Millions of people trek to Las Vegas every year with grand designs of beating the house and scooting off home with piles of $$$ in the trunk of their car. The vast majority return home empty handed and considerably lighter in the pocketbook. We all want to know if there's a "magic formula" out there that will assure us of beating the odds whether it be in Las Vegas or in drawing that coveted big game permit. Well, as far as I can tell, there isn't one. So I don't have any tips on how to "beat the system." It is an exercise in futility and you'll waste away many good hunting years trying to beat it, chasing a unicorn. Instead, I do have a couple tips and thoughts that could tilt those odds in your favor (albeit only very slightly):
1) Know your expectations. For the three limited entry species, there are definite "tiers" of hunts based upon the management plan here in Utah. As you research your hunt I hope that you will notice these tiers. The first tier is what I call "Premium Units." These are the units that are the most difficult to draw but for good reason. The management plan in place on these units is for an old age class of buck/bull. These units have a reputation of producing true trophy class big game animals year in and year out. If you are expecting to chase the biggest, baddest critter on four legs roaming the hills then these units are for you. That being said, you will also need to prepare yourself for a long and arduous journey that will surely span decades of your life simply to draw that permit. In many cases, these permits are quite literally once-in-a-lifetime due to the low number of permits offered and the high volume of applicants. The second tier is what I call "Opportunity Units." These units are managed for a higher overall number of animals in general but still retain a considerable chance at a trophy class animal. These are the units to key in on if you have a burning desire to draw a permit but have few points and are hoping to "beat the odds." The lowest tier is what I call the "Tag Units." Utah is generally spoiled when compared to other states in that our lowest tier units are similar in harvest statistics to their average unit (at least so I've been told). In this lowest tier you are really just flaunting the fact that you drew a permit. If really working hard for limited opportunities at below average (per Utah standards) bucks or bulls is a challenge you're willing to accept, then these units would satisfy you. On many of these units there are management issues with migratory herds that cross state lines, weather concerns with hunter success being very weather dependent, lower population densities, access issues with limited public land access, or reduced age objectives that result in younger and smaller bucks/bulls being the norm. There is clearly something for every expectation level here in Utah.
2) Do not apply as a group. Applying as a group can be downright detrimental to you chances of drawing a big game permit. If you do apply as a group you should definitely only consider those units that offer a high number of tags. Remember that unless you have the highest number of bonus points you will only be eligible for half the total number of permits offered (see the "How the Drawing Works" section below). If you apply for a unit that only offers a dozen permits, you are technically likely only in the running for half of those permits. And if you have applied as a group of four hunters, that would mean that you would only be issued one random number and that random number would have to be 1, 2, or 3 (and that even assumes that those applicants that received 1 or 2 ahead of you were individuals and not groups themselves). Do you see how applying as a group complicates things and greatly reduces your chances of drawing!?!? Sure, it sounds great for everybody to have a tag, but reality is that it really decreases your chances of getting out in the field. Another way to look at it is this: if you apply as individuals you will each receive a random number, so you will will have 4 random numbers in the drawing. This comparatively quadruples the chances of any one individual in your hunting party of drawing a permit. It is just as much fun to accompany a friend or family member on their LE or OIAL hunt and be an integral part of their hunt as it is to have the tag in your own pocket. But if you still want for everyone to have a tag in their pocket stick to those "Opportunity Units" that offer a high number of permits.
3) Select a more primitive weapon. This is not new advice, but it is clear that the any weapon (rifle) hunts have the highest number of applicants and are therefore more difficult to draw. In Utah the any weapon hunts are the most difficult to draw followed by muzzleloader hunts and the archery hunts are the easiest, relatively speaking of course. I further discuss the phenomenon I call "year savings" in the individual species analysis.
4) Consider tags for female of the species. This advice is limited to applicants for mountain goat and bison, nanny and cow hunts are offered within the Once-in-a-Lifetime structure. Antlerless moose tags are offered with the antlerless elk, deer, and doe pronghorn drawing so this advice does not apply to moose. In general, there is significant "year savings" in selecting a nanny mountain goat or cow bison tag.
HOW THE DRAWING WORKS
At this point it would be beneficial to understand exactly how the big game drawing is performed. The drawing itself is actually handled by a third party company out of Nevada, that is currently contracted by the DWR to perform the drawing. When an applicant applies for a big game permit that applicant must select the species, the unit, and the weapon type... some guys refer to each of these units by name (e.g. Central Mountains, Manti early any weapon hunt... most call this the early rifle hunt) while others may refer to them by number (e.g. 3038 for the aforementioned Manti early rifle hunt). Either is acceptable in my book, but for the most part I prefer to speak of each unit by name rather than by number.
Once the application period closes, all applications are sorted electronically and grouped into each hunt according to the hunt number selected. The applications are then further sorted into smaller groups based upon the number of bonus points of each applicant. Once all the applicants are sorted into bonus point pools the bonus tags are awarded to those applicants with the highest number of bonus points. Let's use that same Central Mountains, Manti early any weapon hunt (#3038) to help illustrate this phase of the drawing. Below are the published 2014 drawing results:
There were 67 bonus tags for this particular unit and you can see that each applicant with 18, 17, 16, and 15 points, respectively, were each awarded a permit. The 14 point group is where it starts to get a bit tricky. Since there are only 38 remaining bonus tags and there were 72 total applicants with 14 bonus points, the bonus tags are awarded via a lottery within the 14 point group. Each applicant is issued a random number and the 38 highest numbers are awarded a bonus tag. Those unfortunate 34 applicants with 14 bonus points that were not awarded a bonus tag then get grouped with the remaining applicants in the weighted lottery style drawing for the regular tags. In the drawing for regular tags, every applicant is issued one random number for each bonus point that he/she has PLUS an additional bonus point for that years application. So an individual with 8 bonus points would receive 9 random numbers. Only the highest random number is retained, the rest are discarded, and the drawing order for all the remaining applicants is determined by this retained number and permits are awarded until all have been issued. Those unsuccessful in the drawing are awarded a bonus point that increases their chances at drawing during the next application cycle.
All in all, in my opinion, it is a good system. It rewards those who have been in the system the longest and have a high number of bonus points while also giving a sliver of hope to those with just a few points.
The preference point drawing is very different.
1) A computer generated random number is drawn for each preference point and another for the application. The lowest number drawn is retained and the others are discarded, leaving the applicant with only one number. That's the number used in the drawing.
2) A permit quota is assigned for each general unit.
3) Applications are divided three times... first into resident/non-resident, second into weapon classes (rifle/muzzy/archery), and third into Lifetime/Dedicated Hunter/Youth/General.
4) The first evaluation/draw is for Lifetime applications. Lifetime applicants get their first choice with no limit per unit.
5) The second evaluation/draw is for Dedicated Hunter applications. The Dedicated Hunter quota is calculated for each unit by taking 15% of the remaining permits. Beginning with applications with the greatest number of dedicated hunter preference points and the lowest draw number and continuing in sequence the first choice for a Dedicated Hunter Certificate of Registration (COR) is considered. If a COR is available for the 1st choice, the COR(s) is awarded. If no CORs are available, the application is skipped and the 1st choice of the next application is considered. Once all of the first choices have been considered within that preference point group the 1st choices of the next lowest preference point group are considered. All applicants first choices are considered before proceeding to the second choices. Any DH who doesn't draw a permit will be awarded a DH preference point.
6) The third evaluation is for the Youth and it is done the same way as the Dedicated Hunter draw. However, youth not receiving a permit from this Youth draw will not receive a preference point, but will be given a new set random numbers and will be put into the general draw.
7) The fourth and final draw is for the general public and is conducted the same way as the previous two draws, but with preference points awarded for applicants who are unsuccessful.
BONUS POINTS vs. PREFERENCE POINTS
In the bonus point system, 50% of the tags allocated for each hunt unit are reserved for those applicants with the highest number of points. These tags are called "bonus tags" but you may often hear them referred to as "guaranteed tags" or something similar. The remaining 50% of the tags, called "regular tags," are issued in a weighted lottery style drawing including all applicants that were not awarded a bonus tag. In the event that only one tag is offered for a hunt unit (this ends up being an issue for many non-resident applicants and applicants for CWMU permits) it is considered a "regular tag" and is awarded in a weighted lottery style drawing . A bonus point is awarded for each unsuccessful application for a LE buck deer, LE bull elk, LE buck pronghorn, OIAL bull moose, OIAL bison, OIAL dersert bighorn sheep, OIAL rocky mountain bighorn, and OIAL rocky mountain goat.
In the preference point system, tags are issued beginning with the applicants with the highest number of preference points first. Thus giving applicants with more preference points preferrential treatment over those with fewer preference points. A change made to the preference point system in 2017 now treats the general buck deer preference point system similarly to the antlerless preference point drawing in that all applicants first choices will be considered before moving onto second choices. Also, an applicant will have their preference point total set to zero if ANY tag is drawn regardless of which choice (1st, 2nd, 5th, etc.) that particular permit was on the application.
The antlerless drawing for deer, elk, and pronghorn works on a similar preference point system as the general buck deer. An applicant who is awarded an antlerless permit, regardless of whether that selection was first choice or fifth choice, will have his/her preference point total for that species reset to zero.
NOTE: Antlerless moose is a bonus point system and not a preference point system.
HOW BONUS POINTS WORK
For example, a hunter with 6 bull elk bonus points has applied unsuccessfully for six years for a LE, CWMU, or premium bull elk permit. If the same hunter applies again for an elk permit next year he/she will receive seven random numbers in the lottery portion of the drawing. He/She will receive a computer generated random number for the submitted application pus one random number for each bonus point he/she has. The highest (the number 1 being the highest... like college football rankings) of the 7 numbers will determine his/her order in the drawing. As described above, half the permits offered for each hunt unit are reserved for those applicants with the highest number of bonus points. This should be considered when applying as a group because a group of four hunters applying for a unit that offers 10 or 12 total permits would only be eligible for five or six tags until that group reaches the highest bonus point pool.
If you apply as a group, the number of bonus points from each applicant are averaged then rounded down. A group of four hunters with 10, 3, 0, and 0 bonus points respectively would average 3.25 points per person. Since that number is rounded down, this group would go into the 3 bonus point group in the lottery portion of the drawing.
You can also link to the most current Utah Big Game Application Guiidebook or the DWR website for more details on how bonus points work.
