Longer Draw Priority Waits
 

As I was checking out the draw priorities for antlered moose in my zone I was left queasy by how the priority has been pulling away from my accrued priority like it just hit the nitrous. It went from about 12 years last time I checked 2 or 3 years back to 18 years last year!! I sure hope that it was just dirty NDP tactics intended to cull hunter numbers through inconvenience and that the priority will be more reasonable in the future. Of course if its based on game populations I understand that, but 18 years seem a bit excessive. WMU 304 for those who are wondering.

And you just noticed this now?
Or noticed it prior but thought it would start to reverse?
And it’s an NDP agenda?
Tip of the iceberg here. Soon even more draws will be once in a lifetime. As there are a several that already are.

Wait until draw results are out this year and again there will be a bunch of not-drawn surprises that really shouldn’t be

All they have to do is get rid of the 999 to build priority. If you apply you build priority, when you don't want to draw a tag don't apply and you stop building priority and say in 3 years your ready to draw the tag start applying again where you left off with your priority points. It would alleviate some of the 18 yr. Priorities.

??? It does not take 18 years to pull a bull moose tag in 304, in fact I have really good news for you.... guys with p11 pulled tags last year.... I was one of them.

Well that's a relief as I'm at a 9, but reading 18 on last years statistics made me queasy.

Ya, that was just one guy with 18 years of priority.

For that zone specific if your a 9 now your probably still 2-3 years away but at least you know it's coming :)

After this time tho it could be a looooonnnnngggg wait. I'm a 10 for antelope and know that once I pull the trigger it'll be a very long time before I get another tag if ever.....

I'm sorry, but in my opinion this line of thinking is flawed. You seem to neglect the fact that buddy put in for 19 years without pulling a tag. Sounds like he let someone else take his turn 10 years ago too, if some guys are getting drawn at a 9.
999 does nothing to wait times if you look at trends rather than a year.
Want to shorten wait times? Increase ungulate quotas or reduce the number of people applying. Only 2 options that would have any long term effect.

The sad part is that the P 18 guy probably took 304 out of desperation because he knew he would have to wait another 3-5 years for wmu400 or 402:thinking-006::scared0018:

What should be looked at is the no holds barred availability of the WIN cards. I know for a fact there are a lot of draw applicants that apply just because it's cheap and they have the card, so they might as well apply because if they re drawn somebody in their family can fill the tag. The residency requirement is another issue that must be addressed.

Game populations in the mountain and foothill zones are very low compared to what they could/used to be. This concentrates the hunters and drives up draw wait times in the rest of the wmus.

There used to be mule deer, moose and elk in these mountain/foothill zones. Now there are bears and wolves. And a few whitetails.

That's why you can link low priority draws to very little game. And vice versa.

You misread the Summary, yes one person was drawn with P18, but people were drawn at P11. That person with P18 , just chose to build hos priority higher than was required, before drawing a tag.

The different format of the summary threw me off, I found the previous format more comprehensible. But I get what everyone’s saying and thanks.

I agree, a better screening process is needed when it comes to draws and hunting license eligibility. Especially if F&W is saying that roughly 25% of drawn applicants don't even buy a license. Some anti's have figured out the weak link.

I agree with the current recommendation that would require a license to be purchased prior to applying on draws.
Having to provide a credit card number which will be charged for the license amount if drawn would eliminate a lot of jokers too. As well as having to provide reasonable evidence of residency.

Yep.
Pretty sad to see what our "managers of wildlife" let happen to the entire west country.
Odd that they are only getting it done right with bighorns......or so I've heard on here :thinking-006:

That’s exactly what I did....

You can creativity build priority without 999 pretty easily.

Yea if you want to run the risk of pulling a tag that you don't want then you can most definitely be creative.

Just group draw with someone who is a zero.

Ya. It’s really not that hard


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

These comments highlight where I also see a few central issues but my opinion goes a step further.

It may be a controversial set of comments and I suspect many do this only to keep priority alongside others gaming the system but:

It makes me think of the greater implications when I hear of entire families all having WINs and all entering numerous draws/or 999ing every year when only 1 or 2 actually hunt.... It seems to create a situation where some have more access through others’ tags. I will not comment on potential solutions.

The empower has no clothes!

What your describing is a big problem
It happens a lot

Unless the tag holder is present during the hunt, what they are doing is illegal, so changing the rules won't change anything, they simply won't follow the new rules.

Eliminate group draws, there easily fixed.

Well, let’s make laws to stop this nonsense! Oh wait..........There is.

You all know that for the vast majority of the draws, we are sitting on the best system in the world?

A very few of these should be changed to a once in a life time random draw. but thats it. Perhaps throw some extra weight on the entries by those that have been putting in forever but really, we are sitting on a gold mine if you know how to use it.

And eliminate father/son hunts, or hunts where a group of friends can plan hunts together, because everyone can't be sure of drawing together. Group hunts do serve a worthwhile purpose for many people.

Exactly, far superior to a lottery draw, where one person may not draw for 30 years, and another person may draw three times during that 30 years.

Making and enforcing regulations/laws are two different things. We have now gone where I was trying to avoid going in my original post but perhaps it was inevitable.

Agreed and I am grateful for our opportunities. Just highlighting a hole for further improvement.

Oh chuck. Your sooooo smart