hoping for. When I talk about

0:20:27.760 --> 0:20:30.359
<v Speaker 1>all these things, I like to think of applying for

0:20:30.400 --> 0:20:33.400
<v Speaker 1>a tag in a way of a strategy. So I've

0:20:33.440 --> 0:20:36.720
<v Speaker 1>said this before, but I think that the best way

0:20:36.760 --> 0:20:39.240
<v Speaker 1>to apply is kind of pick different states based on

0:20:39.640 --> 0:20:43.919
<v Speaker 1>the different strategy. So there's preference point states which although

0:20:43.960 --> 0:20:45.639
<v Speaker 1>you might think, oh, there's a lot of point creep

0:20:45.680 --> 0:20:47.439
<v Speaker 1>and I'll never get a tag, there are tags that

0:20:47.480 --> 0:20:48.800
<v Speaker 1>you can get with that and their tags that you

0:20:48.800 --> 0:20:50.520
<v Speaker 1>can kind of count on, and they're a little bit

0:20:50.560 --> 0:20:53.840
<v Speaker 1>better than just over the counter tag or a general

0:20:53.880 --> 0:20:56.639
<v Speaker 1>area tag that might not um you know, might just

0:20:56.680 --> 0:20:58.840
<v Speaker 1>have a little bit better hunt with a fewer hunters,

0:20:58.840 --> 0:21:00.960
<v Speaker 1>but it might take a few years. So something you

0:21:01.000 --> 0:21:04.000
<v Speaker 1>can plan on now. A bonus point state is something

0:21:04.040 --> 0:21:06.399
<v Speaker 1>where you're gonna play the long game. You're hoping to

0:21:06.400 --> 0:21:08.879
<v Speaker 1>get lucky early, but if you keep applying, you know

0:21:08.960 --> 0:21:11.720
<v Speaker 1>you might get lucky over time and draw a really

0:21:11.720 --> 0:21:13.920
<v Speaker 1>good tag and have a really good hunt. And in

0:21:14.000 --> 0:21:16.840
<v Speaker 1>the random draw state is just everybody's on equal footing,

0:21:17.240 --> 0:21:20.400
<v Speaker 1>So hey, I might get lucky just like everybody else.

0:21:20.440 --> 0:21:22.399
<v Speaker 1>The people that have done this a hundred times, and

0:21:22.400 --> 0:21:24.320
<v Speaker 1>then people that's their first year, we're all on the

0:21:24.359 --> 0:21:26.800
<v Speaker 1>same plane. So I'd say, if you have a limited

0:21:26.800 --> 0:21:29.080
<v Speaker 1>budget and you want to start applying for different states,

0:21:29.160 --> 0:21:31.119
<v Speaker 1>I would look at it this way. I look at

0:21:31.160 --> 0:21:33.760
<v Speaker 1>it by trying to think of three states that have

0:21:33.800 --> 0:21:36.800
<v Speaker 1>different systems, one where I might be able to realistically

0:21:36.920 --> 0:21:40.399
<v Speaker 1>draw a preference point tag within two to five years,

0:21:40.880 --> 0:21:43.800
<v Speaker 1>one where I'm on equal footing with everyone, a random

0:21:43.880 --> 0:21:45.879
<v Speaker 1>draw state, and then a bonus point state where I

0:21:45.880 --> 0:21:47.800
<v Speaker 1>can kind of think, I'm gonna pick this state. I'm

0:21:47.800 --> 0:21:50.879
<v Speaker 1>gonna apply over time, and hopefully I'll get lucky before

0:21:51.320 --> 0:21:53.040
<v Speaker 1>I get a lot of points, but you never know,

0:21:53.160 --> 0:21:55.359
<v Speaker 1>and I'm gonna keep applying and just keep after it

0:21:55.359 --> 0:21:58.200
<v Speaker 1>with that one. Then on the back burner, I'm gonna

0:21:58.240 --> 0:22:00.960
<v Speaker 1>have an over the counter tag or other states that

0:22:01.040 --> 0:22:02.880
<v Speaker 1>are easy to draw, where I can pick up these

0:22:02.880 --> 0:22:05.960
<v Speaker 1>overcounter the tags and plan the hunt that I know

0:22:06.000 --> 0:22:07.800
<v Speaker 1>I'll be able to go on. And I think for

0:22:07.840 --> 0:22:10.480
<v Speaker 1>most people we're really gonna have to focus on those

0:22:10.480 --> 0:22:13.320
<v Speaker 1>over the counter tags. Um, but it's good to have

0:22:13.359 --> 0:22:16.239
<v Speaker 1>the strategy of thinking of hunts that you might want

0:22:16.280 --> 0:22:18.520
<v Speaker 1>to do in the future, especially if you live near

0:22:18.560 --> 0:22:20.840
<v Speaker 1>other states or might be places that you want to

0:22:20.880 --> 0:22:22.960
<v Speaker 1>hunt in the future. You really got to make these

0:22:23.000 --> 0:22:26.440
<v Speaker 1>plans and plan out what you're gonna do. I think

0:22:26.440 --> 0:22:29.080
<v Speaker 1>if you were to look at like the point creep

0:22:29.119 --> 0:22:31.080
<v Speaker 1>in some of these states and you go, Okay, well

0:22:31.240 --> 0:22:33.600
<v Speaker 1>is it too late for me? If you're just getting

0:22:33.600 --> 0:22:35.040
<v Speaker 1>into it, and you say, is it too late? For

0:22:35.040 --> 0:22:37.080
<v Speaker 1>me to even jump in these draws, is it even

0:22:37.080 --> 0:22:40.960
<v Speaker 1>worth me my time, effort, money to apply? And I'm

0:22:40.960 --> 0:22:44.040
<v Speaker 1>gonna say the sad reality is yes and no. So

0:22:44.800 --> 0:22:46.639
<v Speaker 1>it is a little bit too late for some things

0:22:46.680 --> 0:22:49.159
<v Speaker 1>but not for others. And what that means is some

0:22:49.240 --> 0:22:52.280
<v Speaker 1>of these top units in places that use preference points

0:22:52.320 --> 0:22:56.480
<v Speaker 1>between the point creep unless you draw randomly. So the

0:22:56.560 --> 0:22:59.080
<v Speaker 1>yes is like, you will not draw it on a

0:22:59.119 --> 0:23:01.920
<v Speaker 1>preference how Ever, you could potentially draw it as a

0:23:02.000 --> 0:23:04.639
<v Speaker 1>random draw for the now the states that are offering

0:23:04.640 --> 0:23:08.160
<v Speaker 1>these a few of those tags as random draws. But

0:23:08.320 --> 0:23:11.800
<v Speaker 1>also there's you have to think of using those preference

0:23:11.840 --> 0:23:14.159
<v Speaker 1>points not for the top units, but units that you

0:23:14.200 --> 0:23:16.560
<v Speaker 1>can realistically get. So that's kind of the way that

0:23:16.600 --> 0:23:19.359
<v Speaker 1>I see combating the creep. So you look for areas

0:23:19.400 --> 0:23:22.040
<v Speaker 1>that had less points than necessary, then you build your

0:23:22.040 --> 0:23:24.240
<v Speaker 1>points up and you go to those areas. You don't

0:23:24.240 --> 0:23:26.240
<v Speaker 1>want to see it as wasting points. I know I've

0:23:26.280 --> 0:23:28.679
<v Speaker 1>done that in the past, where I have four points

0:23:28.680 --> 0:23:30.800
<v Speaker 1>and I see an area that takes two points to draw,

0:23:30.800 --> 0:23:33.440
<v Speaker 1>and I'm like, oh, but I've got two extra years

0:23:33.640 --> 0:23:35.760
<v Speaker 1>invested in this. I don't want to waste them on

0:23:35.800 --> 0:23:38.320
<v Speaker 1>an area that has two points, I'm gonna go for

0:23:38.359 --> 0:23:40.320
<v Speaker 1>this area that has six, and then you just never

0:23:40.440 --> 0:23:43.240
<v Speaker 1>catch up and you never want to go back. My

0:23:43.440 --> 0:23:45.879
<v Speaker 1>philosophy when it comes to points is just turn and

0:23:45.920 --> 0:23:48.040
<v Speaker 1>burn as much as you can. You're a lot better

0:23:48.080 --> 0:23:49.680
<v Speaker 1>to have a tag in your pocket, be out in

0:23:49.720 --> 0:23:52.560
<v Speaker 1>the field. You can actually kill an elk when you

0:23:52.600 --> 0:23:54.800
<v Speaker 1>have an elk tag and you're out hunting, as opposed

0:23:54.800 --> 0:23:57.400
<v Speaker 1>to having a bunch of points sitting in some imaginary

0:23:57.400 --> 0:24:02.159
<v Speaker 1>wallets somewhere not getting used, and always chasing an area

0:24:02.200 --> 0:24:05.600
<v Speaker 1>that you may never uh statistically be able to draw.

0:24:06.160 --> 0:24:07.640
<v Speaker 1>So what I want to do now is what I'm

0:24:07.640 --> 0:24:09.639
<v Speaker 1>gonna go through a few states and I'm going to

0:24:09.880 --> 0:24:12.760
<v Speaker 1>cover say five of them this week and maybe six

0:24:13.200 --> 0:24:16.879
<v Speaker 1>next week, and just some of the application periods that

0:24:16.920 --> 0:24:19.679
<v Speaker 1>are coming up. Um, So we'll start. I wanna just

0:24:19.680 --> 0:24:27.040
<v Speaker 1>want to cover Wyoming, Utahs, do Montana, Nevada, and Arizona,

0:24:27.200 --> 0:24:29.920
<v Speaker 1>and we can kind of cover those ones, and then um,

0:24:29.920 --> 0:24:32.880
<v Speaker 1>we'll cover some of the other ones next week and

0:24:32.920 --> 0:24:35.960
<v Speaker 1>talk a little bit more about some of the overcounter options.

0:24:35.960 --> 0:24:38.160
<v Speaker 1>But I figured if I go state by state now

0:24:38.200 --> 0:24:40.160
<v Speaker 1>that you kind of have this broad overview of what

0:24:40.960 --> 0:24:43.200
<v Speaker 1>the points are, then you can kind of I think

0:24:43.200 --> 0:24:45.480
<v Speaker 1>if it's just better if I kind of explain each

0:24:45.520 --> 0:24:47.919
<v Speaker 1>state and some of the options there, then you can

0:24:48.000 --> 0:24:50.359
<v Speaker 1>kind of figure out what piques your interest, which one

0:24:50.400 --> 0:24:52.280
<v Speaker 1>of these might be a good place for you to

0:24:52.400 --> 0:24:55.440
<v Speaker 1>jump in, and then kind of build your application strategy

0:24:55.440 --> 0:24:58.560
<v Speaker 1>and start thinking about planning some hunts for yourself. It's

0:24:58.600 --> 0:25:02.040
<v Speaker 1>definitely doable. It's not that difficult. I started figuring a

0:25:02.119 --> 0:25:03.840
<v Speaker 1>lot of this stuff out when I was a teenager

0:25:03.920 --> 0:25:06.800
<v Speaker 1>and there wasn't even resources for this kind of stuff.

0:25:06.840 --> 0:25:09.960
<v Speaker 1>So I think that with this resource, with what's available

0:25:10.000 --> 0:25:12.680
<v Speaker 1>now and the ease of being able to apply online

0:25:12.720 --> 0:25:15.200
<v Speaker 1>and so much other stuff, this is something that anybody

0:25:15.240 --> 0:25:17.440
<v Speaker 1>can do, and I highly suggest it if it's something

0:25:17.480 --> 0:25:19.119
<v Speaker 1>that you're considering. I know a lot of people that

0:25:19.200 --> 0:25:22.080
<v Speaker 1>listen to this podcast. Um I always say I want

0:25:22.080 --> 0:25:24.040
<v Speaker 1>to plan my first Western big game hunt when a

0:25:24.040 --> 0:25:25.919
<v Speaker 1>lot of people live out here and just want to

0:25:25.960 --> 0:25:28.919
<v Speaker 1>increase their opportunities, or maybe some guys just you know,

0:25:28.960 --> 0:25:30.639
<v Speaker 1>say hey, I want to find a place where I

0:25:30.680 --> 0:25:32.800
<v Speaker 1>can get a bigger elk than what I normally hunt.

0:25:33.119 --> 0:25:36.680
<v Speaker 1>Were someplaces that I can apply and realistically have that happen.

0:25:37.520 --> 0:25:39.639
<v Speaker 1>This is how you do it through these tag draws,

0:25:39.680 --> 0:25:43.880
<v Speaker 1>through research, and through kind of creating a strategy on

0:25:44.000 --> 0:25:49.360
<v Speaker 1>your applications. So let's start with Wyoming. Unfortunately, if you're

0:25:49.400 --> 0:25:53.120
<v Speaker 1>just getting into this elk, the elk draws already over

0:25:53.160 --> 0:25:56.639
<v Speaker 1>for Wyoming, that happens kind of early in the year. Um,

0:25:56.680 --> 0:25:58.479
<v Speaker 1>but it's not too late to get a point. So

0:25:58.600 --> 0:26:01.399
<v Speaker 1>I would suggest why don't is actually really great state

0:26:01.440 --> 0:26:04.400
<v Speaker 1>to choose for elker deer because it is a preference

0:26:04.440 --> 0:26:07.200
<v Speaker 1>point state. And I might be thinking, well, preference points

0:26:07.200 --> 0:26:10.000
<v Speaker 1>are bad all this point creep stuff, but that's not

0:26:10.040 --> 0:26:11.919
<v Speaker 1>necessarily the case. There's a lot of areas where it

0:26:12.000 --> 0:26:14.680
<v Speaker 1>might take just one point or two points to get

0:26:14.680 --> 0:26:18.520
<v Speaker 1>a tagging kind of realistically plan on those areas. What

0:26:18.560 --> 0:26:20.440
<v Speaker 1>I like to do is look for anything three points

0:26:20.520 --> 0:26:24.639
<v Speaker 1>or less and then plan on just buying points until

0:26:24.680 --> 0:26:27.000
<v Speaker 1>you have enough that you're ready to go and cash

0:26:27.040 --> 0:26:30.480
<v Speaker 1>in and pick an area that the year prior a

0:26:30.560 --> 0:26:33.000
<v Speaker 1>point lower got you a tag, because then you know

0:26:33.119 --> 0:26:34.879
<v Speaker 1>for sure you're going to get the tag, or have

0:26:34.960 --> 0:26:38.919
<v Speaker 1>a realistic expectation unless something crazy happens, like somebody shoots

0:26:38.920 --> 0:26:41.080
<v Speaker 1>a world record elk and then that area blows up,

0:26:41.320 --> 0:26:44.320
<v Speaker 1>but outside of that is a little bit easier to plan.

0:26:44.480 --> 0:26:47.600
<v Speaker 1>So it's too late to apply for elk there, but

0:26:47.600 --> 0:26:49.280
<v Speaker 1>it's not too late to get a bonus point. I

0:26:49.320 --> 0:26:53.600
<v Speaker 1>think the bonus points are available through September so um

0:26:53.840 --> 0:26:55.960
<v Speaker 1>for all species, so you can get those now. And

0:26:56.000 --> 0:26:58.240
<v Speaker 1>actually we only kind of change the way their application

0:26:58.280 --> 0:27:00.000
<v Speaker 1>works where even if you apply, you still have to

0:27:00.000 --> 0:27:02.520
<v Speaker 1>buy the bonus point later. Um. So you can apply,

0:27:03.080 --> 0:27:06.080
<v Speaker 1>but you've got to get the preference point later um

0:27:06.119 --> 0:27:07.959
<v Speaker 1>if you'd like. And then the moose, sheep goat for

0:27:08.080 --> 0:27:11.679
<v Speaker 1>wyomings do March one, and then June one is the

0:27:11.680 --> 0:27:14.679
<v Speaker 1>deadline for deer and antelope, So that's if you're looking, hey,

0:27:14.720 --> 0:27:16.440
<v Speaker 1>I want to go out for deer, I want to

0:27:16.440 --> 0:27:19.080
<v Speaker 1>go out for antelope. That June first deadline is gonna

0:27:19.080 --> 0:27:22.520
<v Speaker 1>be your time now on that it is preference point.

0:27:22.520 --> 0:27:25.320
<v Speaker 1>But there's some areas that if they have enough tags,

0:27:25.680 --> 0:27:28.200
<v Speaker 1>they'll allocate a certain percentage that will go into a

0:27:28.320 --> 0:27:30.800
<v Speaker 1>random draw, So it doesn't hurt to apply for that,

0:27:31.240 --> 0:27:33.199
<v Speaker 1>and then if you don't get it, go on and

0:27:33.240 --> 0:27:36.320
<v Speaker 1>buy your bonus point later. One side note to wyoming,

0:27:36.359 --> 0:27:39.600
<v Speaker 1>you only get one choice, well one choice uses your points,

0:27:39.840 --> 0:27:41.680
<v Speaker 1>so it's really going to be the choice that's looked at.

0:27:42.160 --> 0:27:45.760
<v Speaker 1>There are a few tags in the deer and antelope

0:27:45.800 --> 0:27:48.240
<v Speaker 1>if you start looking that you can actually pick up

0:27:48.359 --> 0:27:51.359
<v Speaker 1>on a second choice. So what that means is those

0:27:51.400 --> 0:27:54.640
<v Speaker 1>areas are not fully filled on that first choice hunt.

0:27:55.160 --> 0:27:57.600
<v Speaker 1>This is a really good way to get out hunting,

0:27:58.119 --> 0:28:01.359
<v Speaker 1>but also start building points. You don't use your points

0:28:01.480 --> 0:28:04.120
<v Speaker 1>if you don't draw your first choice. In Wyoming, UM

0:28:04.160 --> 0:28:06.640
<v Speaker 1>I like to start looking for those units where it's like, hey,

0:28:06.920 --> 0:28:09.520
<v Speaker 1>you can draw a second choice. Many of those, though,

0:28:09.560 --> 0:28:12.760
<v Speaker 1>are available because it's mostly private lands, so you want

0:28:12.760 --> 0:28:15.479
<v Speaker 1>to just definitely research the area. UM I always pull

0:28:15.520 --> 0:28:18.240
<v Speaker 1>out my onyx map or whatever, see how much private

0:28:18.320 --> 0:28:21.320
<v Speaker 1>lands in there, how much public lands in their program

0:28:21.320 --> 0:28:23.560
<v Speaker 1>that I use a lot. Go hunt works really well

0:28:23.600 --> 0:28:26.240
<v Speaker 1>for this too. Just like researching areas, you can pull

0:28:26.320 --> 0:28:27.920
<v Speaker 1>up an area. You can look at how many points

0:28:27.920 --> 0:28:30.359
<v Speaker 1>it took to draw, how many What are the odds

0:28:30.400 --> 0:28:33.199
<v Speaker 1>of drawing a second choice? Is that even possible? But

0:28:33.240 --> 0:28:35.600
<v Speaker 1>that's something to look at, UM and one good thing

0:28:35.640 --> 0:28:38.600
<v Speaker 1>if you're thinking about Wyoming. I definitely like that aspect

0:28:38.600 --> 0:28:40.320
<v Speaker 1>of it where you might be able to find a

0:28:40.360 --> 0:28:43.240
<v Speaker 1>cool hunt that you can do um and still gain

0:28:43.440 --> 0:28:45.680
<v Speaker 1>points for maybe one, one or two years down the

0:28:45.760 --> 0:28:48.760
<v Speaker 1>road all jump over to Utah. So the deadline for

0:28:48.800 --> 0:28:51.040
<v Speaker 1>that it's going to be March fourth. I've been applying

0:28:51.040 --> 0:28:53.960
<v Speaker 1>in Utah for a very long time. I've got nineteen

0:28:54.000 --> 0:28:58.120
<v Speaker 1>ELK points this year, so so that's quite a while. Um,

0:28:58.240 --> 0:28:59.960
<v Speaker 1>you'd be like, why haven't you drawn a tag? Well,

0:29:00.520 --> 0:29:03.000
<v Speaker 1>I was chasing lower point tags and then I got

0:29:03.120 --> 0:29:04.760
<v Speaker 1>into a little bit of point creep, and then I

0:29:04.800 --> 0:29:07.680
<v Speaker 1>just started drawing other tags and kept saving my points

0:29:07.960 --> 0:29:10.880
<v Speaker 1>and applying for an area that did not offer a

0:29:11.240 --> 0:29:14.280
<v Speaker 1>preference point tag. So if it only has one tag,

0:29:14.320 --> 0:29:17.240
<v Speaker 1>then it's all random draw, but it's kind of weighted

0:29:17.320 --> 0:29:20.200
<v Speaker 1>random draw where all your points act as bonus points.

0:29:20.480 --> 0:29:23.040
<v Speaker 1>So for the last quite a few years, maybe ten years,

0:29:23.080 --> 0:29:25.960
<v Speaker 1>I've been applying for an area that doesn't offer a

0:29:26.080 --> 0:29:30.160
<v Speaker 1>tag to the most point applicants. So I could go

0:29:30.240 --> 0:29:32.520
<v Speaker 1>and just choose if I wanted to say, Hey, I'm

0:29:32.520 --> 0:29:35.080
<v Speaker 1>ready to hunt Utah this year, I'm gonna go get

0:29:35.080 --> 0:29:36.800
<v Speaker 1>a tag. And there's a lot of units that I

0:29:36.840 --> 0:29:39.200
<v Speaker 1>could just be guaranteed a tag in that are gonna

0:29:39.200 --> 0:29:42.520
<v Speaker 1>be great hunts, Like for three hundred to three fifty

0:29:42.520 --> 0:29:45.200
<v Speaker 1>type bowls with a bow. That's an awesome hunt and

0:29:45.320 --> 0:29:47.520
<v Speaker 1>something that would be super stoked on. But I've also

0:29:47.560 --> 0:29:49.560
<v Speaker 1>had some really good hunts in my life, so I

0:29:49.640 --> 0:29:51.840
<v Speaker 1>really thought, man, this might be one where I've got

0:29:51.960 --> 0:29:54.600
<v Speaker 1>enough points, I might try to hold out for one

0:29:54.640 --> 0:29:57.720
<v Speaker 1>of those more higher echelon type ELK tags where I

0:29:57.720 --> 0:29:59.520
<v Speaker 1>could get a three fifty type bowl. And for me,

0:29:59.640 --> 0:30:02.400
<v Speaker 1>this is state. If you're just getting started, it's not

0:30:02.440 --> 0:30:05.560
<v Speaker 1>your state for that. Unfortunately, you're gonna have to either

0:30:05.600 --> 0:30:07.480
<v Speaker 1>get lucky and draw off it. I mean, you could

0:30:07.520 --> 0:30:09.800
<v Speaker 1>draw the same tag I apply for. I I've got

0:30:09.800 --> 0:30:12.480
<v Speaker 1>a friend that the tag that I apply for. He's

0:30:12.520 --> 0:30:15.040
<v Speaker 1>applied three years and he drew the tag, and I've

0:30:15.080 --> 0:30:19.040
<v Speaker 1>applied nineteen years and have never drawn it. So in

0:30:19.080 --> 0:30:22.200
<v Speaker 1>that case, it kind of could be anyone's game. For dear,

0:30:22.280 --> 0:30:24.840
<v Speaker 1>there's a general deer season in Utah and that's on

0:30:24.880 --> 0:30:27.760
<v Speaker 1>a true preference point system, so there's it's not weighted.

0:30:28.000 --> 0:30:30.200
<v Speaker 1>It's just the people with the most preference points get

0:30:30.200 --> 0:30:34.680
<v Speaker 1>allocated those tags. There's muzzleloader, archery and rifle general tags

0:30:34.880 --> 0:30:37.480
<v Speaker 1>and some um ways that you can hunt it like

0:30:37.600 --> 0:30:40.880
<v Speaker 1>kind of all three seasons, but those are that's a

0:30:40.880 --> 0:30:42.720
<v Speaker 1>great way to kind of just plan on a hunt.

0:30:42.760 --> 0:30:45.120
<v Speaker 1>So if you're already gonna say, hey, I want to

0:30:45.160 --> 0:30:47.680
<v Speaker 1>hunt mule deer um, Utah sounds like a good one

0:30:47.880 --> 0:30:50.840
<v Speaker 1>general tag. There's a lot more hunters on those general hunts.

0:30:50.880 --> 0:30:53.000
<v Speaker 1>But hey, you've got a tag in your pocket, and

0:30:53.080 --> 0:30:55.920
<v Speaker 1>maybe being finding those areas you could get every other year,

0:30:56.000 --> 0:30:58.760
<v Speaker 1>every year, maybe every third year, you're gonna be a

0:30:58.760 --> 0:31:01.560
<v Speaker 1>lot more successful than waiting twenty years to draw a

0:31:01.600 --> 0:31:04.320
<v Speaker 1>tag that may never come. And while you're doing that,

0:31:04.360 --> 0:31:06.400
<v Speaker 1>if you're already buying the hunting license, you know you

0:31:06.400 --> 0:31:09.360
<v Speaker 1>can get in there and apply for some of these

0:31:09.400 --> 0:31:12.080
<v Speaker 1>limited entry tags that you might get lucky and draw.

0:31:12.600 --> 0:31:16.000
<v Speaker 1>And that's what I would suggest doing a Feutah appeals

0:31:16.040 --> 0:31:18.560
<v Speaker 1>to you a lot of states. You'll notice like you

0:31:18.600 --> 0:31:20.920
<v Speaker 1>have to buy a hunting license in order to apply.

0:31:21.200 --> 0:31:22.880
<v Speaker 1>Utah is a state that you've got a little bit

0:31:22.880 --> 0:31:25.000
<v Speaker 1>of a hack in here. They're they're hunting licenses are

0:31:25.000 --> 0:31:27.520
<v Speaker 1>three sixty five days, so as long as you have

0:31:27.640 --> 0:31:30.120
<v Speaker 1>an eligible hunting license when you apply, it's good for

0:31:30.160 --> 0:31:33.080
<v Speaker 1>that year. So you can essentially buy one hunting license

0:31:33.120 --> 0:31:36.280
<v Speaker 1>every other year as long as you apply before your

0:31:36.320 --> 0:31:39.800
<v Speaker 1>license expires, and that's something that most people do um,

0:31:39.840 --> 0:31:41.440
<v Speaker 1>but there's a lot of people that don't know about it.

0:31:41.480 --> 0:31:44.719
<v Speaker 1>This year, I normally set a Google Calendar update, but

0:31:45.160 --> 0:31:47.560
<v Speaker 1>I missed my deadline for that, so I end up

0:31:47.560 --> 0:31:49.960
<v Speaker 1>having to buy another license this year, two years in

0:31:50.000 --> 0:31:53.120
<v Speaker 1>a row, but I try to get them every other years.

0:31:53.240 --> 0:31:55.360
<v Speaker 1>That's just something to think about when it comes to

0:31:55.440 --> 0:31:59.120
<v Speaker 1>elk um. There's some over the counter elk hunts general

0:31:59.120 --> 0:32:03.040
<v Speaker 1>season tags in Utah summer any bull hunts, and some

0:32:03.280 --> 0:32:06.680
<v Speaker 1>are spike bull hunts in areas that are like more

0:32:06.720 --> 0:32:09.560
<v Speaker 1>trophy based. Those spike hunts can be great hunts if

0:32:09.560 --> 0:32:13.080
<v Speaker 1>you just want a good experience out elk hunting and

0:32:13.120 --> 0:32:16.160
<v Speaker 1>maybe some success. And then the over the counter tags.

0:32:16.200 --> 0:32:18.280
<v Speaker 1>You know, there's other states that have over the counter

0:32:18.320 --> 0:32:21.440
<v Speaker 1>tags that are you know, maybe more popular or whatever,

0:32:21.480 --> 0:32:24.280
<v Speaker 1>but it's an option where if you don't have the

0:32:24.320 --> 0:32:26.320
<v Speaker 1>tag draw you can you can pick up a tag.

0:32:26.720 --> 0:32:30.480
<v Speaker 1>New this year, actually, Utah extended that their Archery Bull

0:32:30.560 --> 0:32:32.920
<v Speaker 1>elk hunt over the counter tags by five days, so

0:32:32.920 --> 0:32:35.800
<v Speaker 1>it now goes to September, which I think is gonna

0:32:35.840 --> 0:32:39.160
<v Speaker 1>be huge for hitting the rust. So now it's August one,

0:32:39.320 --> 0:32:42.240
<v Speaker 1>September twenty two, So I think that's kind of cool. Um,

0:32:42.320 --> 0:32:45.320
<v Speaker 1>that's that's gonna actually make those hunts quite a bit better,

0:32:45.360 --> 0:32:47.280
<v Speaker 1>I think, because you can maybe hit some peak rut.

0:32:48.400 --> 0:32:51.720
<v Speaker 1>I'll zoom down to Arizona. My overview of Arizona is

0:32:51.760 --> 0:32:54.440
<v Speaker 1>it's really a great state for elk and deer, and

0:32:54.520 --> 0:32:56.080
<v Speaker 1>if you think about it, I mean, it's probably one

0:32:56.120 --> 0:32:58.240
<v Speaker 1>of the top states for l one of the top

0:32:58.240 --> 0:33:02.400
<v Speaker 1>states for deer. They've got those high and elk hunts. Now,

0:33:02.520 --> 0:33:04.480
<v Speaker 1>those are really good if you have a lot of points,

0:33:04.480 --> 0:33:06.840
<v Speaker 1>but I think with the point creep and all the

0:33:06.840 --> 0:33:09.920
<v Speaker 1>other stuff, for most intents and purposes, those are gonna

0:33:09.920 --> 0:33:12.280
<v Speaker 1>be out of reach for most hunters. There is the

0:33:12.320 --> 0:33:15.280
<v Speaker 1>opportunity to maybe randomly draw one of those, but there's

0:33:15.320 --> 0:33:20.000
<v Speaker 1>a lot of other hunts, like more opportunity type hunts

0:33:20.040 --> 0:33:22.640
<v Speaker 1>in Arizona that take a lot less time to draw

0:33:23.320 --> 0:33:25.800
<v Speaker 1>and they can be great hunts. Um. There's a few

0:33:25.880 --> 0:33:28.080
<v Speaker 1>L hunts that fall into this, both the antler list

0:33:28.200 --> 0:33:30.760
<v Speaker 1>L hunts as well as some bowl elk hunts. While

0:33:30.800 --> 0:33:33.000
<v Speaker 1>they aren't over the counter, there's some elk hunts that

0:33:33.560 --> 0:33:35.640
<v Speaker 1>in the state of Arizona that are fairly easy to

0:33:35.760 --> 0:33:38.400
<v Speaker 1>draw that may only take a few points, And there's

0:33:38.440 --> 0:33:40.400
<v Speaker 1>also a lot of deer tags that might not take

0:33:40.440 --> 0:33:43.960
<v Speaker 1>any points. Cou'se deer tags, rifle tags in October. UM.

0:33:44.000 --> 0:33:47.160
<v Speaker 1>Some of these off season hunts, like outside of the rut,

0:33:47.680 --> 0:33:51.120
<v Speaker 1>they can be difficult, but that's how they add more tags,

0:33:51.120 --> 0:33:54.120
<v Speaker 1>so there's more opportunity, but they put them in times

0:33:54.120 --> 0:33:56.000
<v Speaker 1>of the year when it's the most difficult to find

0:33:56.080 --> 0:33:59.000
<v Speaker 1>dear so it kind of keeps the numbers in check,

0:33:59.160 --> 0:34:01.320
<v Speaker 1>not too many deer a shot. And then there's over

0:34:01.360 --> 0:34:03.960
<v Speaker 1>the counter archery deer tags later in the season. So

0:34:04.240 --> 0:34:05.800
<v Speaker 1>I would say this is a really good state to

0:34:05.840 --> 0:34:08.680
<v Speaker 1>apply if you're looking for, um a hunt that you

0:34:08.680 --> 0:34:11.960
<v Speaker 1>could actually get into. But at the meantime, maybe try

0:34:12.040 --> 0:34:15.399
<v Speaker 1>your hand at drawing one of these upper end tags.

0:34:15.400 --> 0:34:18.000
<v Speaker 1>Because you get two choices in this draw and they

0:34:18.000 --> 0:34:20.799
<v Speaker 1>consider both, so I like to go for broke on

0:34:20.840 --> 0:34:23.520
<v Speaker 1>that first choice. And then there's like a list of

0:34:23.719 --> 0:34:26.879
<v Speaker 1>you can kind of look up different tags where there's

0:34:26.920 --> 0:34:30.080
<v Speaker 1>a lot of like sometimes tags left over in the

0:34:30.160 --> 0:34:33.000
<v Speaker 1>second or third and fourth choices. Um, there's some of

0:34:33.040 --> 0:34:35.400
<v Speaker 1>those tags you can kind of pick up over the

0:34:35.440 --> 0:34:37.560
<v Speaker 1>counter if they're left over, but last few years they

0:34:37.560 --> 0:34:40.680
<v Speaker 1>haven't really been available. However, you can draw those easier,

0:34:40.680 --> 0:34:42.080
<v Speaker 1>so you can kind of put those in your second

0:34:42.160 --> 0:34:44.879
<v Speaker 1>choice and end up with a tag, but also maybe

0:34:44.960 --> 0:34:48.200
<v Speaker 1>try for a better tag, like a dream tag at

0:34:48.200 --> 0:34:50.000
<v Speaker 1>the same time. And that's kind of cool to be

0:34:50.000 --> 0:34:52.160
<v Speaker 1>able to do that. So I definitely think that's a

0:34:52.160 --> 0:34:54.440
<v Speaker 1>good state to look into as well. Um, there's no

0:34:54.520 --> 0:34:57.239
<v Speaker 1>state that I would mention that's not a good state

0:34:57.280 --> 0:34:59.840
<v Speaker 1>to apply in, but I just want to cover everything

0:35:00.040 --> 0:35:01.640
<v Speaker 1>kind of give you my like, these are just my

0:35:01.719 --> 0:35:04.680
<v Speaker 1>thoughts on all these states when it comes to considering

0:35:04.960 --> 0:35:07.440
<v Speaker 1>where you want to apply. Next one is gonna be

0:35:07.480 --> 0:35:10.680
<v Speaker 1>Montana that opens up March first and then the application

0:35:10.719 --> 0:35:17.080
<v Speaker 1>in April one. Montana is honestly the most confusing draw Um,

0:35:17.080 --> 0:35:19.240
<v Speaker 1>it's one I'm most familiar with, so it's not confusing

0:35:19.280 --> 0:35:22.399
<v Speaker 1>for me, but I think when most people uh look

0:35:22.440 --> 0:35:24.239
<v Speaker 1>at it, they're like, this makes no sense, and it's

0:35:24.280 --> 0:35:28.359
<v Speaker 1>because it's a terrible draw system. Um, I don't know

0:35:28.680 --> 0:35:32.160
<v Speaker 1>it needs to be changed, unfortunately, because what happens is

0:35:32.200 --> 0:35:35.239
<v Speaker 1>so Montana has preference points for the general license and

0:35:35.280 --> 0:35:40.040
<v Speaker 1>then bonus points for limited entry units. However, The way

0:35:40.120 --> 0:35:42.040
<v Speaker 1>that your draw works is you need to draw the

0:35:42.080 --> 0:35:48.400
<v Speaker 1>general license before you are put into the application process

0:35:48.480 --> 0:35:50.719
<v Speaker 1>for the limited entry units. So if you're just like, man,

0:35:50.760 --> 0:35:53.200
<v Speaker 1>I want to apply for those giant ELK units and

0:35:53.239 --> 0:35:56.760
<v Speaker 1>the breaks in Montana, that's cool. But what's gonna happen

0:35:56.880 --> 0:35:59.359
<v Speaker 1>is you have to first draw general tag and then

0:35:59.360 --> 0:36:01.560
<v Speaker 1>you're put in that limited entry chance in the breaks.

0:36:01.880 --> 0:36:03.279
<v Speaker 1>Now maybe you're like, oh, I don't want to hunt

0:36:03.320 --> 0:36:05.280
<v Speaker 1>a general unit in Montana, so you have the option

0:36:05.320 --> 0:36:07.759
<v Speaker 1>to refund your ELK tag. If you don't draw that

0:36:07.840 --> 0:36:11.000
<v Speaker 1>limited entry tag, well, you're only gonna get eight percent

0:36:11.080 --> 0:36:13.400
<v Speaker 1>of that, so it's gonna cost you like three something bucks.

0:36:13.760 --> 0:36:16.040
<v Speaker 1>And um, I think if you do the combat tag,

0:36:16.080 --> 0:36:18.480
<v Speaker 1>that's cost you to something. I can't remember the exact price.

0:36:18.800 --> 0:36:22.440
<v Speaker 1>Probably should have done the math. But see, it didn't

0:36:22.480 --> 0:36:25.200
<v Speaker 1>really matter before, where everybody kind of just drew the

0:36:25.239 --> 0:36:28.600
<v Speaker 1>general tagscent draw and then everyone was put in for

0:36:28.640 --> 0:36:31.080
<v Speaker 1>the other draw and then you got your refund back

0:36:31.120 --> 0:36:33.880
<v Speaker 1>and it wasn't a big deal. Now the general tags

0:36:33.880 --> 0:36:36.239
<v Speaker 1>are becoming more popular, so now there's a lot more

0:36:36.280 --> 0:36:38.680
<v Speaker 1>competition for those tags, and your preference points to draw

0:36:38.719 --> 0:36:41.920
<v Speaker 1>that general tag before you get put into that bonus

0:36:41.960 --> 0:36:46.240
<v Speaker 1>point draw for the limited entry in So, if you know, Monte,

0:36:46.320 --> 0:36:48.600
<v Speaker 1>I'm gonna just say it like this, this sounds very confusing,

0:36:49.080 --> 0:36:53.120
<v Speaker 1>and it is. So the best thing for Montana is

0:36:53.200 --> 0:36:55.560
<v Speaker 1>apply for Montana if you just want to hunt the

0:36:55.600 --> 0:36:57.600
<v Speaker 1>general units and then you want to apply for a

0:36:57.640 --> 0:37:00.560
<v Speaker 1>limited entry unit while you're there. That's the best way

0:37:00.600 --> 0:37:03.200
<v Speaker 1>to think of it, because you know, doing it the

0:37:03.200 --> 0:37:05.480
<v Speaker 1>other way around kind of doesn't necessarily make sense that

0:37:05.480 --> 0:37:06.960
<v Speaker 1>it's going to take you a very long time to

0:37:07.040 --> 0:37:09.080
<v Speaker 1>draw one of those limited entry tags because you gotta

0:37:09.080 --> 0:37:11.919
<v Speaker 1>get lucky twice and you're gonna burn your preference point

0:37:11.960 --> 0:37:16.439
<v Speaker 1>for that general tag by attempting to draw a permit tag.

0:37:16.520 --> 0:37:18.920
<v Speaker 1>So I'm hoping that in the next few years Montana

0:37:19.000 --> 0:37:20.640
<v Speaker 1>wise is up and they just change this and make

0:37:20.680 --> 0:37:22.719
<v Speaker 1>it more like every other state where it's like, hey,

0:37:22.719 --> 0:37:25.400
<v Speaker 1>if you're putting in for a limited entry tag and

0:37:25.480 --> 0:37:27.719
<v Speaker 1>you draw it, you get a tag. That's makes sense.

0:37:27.760 --> 0:37:30.240
<v Speaker 1>There's like, you know, I mean, thousands of people putting

0:37:30.239 --> 0:37:33.920
<v Speaker 1>in for some units that have one tag available, and

0:37:33.960 --> 0:37:37.280
<v Speaker 1>then it's just this really complicated system where the refunding

0:37:37.320 --> 0:37:39.440
<v Speaker 1>tags and giving them back to other people and it's

0:37:39.480 --> 0:37:43.839
<v Speaker 1>just it's like a really horrible system um as more

0:37:43.880 --> 0:37:48.080
<v Speaker 1>people apply, so that's how that works. But Montana is

0:37:48.120 --> 0:37:50.000
<v Speaker 1>a great state and has probably one of the better

0:37:50.040 --> 0:37:52.359
<v Speaker 1>general elk hunts. You know, i'd put it up there

0:37:52.360 --> 0:37:55.640
<v Speaker 1>in the top states of general elk hunts or general

0:37:55.680 --> 0:37:58.160
<v Speaker 1>elk units. You know, it's got quite a few units

0:37:58.239 --> 0:38:01.000
<v Speaker 1>under that general elk tag. It's fair popular hunt. I

0:38:01.000 --> 0:38:04.120
<v Speaker 1>would say between Montana, Idaho, Colorado, and Wyoming, those are

0:38:04.160 --> 0:38:06.799
<v Speaker 1>gonna be your top elk states. New Mexico is a

0:38:06.840 --> 0:38:09.600
<v Speaker 1>great state hunt, but most of those tags are on

0:38:09.680 --> 0:38:12.399
<v Speaker 1>to draw. So you know, you look at those other

0:38:12.440 --> 0:38:14.920
<v Speaker 1>four states and there's areas where you can get into

0:38:15.080 --> 0:38:18.000
<v Speaker 1>every other year, every year and have a good hunt.

0:38:18.040 --> 0:38:20.359
<v Speaker 1>And so that's something like a lot of people are

0:38:20.440 --> 0:38:23.280
<v Speaker 1>very interested in, and I think there's something worth noting.

0:38:23.320 --> 0:38:26.120
<v Speaker 1>I mean, Montana's place that I grew up hunting, so

0:38:26.560 --> 0:38:28.880
<v Speaker 1>I like hunting there. But there's also great hunts other

0:38:29.000 --> 0:38:32.320
<v Speaker 1>places as well. The nice thing about you know, Montana,

0:38:32.360 --> 0:38:36.120
<v Speaker 1>if you're doing that in the limited entry units only

0:38:36.160 --> 0:38:39.959
<v Speaker 1>your first choice is counted for your bonus points. So

0:38:40.160 --> 0:38:42.399
<v Speaker 1>you know, if you don't draw your first choice, then

0:38:42.520 --> 0:38:44.719
<v Speaker 1>you don't lose those bonus points, you continue to gain

0:38:44.760 --> 0:38:47.040
<v Speaker 1>those bonus points over the years even if you drew

0:38:47.080 --> 0:38:49.919
<v Speaker 1>that general preference. So there's two point systems in there

0:38:50.360 --> 0:38:53.360
<v Speaker 1>for one tag um, which makes it a little complicated,

0:38:53.440 --> 0:38:56.399
<v Speaker 1>but it is easy enough to manage, and then it's

0:38:56.480 --> 0:38:58.319
<v Speaker 1>just a It's also a really good state if you

0:38:58.320 --> 0:39:00.320
<v Speaker 1>want to try your look for moose, sheep goat because

0:39:00.360 --> 0:39:02.239
<v Speaker 1>the entry fees minimal. You don't have to buy a

0:39:02.239 --> 0:39:04.920
<v Speaker 1>license ahead of time, so it's probably the cheapest state

0:39:05.000 --> 0:39:07.239
<v Speaker 1>to apply for moose, sheep or goat UM. So I

0:39:07.239 --> 0:39:08.680
<v Speaker 1>think it's a pretty good state for that, and that's

0:39:08.680 --> 0:39:11.439
<v Speaker 1>the way I look at Montana. And the last state

0:39:11.480 --> 0:39:13.719
<v Speaker 1>we're gonna cover today would be Nevada. Nevada is a

0:39:13.719 --> 0:39:16.400
<v Speaker 1>bonus point state, so everyone has a chance, but the

0:39:16.440 --> 0:39:19.360
<v Speaker 1>longer you apply here, the better your chances. So everything

0:39:19.520 --> 0:39:22.920
<v Speaker 1>is squared, your point numbers squared, so the longer you apply,

0:39:23.120 --> 0:39:26.200
<v Speaker 1>the better chance is going to be UM. You have

0:39:26.280 --> 0:39:28.399
<v Speaker 1>to buy a hunting license in order to gain a point,

0:39:28.480 --> 0:39:31.200
<v Speaker 1>so you could apply it in Nevada fairly cheap, but

0:39:31.239 --> 0:39:33.439
<v Speaker 1>you won't gain a point. And I wouldn't suggest that

0:39:34.000 --> 0:39:37.319
<v Speaker 1>because the money for the application fees the money that

0:39:37.360 --> 0:39:40.520
<v Speaker 1>you're spending on the license is kind of gonna increase

0:39:40.600 --> 0:39:43.719
<v Speaker 1>your odds down the road of obtaining a tag. You

0:39:43.719 --> 0:39:45.920
<v Speaker 1>could go in every year with just one chance, and

0:39:46.000 --> 0:39:48.560
<v Speaker 1>people do that, and people have drawn it. But I'd

0:39:48.560 --> 0:39:51.600
<v Speaker 1>say your your statistical probability of drawing that is so

0:39:52.280 --> 0:39:54.359
<v Speaker 1>minimal that it just becomes kind of a raffle at

0:39:54.360 --> 0:39:56.600
<v Speaker 1>that point, and you might as well just buy like

0:39:56.719 --> 0:40:00.000
<v Speaker 1>a Um, every state's kind of got like tag raffles

0:40:00.000 --> 0:40:02.560
<v Speaker 1>as well. Um, you're probably better off just putting your

0:40:02.560 --> 0:40:05.640
<v Speaker 1>money in that than opposed to applying every year without

0:40:05.680 --> 0:40:08.359
<v Speaker 1>the bonus points, because over the course of time, you're

0:40:08.400 --> 0:40:11.960
<v Speaker 1>just gonna have a better and better chance of securing

0:40:12.000 --> 0:40:14.640
<v Speaker 1>a tag. The nice thing about Nevada is if you

0:40:14.680 --> 0:40:17.120
<v Speaker 1>do draw a tag, pretty much every tag is top

0:40:17.239 --> 0:40:19.479
<v Speaker 1>end hunting, so you're gonna have a really good honey

0:40:19.520 --> 0:40:21.879
<v Speaker 1>experience because the tags are so limited. I would say

0:40:21.880 --> 0:40:25.360
<v Speaker 1>it's probably one of the only Western states where you

0:40:25.400 --> 0:40:28.480
<v Speaker 1>know you have a chance of drawing it your first year,

0:40:28.560 --> 0:40:30.759
<v Speaker 1>as opposed to the states that have a lot of

0:40:30.800 --> 0:40:34.160
<v Speaker 1>preference points systems in place. This bonus point system, at

0:40:34.239 --> 0:40:37.479
<v Speaker 1>least every time you apply you do have some sort

0:40:37.480 --> 0:40:40.040
<v Speaker 1>of chance or a better chance than places that are preference.

0:40:40.120 --> 0:40:42.799
<v Speaker 1>Even though they do have some random tags, there's more

0:40:42.880 --> 0:40:45.520
<v Speaker 1>tags given out. You have the option of obtaining more

0:40:45.560 --> 0:40:48.200
<v Speaker 1>tags this way, So I think it's a great state

0:40:48.280 --> 0:40:50.480
<v Speaker 1>for people to apply in. One of the kind of

0:40:50.480 --> 0:40:53.160
<v Speaker 1>tricks to this getting a tag in Nevada would be

0:40:53.480 --> 0:40:56.760
<v Speaker 1>use weapon types to have better draws. You know, archery

0:40:56.800 --> 0:40:59.880
<v Speaker 1>seasons seem to have better draws, or maybe some muzzleloader seasons,

0:41:00.360 --> 0:41:03.759
<v Speaker 1>or some offseason rifle hunts, some like October rifles as

0:41:03.800 --> 0:41:07.200
<v Speaker 1>opposed to rent rifles into BATA. You get five choices,

0:41:07.239 --> 0:41:09.920
<v Speaker 1>and all five choices are looked at before the next applicant.

0:41:10.280 --> 0:41:11.920
<v Speaker 1>So what this great thing to do is mix and

0:41:12.000 --> 0:41:14.279
<v Speaker 1>match your choices. Put your first couple of choices is

0:41:14.400 --> 0:41:18.360
<v Speaker 1>just like awesome, incredible, really hard to draw tags, and

0:41:18.440 --> 0:41:21.640
<v Speaker 1>then your last three choices as ones that are maybe

0:41:21.680 --> 0:41:24.880
<v Speaker 1>easier to draw by switching up your weapon choice or something.

0:41:25.080 --> 0:41:27.359
<v Speaker 1>So it's like, hey, you've got a chance of something

0:41:27.480 --> 0:41:29.920
<v Speaker 1>really really good, but also you've got a mixture of

0:41:30.040 --> 0:41:32.920
<v Speaker 1>things that might help you get a tag sooner. And

0:41:33.040 --> 0:41:35.200
<v Speaker 1>I think that that is a really good strategy in

0:41:35.280 --> 0:41:38.640
<v Speaker 1>that state, because every stage draw system is a little different.

0:41:38.719 --> 0:41:41.359
<v Speaker 1>We really just have to talk about every single state

0:41:41.400 --> 0:41:43.399
<v Speaker 1>out west and apply for and just give you an

0:41:43.440 --> 0:41:46.000
<v Speaker 1>idea of how it works, and then kind of look

0:41:46.040 --> 0:41:48.719
<v Speaker 1>into those states and start planning your hunts that way.

0:41:49.080 --> 0:41:51.759
<v Speaker 1>I've said it before a thousand times, but your hunt's

0:41:51.800 --> 0:41:54.400
<v Speaker 1>gonna start now in planning. So what you gotta have

0:41:54.480 --> 0:41:56.120
<v Speaker 1>to do is you're gonna have to find a unit

0:41:56.200 --> 0:41:58.719
<v Speaker 1>to hunt, and that's gonna start by finding a place

0:41:58.880 --> 0:42:01.160
<v Speaker 1>or a state to apply. You can go online, you

0:42:01.200 --> 0:42:03.840
<v Speaker 1>can look up a lot of these different states, their systems,

0:42:03.880 --> 0:42:05.520
<v Speaker 1>and the tags that are available. There's a lot of

0:42:05.560 --> 0:42:07.759
<v Speaker 1>different services out there as well, but I think that

0:42:07.880 --> 0:42:10.880
<v Speaker 1>having some sort of knowledge base on your own of

0:42:10.960 --> 0:42:13.800
<v Speaker 1>how everything works and then choosing for yourself where you

0:42:13.880 --> 0:42:16.480
<v Speaker 1>want to maybe start looking into, that's a great way

0:42:16.560 --> 0:42:18.919
<v Speaker 1>to do it now. Of course, the over the counter

0:42:19.000 --> 0:42:20.759
<v Speaker 1>tags are going to be a really good option for

0:42:20.880 --> 0:42:23.279
<v Speaker 1>most people coming from out of state or just looking

0:42:23.400 --> 0:42:25.800
<v Speaker 1>to get in on a hunt this year with a

0:42:25.920 --> 0:42:29.839
<v Speaker 1>lot less future planning, and we're definitely gonna start covering those.

0:42:29.840 --> 0:42:31.759
<v Speaker 1>So we're gonna do a deeper dive into over the

0:42:31.840 --> 0:42:34.640
<v Speaker 1>counter tag options next week, and then I'm also going

0:42:34.680 --> 0:42:38.840
<v Speaker 1>to cover the draws in Idaho, Oregon, Washington, New Mexico, Colorado,

0:42:38.960 --> 0:42:43.560
<v Speaker 1>and California. Before we cast off, I just want to

0:42:43.600 --> 0:42:46.560
<v Speaker 1>thank everybody else. Actually cruising through some of the Apple

0:42:47.120 --> 0:42:51.279
<v Speaker 1>podcasts customer reviews, I guess and uh, it's awesome to

0:42:51.360 --> 0:42:54.560
<v Speaker 1>see so many great comments, uh and so many great ratings.

0:42:55.000 --> 0:42:58.200
<v Speaker 1>Definitely really appreciate that. I'll just actually take a few

0:42:58.239 --> 0:43:00.160
<v Speaker 1>seconds and I haven't done this before, but just read

0:43:00.200 --> 0:43:02.399
<v Speaker 1>a few of these because I just I'm just gonna

0:43:02.440 --> 0:43:05.439
<v Speaker 1>randomly pick a few here. So A X thirty says,

0:43:05.719 --> 0:43:08.000
<v Speaker 1>not just for the experienced hunter, I really appreciate all

0:43:08.040 --> 0:43:11.360
<v Speaker 1>the infra you provide for the emerging hunter. Five stars

0:43:12.120 --> 0:43:15.560
<v Speaker 1>gilb Tom says very informational. One of the best podcasts

0:43:15.600 --> 0:43:18.920
<v Speaker 1>out there regarding hunting, tips, strategies, gears, etcetera, etcetera. I

0:43:19.040 --> 0:43:23.719
<v Speaker 1>listened to every episode. Another five stars, this one's from

0:43:23.840 --> 0:43:27.319
<v Speaker 1>Timmy to fifty three says the Godfather Remy is super

0:43:27.400 --> 0:43:30.880
<v Speaker 1>knowledgeable at hunting. He can be an animal's worst nightmare

0:43:30.920 --> 0:43:34.120
<v Speaker 1>when he's hunting them. I've learned and enjoyed listening a lot.

0:43:34.520 --> 0:43:37.160
<v Speaker 1>My sister in law and I got a double spike

0:43:37.239 --> 0:43:39.880
<v Speaker 1>elk this year. Thanks to some of his tips and tactics.

0:43:40.280 --> 0:43:42.520
<v Speaker 1>Uh plucking them both out of a herd of a

0:43:42.600 --> 0:43:45.759
<v Speaker 1>hundred plus. Remy is like the master godfather hunter for

0:43:45.880 --> 0:43:48.480
<v Speaker 1>my buddy and I want to know how to hunt

0:43:48.480 --> 0:43:52.240
<v Speaker 1>animals successfully, listen, learn practice, and get her done. Remy

0:43:52.360 --> 0:43:56.319
<v Speaker 1>is the man. Hey, I didn't say it, Timmy, did

0:43:56.480 --> 0:43:59.120
<v Speaker 1>I think so? Man? That's I appreciate that comment. Um,

0:43:59.200 --> 0:44:01.239
<v Speaker 1>there's just so many great comments out here. I really

0:44:01.280 --> 0:44:04.440
<v Speaker 1>appreciate you guys listening. Here's another one from Nick Planner.

0:44:04.600 --> 0:44:08.120
<v Speaker 1>One says, awesome, great podcast for any big game Western hunter.

0:44:08.480 --> 0:44:10.800
<v Speaker 1>So much info you got to listen to them multiple

0:44:10.880 --> 0:44:13.480
<v Speaker 1>times to retain all the info. I just thank you

0:44:13.520 --> 0:44:16.080
<v Speaker 1>guys so much. I love cruising through these messages reading them.

0:44:16.400 --> 0:44:18.239
<v Speaker 1>It gives me stoked. It gives me fired up to

0:44:18.360 --> 0:44:21.720
<v Speaker 1>keep the podcasts cruising and trucking and and keep pumping

0:44:21.760 --> 0:44:24.359
<v Speaker 1>out info. So if you guys get a chance, if

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<v Speaker 1>you think about it, if something you want to do.

0:44:26.200 --> 0:44:28.640
<v Speaker 1>I never try to hard sell anyone on anything, but

0:44:29.120 --> 0:44:31.680
<v Speaker 1>go over there, leave a comment, give me some ratings

0:44:31.840 --> 0:44:35.480
<v Speaker 1>five stars if you'd like. I prefer that, But sweet,

0:44:35.520 --> 0:44:38.560
<v Speaker 1>whatever you guys think, and um, yeah, I just thank

0:44:38.600 --> 0:44:41.440
<v Speaker 1>you guys for tuning in and all the support, So

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<v Speaker 1>until next week, don't get creeped out. By the point creep.

0:44:44.680 --> 0:44:47.359
<v Speaker 1>There's still a lot of tags available and I'm gonna

0:44:47.440 --> 0:44:49.480
<v Speaker 1>teach you how to get them and get on more

0:44:49.560 --> 0:44:52.319
<v Speaker 1>hunts this fall. So until next week, have a good one, guys,