The future of NR hunting in Wyoming

[Hunt the Top]

Every state out west is feeling the higher demands of non-residents wanting to hunt in their state. I can’t help to think how social media has played a significant role in this higher demand. I don’t blame people at all wanting come see what the west has to offer, it’s truly incredible. I’m curious everyone’s thoughts, especially concerning Wyoming. The point creep feels past the point of no return. With the recent news of a price hike for Elk NR Special in ‘24 @ around $2k, I would anticipate an even more extreme point creep especially in Elk NR Special in ‘23. People are going to be antsy to burn their points before the ‘24 price increase would be my guess. And once that door is open, deer & antelope probably won’t be far behind. For the average blue collared guy, $2k is getting up there just for a tag. I would anticipate the Elk NR normal in ‘24 and beyond will double in difficulty, making almost all units requiring double digit points. So if you hold 8-9 pts currently, do you burn them in a unit that isn’t as appealing, or do you ride this wave out and risk using double digit points in the future on a general tag?

 

[JasonWi]

I think we’re done with WY in 2023 as long as we draw. The way it’s looking for NR tag fees in 2024 and moving forward - - we’re getting out.

I’ll probably walk away from antelope points(only have 2) as with point creep and refusing to pay the higher increase in special cost for that tag, I wont buy anymore points than I have for them.

So it’s accomplishing at least getting our group of three out of the elk points pool and potentially the deer as well.

 

[roadrunner]

Burn any and all points you can, get it over with.

You can thank internet hunting sites that post and talk about draw odds and strategies for the influx of western hunting.

 

[HornPorn]

You can thank internet hunting sites that post and talk about draw odds and strategies for the influx of western hunting.

Nah, its the fault of narcissistic people posting their grip n grins on Instagram and Facebook trying to show everyone how alpha they are. Also Joe Rogan, Cam Haines, etc....and all their flatbill, IPA drinking, "not looking for your honeyhole" followers who want to do something manly for once in their life and present themselves as "great white hunters"/Bwanas.

 

[Maverick1]

Never seen a thread like this before. Off to a great start already! Grabbing popcorn now! (I wonder how this one turns out.)

 

[Hunt the Top]

Roadrunner & Hornporn both make good points. To roadrunner’s point, I personally witnessed a significant increase in my home state when certain companies no need to name names(GH, HF)hit the scene. The days of doing your own research and getting reward are long gone. To hornporns point, there is definitely some cons to social media and especially these groups that solicit hunting for the sake of making money (content creation). Hunting out west has definitely been overly publicized which is unfortunate.


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[Tod osier]

I think I know how it turns out... not great for everyone as a whole...

As a side note, I'm sitting in Sublette County, WY right now in a house we bought this fall and plan to move to full time in a couple years. Moving to Wyoming mainly due to tag availability.

 

[Jimss]

It’s not getting any easier for western state’s both res and nonres to draw tags. The sad news about Wyo and Colo is that both state’s residents are complaining it’s getting tougher and tougher to draw high demand tags.

Colo has been known to be the West’s most nonres friendly state handing out otc elk tags and 20 to 35% of d/e/a limited tag quotas to nonres. What happens if Colo and Wyo decrease nonres opportunity? It becomes even tougher to draw highly limited tags in Colo, Wyo and states across the West.

 

[RyanT26]

What would fix all these problems is adding another 2-3 million hunters applying to Wyoming. More hunters is better, that’s what we’ve been told.

See how stupid that sounds.
The reality is, it’s going to get harder and more expensive to get tags. Try to plan accordingly.

 

[manitou1]

Burn any and all points you can, get it over with.

You can thank internet hunting sites that post and talk about draw odds and strategies for the influx of western hunting.

You can also thank the guys looking for an ego boost that post: Had a great trip to WY. Four of us tagged out in three days. Then posting pics of all their 1.5-2.5 year old bucks they slaughtered.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

It's gonna be cheaper to go hunt without a tag and pay the fines if you get caught. Lol

 

[dtrkyman]

If I would have known my schedule was so light this fall I would have cashed in my Elk points.

I am thinking record numder of applicants for 23! Burn 8 points for a garbage tag or suck it up and pay the high price after 24 and beyond? Not sure my strategy at this point?

 

[Lawnboi]

#hashtagwildlifepimp

 

[Coveyleader]

I burnt 5 on a General Elk tag last year have 6 or so antelope points I will maybe try and get out of 2023. Couple deer points as well. WY antelope are way down right now so that is a concern. I'm not sure how much effort I want to put in for them on an archery hunt.

 

[Overdrive]

I still don't see why people are so worked up about the "special draw" price hike. It doesn't affect anyone but the people doing the special draw, guess what you can still put in the drawing without paying the extra price. The special draw has always cost more. You can still draw an Elk license without putting in the special draw.

 

[Oregon]

Nah, its the fault of narcissistic people posting their grip n grins on Instagram and Facebook trying to show everyone how alpha they are. Also Joe Rogan, Cam Haines, etc....and all their flatbill, IPA drinking, "not looking for your honeyhole" followers who want to do something manly for once in their life and present themselves as "great white hunters"/Bwanas.

Ain't nothing wrong with an IPA.

 

[Plainsman79]

I think the special draw price increase won’t have much effect on applications. Some folks only get 1 maybe 2 shots at going west to hunt, they plan it for years. Adding another $1,000 to it won’t slow most people down. As for the folks that go west every year, they have a pretty fine tuned system that works for them, a couple adjustments and they’ll continue to make the annual trip. Although this may be the biggest price jump ever, in past years when tag prices rise it’s doesn’t effect application numbers.

It’s a supply and demand situation and Wyoming G&P know it.

 

[Muledeer185]

Very very complicated situation. Wyoming seems to handle it as fair as any state with the special and regular draw options. Wish there was an easy answer

 

[Hunt the Top]

I still don't see why people are so worked up about the "special draw" price hike. It doesn't affect anyone but the people doing the special draw, guess what you can still put in the drawing without paying the extra price. The special draw has always cost more. You can still draw an Elk license without putting in the special draw.

It’s not about being worked up. It will affect the “regular” draw by intensifying the point creep tremendously. A good majority will move over to the regular draw, thus making all tags requiring more points to draw possibly most requiring double digit points. After ‘24, the special tags may stabilize at a reasonable level as far as PP opportunity. It will be a more significant pay to play scenario, even more so than it is now.

 

[KurtR]

I think I got 4 points for Wyoming now. Probably just forget about them and move on. It isn’t worth it to me any more I can go hunt birds and play more dog games for the cost of one week of elk hunting.