Preference Points

I do not believe in or will participate in the point system Per say.....
I don`t think it`s a means to regulate game.....I believe it is a money thing...... Not to serve wildlife but to regulate hunters there by earning interest on their money... for DNR funding....
Back in the 60`s when I was discharged I do not know of a state with one in affect. Went to Mt. for elk. in 1970-71-72 with some guys I served with...... the license was 154.00$ for 1-elk,and a deer .... a bear lic.was 5.00$ extra..... I could be off by a couple of $$ but very near these numbers...the wildlife bag limit was used to regulate populations of game.... Home state of Wis. was about 12$ for whitetail and it took 4 men to apply for a party permit to shoot a doe....
We had abundant game of all species....pheasants,rabbits,squirrels,grouse,whitetail deer up north,black bear ...No wolves, no coyote, no elk...
 
David_h said:
Perhaps supply and demand have a role. Is the supply of animals (available hunts) down; while the number of hunters has increased. I'm trying to get out on some hunts with my son while I am still able and it is looking like our likely opportunities are outfitter/land owner tags.
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True in a lot of places. Some variables for sure, predators, winter, but the departments involved now provide a lotto service instead of managing for tags. No real incentive to serve hunters paying the freight.
 
BillLarson said:
I do not believe in or will participate in the point system Per say.....
I don`t think it`s a means to regulate game.....I believe it is a money thing...... Not to serve wildlife but to regulate hunters there by earning interest on their money... for DNR funding....
Back in the 60`s when I was discharged I do not know of a state with one in affect. Went to Mt. for elk. in 1970-71-72 with some guys I served with...... the license was 154.00$ for 1-elk,and a deer .... a bear lic.was 5.00$ extra..... I could be off by a couple of $$ but very near these numbers...the wildlife bag limit was used to regulate populations of game.... Home state of Wis. was about 12$ for whitetail and it took 4 men to apply for a party permit to shoot a doe....
We had abundant game of all species....pheasants,rabbits,squirrels,grouse,whitetail deer up north,black bear ...No wolves, no coyote, no elk...
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We passed in cyberspace. Well said.
 
The point system became an investment program instead of means to manage license opportunities for game animals. The point system, mandatory license purchases, rescue money, adnauseam now required to even play. What about those who don't have that extra money to "donate" to an agency? Why can't we deduct in our income tax as "wildlife deduction"? Thats all it is! All this money grab is failure of the state legislature budgeting enough money for their agency. Have the sportsmen fund the agency instead of the state.

Why not just have a simple draw from registrations? No money except for licenses. There you go. Never happen to level playing field.
 
lancetkenyon said:
AZ has a bonus point system.
Either buy just the BP each year, or apply and not draw to get the point.
There are three other options to obtain a bonus point in AZ.
1. Hunters Education point. Awarded for successful completion of the Hunters Ed program. Permanent bonus point.
Or (you can only have 1 or 2, not both)
2. Ethical Hunter point. Awarded upon the completion of an Ethical Hunter class. Used to relieve overload of the limited Hunters Ed classes intended for young or first time hunters. Permanent bonus point.
3. Loyalty Point. This comes after 5 consecutive years of applying for the same species. If you miss a year of applications, you lose this and have to start over.

It took 27 years and 29 BPs for me to draw a resident AZ pronghorn tag.
I currently have 11 BPs for deer, and 8 BPs for elk. And back to 2 for pronghorn now. I might never draw another one in AZ.
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This is insane. I have read numerous places that it's hard to get an elk tag in AZ, but goodness, that's absurd for a pronghorn.
 
Knuckles_Malone said:
This is insane. I have read numerous places that it's hard to get an elk tag in AZ, but goodness, that's absurd for a pronghorn.
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Some of the best early rifle bull tags can take 25 years.
Some of the best late mule deer tags can take the same.
Bison? 30+ years
Big horn? 40+ years

Then again, you could draw on your first application year.
 
lancetkenyon said:
Some of the best early rifle bull tags can take 25 years.
Some of the best late mule deer tags can take the same.
Bison? 30+ years
Big horn? 40+ years

Then again, you could draw on your first application year.
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Worded perfectly....YEARS. Why do they call them points when they should be straight up with us and call them years? I'm 14 years into a antelope tag haven't drawn it yet. Some guy asked to hunt our place and drew his tag in two years. Thats over a decade I've been trying. When you apply, you should be told it will take 25 years and you still might not draw.-WW
 
Phil Rizzo said:
so basically you draw, then line up your hunt.
or choose an outfitter in that particular region/unit
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There is a service that you can buy into, it's like insurance for an outfitter. You pay them a fee, they base the fee off of how many points you already have and whether you're a resident or not. You pay them some money every year and when you get draw if that's the 1st or 20th year you get to use the guide service. I'm not sure if this is still running or not, but it is/was called zero guide fees. But basically you have it right, you can also be in contact with an outfitter before the draw to determine the tags that they think you should apply for. It's really not that complicated when it comes to figuring out your hunt. Most people will apply for tags/units that they already know something about. I'm currently sitting with a decent amount of points for AZ. As of right now I just get points, when I know I'll have more time I'll apply for actually hunts. School/kids/work tend to take priority for me. Plus I get deer and elk tags in MT every year.
 
Wetwrk said:
Worded perfectly....YEARS. Why do they call them points when they should be straight up with us and call them years? I'm 14 years into a antelope tag haven't drawn it yet. Some guy asked to hunt our place and drew his tag in two years. Thats over a decade I've been trying. When you apply, you should be told it will take 25 years and you still might not draw.-WW
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It's not like they are hiding anything all the info is easy to find on odds, tag numbers, applicant numbers, point numbers of applicants etc. Fish and game departments are indeed telling you it might take 25 years to draw you just have to look. If you're doing your research every year then nothing should be a shock.

A person has to take into account the number of people at the same or more point level then them also, in true high point draws you can't look a recap and say "it took 19 points and I have 17 so I'll draw in 2 years" you have to look at applicant numbers and see there are 14 people with 18 so in reality at 2 tags a year I'm a minimum of 7 years away and that's just the people in front of me before my point pool is even tapped into.
 

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