In which states are you building preference points?

[jek5224]

Hey all,

Long-time lurker, first-time poster. I am an easterner new to western big game hunting, and I have been doing a lot of research over the last few months. One of my goals is to go mule deer hunting every second or third year, and I am just beginning to apply for mule deer preference points this year.

I will be applying for a point in Colorado, and I would like to begin building points in a few other states as well, and I was just wondering if anyone would care to share which states you are building preference points in. I don't need to pull a trophy unit, and I don't really have any interest in being stuck in point purgatory waiting to draw one coveted tag. I am just looking for an opportunity to hunt a few different states over the next couple of decades.

So, what are your mule deer application strategies, and are there any hunts that you would recommend? Thanks for any strategies or advice that you are willing to share.

 

[huntstrong2850]

Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Wyoming. Utah and Arizona you can do a license fee every other year. Although that license fee with Arizona can be a bit sketchy the way it’s worded saying at time of the draw you must posses a valid license. But if you buy the license your first time after July then you’d eliminate that issue. Utah is a true 365 day license and offers a lot of decent general hunts. Arizona you can hunt coues a lot with a few points but your mule deer units for the upper end units are gonna be a decade plus of points. There’s some good units in Arizona you can take 150-170 class muleys if you do your research and put in the work with only a few points. To me also being from the east these states offer the most opportunity at a really good hunt for minimal points on deer. With Wyoming it’s as simple as buying the point every September and offers a lot of general tag opportunities but again like Arizona it’s gonna take some research and work. Any state you’re buying a license for to buy a deer point I just feel is a waste if you’re not gonna go ahead and get points for other species. So with that in mind if you were to be on that end of it where you just wanted to buy points for deer then Colorado and Wyoming are your better options. Arizona will be your most expensive of the four.


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[jek5224]

Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Wyoming. Utah and Arizona you can do a license fee every other year. Although that license fee with Arizona can be a bit sketchy the way it’s worded saying at time of the draw you must posses a valid license. But if you buy the license your first time after July then you’d eliminate that issue. Utah is a true 365 day license and offers a lot of decent general hunts. Arizona you can hunt coues a lot with a few points but your mule deer units for the upper end units are gonna be a decade plus of points. There’s some good units in Arizona you can take 150-170 class muleys if you do your research and put in the work with only a few points. To me also being from the east these states offer the most opportunity at a really good hunt for minimal points on deer. With Wyoming it’s as simple as buying the point every September and offers a lot of general tag opportunities but again like Arizona it’s gonna take some research and work. Any state you’re buying a license for to buy a deer point I just feel is a waste if you’re not gonna go ahead and get points for other species. So with that in mind if you were to be on that end of it where you just wanted to buy points for deer then Colorado and Wyoming are your better options. Arizona will be your most expensive of the four.


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Thank you for your advice! I'm not afraid of work and research, just looking for the most opportunity to fill a tag every few years! Thanks!

 

[idahohikker]

I think posts like this are a bad idea. Those who aren't familiar with the Western hunting experience don't get how posts like this can end up flooding an area that was and would have been good otherwise. I'm just learning to be more careful with my public posts myself.

You can research all the aspects of good hunting including harvest stats, deer populations, draw odds, etc. on your own and not be sabatoging your success through public posts, seeking easy answers. Again, no disrepect meant, OP. Trust me when I say you don't want a big thread crawled by google with people saying where to get points for mule deer.

 

[huntstrong2850]

I think posts like this are a bad idea. Those who aren't familiar with the Western hunting experience don't get how posts like this can end up flooding an area that was and would have been good otherwise. I'm just learning to be more careful with my public posts myself.

You can research all the aspects of good hunting including harvest stats, deer populations, draw odds, etc. on your own and not be sabatoging your success through public posts, seeking easy answers. Again, no disrepect meant, OP. Trust me when I say you don't want a big thread crawled by google with people saying where to get points for mule deer.

Asking what states and how states work is a little different than asking what unit should he apply for. Deterring people from asking any questions whether good or bad is what’s wrong to begin with. Hunter recruitment is going down by the year, if a younger guy wants to hunt instead of play PlayStation that’s a good thing. The more money he or she dumps into game and fish by buying points even in your state is a good thing. That’s more money for funding and maintaining what rights we have left to hunt. There’s hardly ever an answer given for a question such as this that any Tom dick or Harry can’t find a podcast with twice as much detailed info especially on specific units. For anyone new to draw systems and points and that is basically the question being asked, in no way does it affect your unit you hunt. The astronomical odds that he buys points for enough years and lands himself in your unit next to you on a given mountain is just that astronomical. He didn’t ask for an area he asked for a state.


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[jek5224]

I think posts like this are a bad idea. Those who aren't familiar with the Western hunting experience don't get how posts like this can end up flooding an area that was and would have been good otherwise. I'm just learning to be more careful with my public posts myself.

You can research all the aspects of good hunting including harvest stats, deer populations, draw odds, etc. on your own and not be sabatoging your success through public posts, seeking easy answers. Again, no disrepect meant, OP. Trust me when I say you don't want a big thread crawled by google with people saying where to get points for mule deer.

Thanks for your feedback. Maybe I should have made my initial post more clear, but I am not looking to barge into your area and sit on the ridge opposite of your secret spot. I intentionally did not ask for specific units because I am not interested in the units that you hunt. I am not seeking "easy answers," and I have no intention of flooding your preferred hunting unit with members who read the original post.

I was simply curious as to the states that other nonresidents find to be worthwhile to build preference points. I did not think that my question of whether anyone was rotating between Nevada, Arizona, and Colorado would be offensive, and I certainly did not intend to come across as a clueless newbie asking for the GPS coordinates of your honey hole.

The initial feedback was exactly the type of help I was looking for from more experienced mule deer hunters, and I think that it will have the opposite effect of sabotaging my success.

 

[idahohikker]

See what happens if forums and podcasts start pushing a state. There's no hunter recruitment issue here. Huge numbers of nonresident hunters are flooding the West at this time. Point creep is going crazy. How many top end units can anyone even be likely to ever get if they start applying now. Not a good idea to discuss states to apply for, regardless the search button will provide all you could hope for to answer the question.

The research isn't that hard. It's a lot of fun. Look at draw odds for one.

 

[idahohikker]

I sent OP a PM with suggestions. I hope that those inclined to do so will also.

 

[Trial153]

I build points in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, New Hampshire, Maine, Iowa and Arizona. I also apply to NM, Idaho, Alaska and KY along with someplace nameless.

 

[jek5224]

I build points in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, New Hampshire, Maine, Iowa and Arizona. I also apply to NM, Idaho, Alaska and KY along with someplace nameless.

Thank you. I've been applying for Maine for the last 5-6 years. Maybe one day.

 

[Trial153]

Thank you. I've been applying for Maine for the last 5-6 years. Maybe one day.

15 years for me. My buddy that hunt with as drawn the same units I put in for twice in the last 12 years, we had two good hunts and he killed a couple nice bulls. I got to play guide, call and pack out....he owes me. Twice

 

[huntstrong2850]

I build points in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, New Hampshire, Maine, Iowa and Arizona. I also apply to NM, Idaho, Alaska and KY along with someplace nameless.

How long you been trying to draw Kentucky? I think it’s like a decade now for me and not even a cow tag


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[Trial153]

How long you been trying to draw Kentucky? I think it’s like a decade now for me and not even a cow tag


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I haven’t been diligent with KY as it’s not really on my want list. I figure it’s cheap so what the hell, I put in for both archery and rifle bull tags. I haven’t rifle hunted but 1 Day in the last 15 years so that probably what I would draw. I bet I applied 8 or 10 times to KY since applying to multiple states.

 

[jek5224]

I haven’t been diligent with KY as it’s not really on my want list. I figure it’s cheap so what the hell, I put in for both archery and rifle bull tags. I haven’t rifle hunted but 1 Day in the last 15 years so that probably what I would draw. I bet I applied 8 or 10 times to KY since applying to multiple states.

I recently moved to Kentucky from PA. First year applying for me, but 90% go to residents, so I should have a little better than a snowball's chance.

 

[huntstrong2850]

I recently moved to Kentucky from PA. First year applying for me, but 90% go to residents, so I should have a little better than a snowball's chance.

I’ve deer hunted Kentucky quite a bit up near garrison close to Portsmouth Ohio and there’s giant deer in those big hills up there. If you can keep your stand or cameras from being stolen, one buddy even had a buck stolen before we could finish blood trailing him


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[jek5224]

I’ve deer hunted Kentucky quite a bit up near garrison close to Portsmouth Ohio and there’s giant deer in those big hills up there. If you can keep your stand or cameras from being stolen, one buddy even had a buck stolen before we could finish blood trailing him


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I have not had time to explore the local public lands, but I have read many of the same things here.

 

[Rich M]

See what happens if forums and podcasts start pushing a state. There's no hunter recruitment issue here. Huge numbers of nonresident hunters are flooding the West at this time. Point creep is going crazy. How many top end units can anyone even be likely to ever get if they start applying now. Not a good idea to discuss states to apply for, regardless the search button will provide all you could hope for to answer the question.

The research isn't that hard. It's a lot of fun. Look at draw odds for one.

Asking questions and talk is part of the research.

Some folks are selfish and petty.

Forums and podcasts! Most folks were applying for those hunts before podcasts and forums were invented. LOL!

 

[idahohikker]

Shocker, you're from back east. News flash: point creep is going crazy in the West, OTC seasons are cram packed between residents and the growing number of non-resident hunters. Posting states to apply to and units on these forums is not helpful to anyone's cause. No offense taken, just wanted to clarify the reasoning why so many guys prefer PMs to discuss this information.

 

[huntstrong2850]

Shocker, you're from back east. News flash: point creep is going crazy in the West, OTC seasons are cram packed between residents and the growing number of non-resident hunters. Posting states to apply to and units on these forums is not helpful to anyone's cause. No offense taken, just wanted to clarify the reasoning why so many guys prefer PMs to discuss this information.

That’s funny otc seasons cram packed huh? I hunted the general archery in Utah this past August and never crossed paths with another hunter. Maybe you just don’t work as hard at your hunting areas as you do judging people and running off at the mouth for people asking questions on a forum designed to ask questions. If you don’t like it don’t comment, scroll past it.


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[huntstrong2850]

This post is for mule deer which Colorado has no otc


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