Strategy

[ljsommer]

So I was thinking about this recently: Does it make sense to just put in for quality hunts in as many states as possible and just hunt those instead of wasting time hunting OTC tags in overly-hunter-populated GMUs? I am not at all satisfied with the GMU's I've been hunting but I have no idea where to go or what to do to improve my situation, and then it occurred to me: If I applied for quality hunts in enough states, I'd probably get something worth hunting and it would cut down on the amount of "hiking" I do.
I started thinking about this: Really successful hunters can't be spending the majority of their time on OTC tags, can they?

[WSU]

Last year my immediately family was 3 for 3 on Washington OTC elk tags (oddly enough, we were 0/2 on OTC wa elk this year but 2/2 so far on draw tags in Wa).  We typically get deer if we want to also on OTC hunts.  It is 100% doable to have success almost every year in Wa on OTC tags.

Edit to add: Draw tags are great.  Put in for those too.

[Pathfinder101]

So I was thinking about this recently: Does it make sense to just put in for quality hunts in as many states as possible and just hunt those instead of wasting time hunting OTC tags in overly-hunter-populated GMUs? I am not at all satisfied with the GMU's I've been hunting but I have no idea where to go or what to do to improve my situation, and then it occurred to me: If I applied for quality hunts in enough states, I'd probably get something worth hunting and it would cut down on the amount of "hiking" I do.
I started thinking about this: Really successful hunters can't be spending the majority of their time on OTC tags, can they?

This sounds like a good strategy.  I think you should put in for quality hunts in all of the states, EXCEPT the ones that I am putting in for. 


Would you like me to send you a list..?.

[blackveltbowhunter]

Define quality and successful? Thats really where you will want to begin.

  Quality can mean different things to different folks. Everyone wants a mecca of monster bucks, swimming in a sea of "dinks" in dead rut, in good terrain, with nice weather, with no points, low cost, and no pressure. Prioritizing whats important to you will help decide where you want to spend your resources.

   In a nutshell the more of those things you want in the hunt the more resources of Money, Time, or Effort will be required.

   Many units that are OTC or easy to draw have good numbers of game. But season timing, terrain, or weapon restrictions require more time and effort to hunt with success. I would venture the majority of animals seen here are taken on easier to draw units or OTC by guys who spend lots of time and effort in the woods.

   

[boneaddict]

Although that sounds awesome, make sure you are ready to embrace the draw "game"  for all the other states.   For most of them its not a matter of spending a couple bucks to fill out an application.   Many require you to front the license fee in order to apply, and you may not have a chance to hunt for years.  When you do get drawn, will you be ready with boots on the ground.  Will you know where to go and what to do when you get there? 

[go4steelhd]

Pick one state and one unit you can hunt every year or every other year. You will do better learning an area, what the animals do with weather or pressure. I have put in for quality deer tags for the last 11 years in 7 states and I have yet to draw one. I hope this helps.

[go4steelhd]

https://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,232562.0.html
These are my two over the counter bucks from this year.

https://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,219583.0.html
From last year OTC

https://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,220600.0.html
Area that can be drawn almost every year

https://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,202742.0.html
http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,202687.0.html
Two years ago OTC

I know many others do very well in OTC areas also. I feel there are areas that are OTC that are better than the areas I hunt. These are all recent hunts public land DIY

[huntnnw]

I apply in 6 states every year, granted some do require some points to draw a decent tag. I dont apply for super hard to get tags and look for units that take 1-4 points. I have drawn a permit 6 consecutive years for either elk or mule deer.

[ljsommer]

Pick one state and one unit you can hunt every year or every other year. You will do better learning an area, what the animals do with weather or pressure. I have put in for quality deer tags for the last 11 years in 7 states and I have yet to draw one. I hope this helps.

11 years....7 states...yet to draw?!? What?! How is that possible?

[go4steelhd]

I have yet to draw quality deer tag. I have drawn Montana general tags.I have good  over the counter hunts. So I put in for the ultra hard draws

[mburrows]

So I was thinking about this recently: Does it make sense to just put in for quality hunts in as many states as possible and just hunt those instead of wasting time hunting OTC tags in overly-hunter-populated GMUs? I am not at all satisfied with the GMU's I've been hunting but I have no idea where to go or what to do to improve my situation, and then it occurred to me: If I applied for quality hunts in enough states, I'd probably get something worth hunting and it would cut down on the amount of "hiking" I do.
I started thinking about this: Really successful hunters can't be spending the majority of their time on OTC tags, can they?

Just because you draw a quality tag doesnt mean youll see a ton more critters from the road or even in easily located spots.  There will be exceptions to this for sure but quality tags more or less restrict pressure but there is still pressure and you still have to put in just as much work.  Really successful hunters probably spend 90% of their time in OTC or easy draw units, if not more.  Im not even close to being in the category of really successful but the vast majority of guys that kill it year and year out are hunting OTC/easy draw units.

Quite a few guys on this forum and from WA kill a lot of animals every year on general or easy to draw tags that arent considered quality.  To me its not so much the tag but the hunter. The guys that know animal behavior and have the best woodsman ship seem to be the ones doing the best out there.

[ljsommer]

So I was thinking about this recently: Does it make sense to just put in for quality hunts in as many states as possible and just hunt those instead of wasting time hunting OTC tags in overly-hunter-populated GMUs? I am not at all satisfied with the GMU's I've been hunting but I have no idea where to go or what to do to improve my situation, and then it occurred to me: If I applied for quality hunts in enough states, I'd probably get something worth hunting and it would cut down on the amount of "hiking" I do.
I started thinking about this: Really successful hunters can't be spending the majority of their time on OTC tags, can they?

Just because you draw a quality tag doesnt mean youll see a ton more critters from the road or even in easily located spots.  There will be exceptions to this for sure but quality tags more or less restrict pressure but there is still pressure and you still have to put in just as much work.  Really successful hunters probably spend 90% of their time in OTC or easy draw units, if not more.  Im not even close to being in the category of really successful but the vast majority of guys that kill it year and year out are hunting OTC/easy draw units.

Quite a few guys on this forum and from WA kill a lot of animals every year on general or easy to draw tags that arent considered quality.  To me its not so much the tag but the hunter. The guys that know animal behavior and have the best woodsman ship seem to be the ones doing the best out there.

I definitely don't want "from the road". In fact quite the opposite. I want to work for it. I regularly put in 10 miles getting to and from hunt spots in my local GMU's. Problem is, they're ghost towns now that season has landed. All year it was like a zoo in there, tons of game everywhere on cams. Season lands and they all vacated.
I also don't have friends/family that hunt so I am figuring all this stuff out on my own. In other words, I'll take whatever advantage I can get, however small.

[WSU]

Pm me your phone number if you’d like some input

[ljsommer]

PM sent.

I managed to find a small grove of trees tucked way back off a fire road on top of a mountain recently that had some fresh deer sign, and I'll be camping out on that in the evenings as often as I can before season end.

[Pathfinder101]

Pick one state and one unit you can hunt every year or every other year. You will do better learning an area, what the animals do with weather or pressure. I have put in for quality deer tags for the last 11 years in 7 states and I have yet to draw one. I hope this helps.

11 years....7 states...yet to draw?!? What?! How is that possible?

I am not doing 7 states, but I have yet to draw a quality tag in any state.  I will have 19 points in Washington this coming year.   

[go4steelhd]

Pathfinder
Like you I have had poor luck in the deer draws. That’s why I was like heck with it I’m going OTC on at least one hunt every year.  I’m glad to see your group had great success this year. Nice work

[Pathfinder101]

Pathfinder
Like you I have had poor luck in the deer draws. That’s why I was like heck with it I’m going OTC on at least one hunt every year.  I’m glad to see your group had great success this year. Nice work

Thanks.  You're right.  That's EXACTLY what we did.  Funny though that the guy I went with has drawn both Quality Elk and Quality Buck in WA (and scored on great animals with both).  I'm still sitting on points in almost every category.  I drew a "buck" tag a couple years ago and a muzzy cow tag a few years back.  That's the only thing I have ever drawn in WA. 

[idahohuntr]

So I was thinking about this recently: Does it make sense to just put in for quality hunts in as many states as possible and just hunt those instead of wasting time hunting OTC tags in overly-hunter-populated GMUs? I am not at all satisfied with the GMU's I've been hunting but I have no idea where to go or what to do to improve my situation, and then it occurred to me: If I applied for quality hunts in enough states, I'd probably get something worth hunting and it would cut down on the amount of "hiking" I do.
I started thinking about this: Really successful hunters can't be spending the majority of their time on OTC tags, can they?

Just because you draw a quality tag doesnt mean youll see a ton more critters from the road or even in easily located spots.  There will be exceptions to this for sure but quality tags more or less restrict pressure but there is still pressure and you still have to put in just as much work.  Really successful hunters probably spend 90% of their time in OTC or easy draw units, if not more.  Im not even close to being in the category of really successful but the vast majority of guys that kill it year and year out are hunting OTC/easy draw units.

Quite a few guys on this forum and from WA kill a lot of animals every year on general or easy to draw tags that arent considered quality.  To me its not so much the tag but the hunter. The guys that know animal behavior and have the best woodsman ship seem to be the ones doing the best out there.

Somewhat related...I occasionally see guys fall into the mindset that its not worth hunting until/unless you get that good draw tag...what happens is they don't hunt a lot, then they draw a good tag, and they are ill-prepared to take advantage of the opportunity.  For example, I know a few folks who put in for Quality Elk in WA but don't ever hunt elk if they don't draw.  Well, after a dozen years or more of not really elk hunting - they draw and more often than not they have a tough go of it because they simply haven't done much elk hunting.

So...if you are going to apply in multiple states one strategy I think makes sense is to select a few top tier units, but make sure you are applying or hunting OTC on a consistent basis so that you are prepared if/when you draw those really hard to draw tags. 

[ljsommer]

So I was thinking about this recently: Does it make sense to just put in for quality hunts in as many states as possible and just hunt those instead of wasting time hunting OTC tags in overly-hunter-populated GMUs? I am not at all satisfied with the GMU's I've been hunting but I have no idea where to go or what to do to improve my situation, and then it occurred to me: If I applied for quality hunts in enough states, I'd probably get something worth hunting and it would cut down on the amount of "hiking" I do.
I started thinking about this: Really successful hunters can't be spending the majority of their time on OTC tags, can they?

Just because you draw a quality tag doesnt mean youll see a ton more critters from the road or even in easily located spots.  There will be exceptions to this for sure but quality tags more or less restrict pressure but there is still pressure and you still have to put in just as much work.  Really successful hunters probably spend 90% of their time in OTC or easy draw units, if not more.  Im not even close to being in the category of really successful but the vast majority of guys that kill it year and year out are hunting OTC/easy draw units.

Quite a few guys on this forum and from WA kill a lot of animals every year on general or easy to draw tags that arent considered quality.  To me its not so much the tag but the hunter. The guys that know animal behavior and have the best woodsman ship seem to be the ones doing the best out there.

Somewhat related...I occasionally see guys fall into the mindset that its not worth hunting until/unless you get that good draw tag...what happens is they don't hunt a lot, then they draw a good tag, and they are ill-prepared to take advantage of the opportunity.  For example, I know a few folks who put in for Quality Elk in WA but don't ever hunt elk if they don't draw.  Well, after a dozen years or more of not really elk hunting - they draw and more often than not they have a tough go of it because they simply haven't done much elk hunting.

So...if you are going to apply in multiple states one strategy I think makes sense is to select a few top tier units, but make sure you are applying or hunting OTC on a consistent basis so that you are prepared if/when you draw those really hard to draw tags.

Good point. What I might do is view my OTC hunts as "practice" and my quality hunts as "the game". I'll be able to stay fit, lean, and hone my craft when there's no animals around so that when I can get into a unit with animals I'll be able to put those skills to work. I like it.

[grundy53]

So I was thinking about this recently: Does it make sense to just put in for quality hunts in as many states as possible and just hunt those instead of wasting time hunting OTC tags in overly-hunter-populated GMUs? I am not at all satisfied with the GMU's I've been hunting but I have no idea where to go or what to do to improve my situation, and then it occurred to me: If I applied for quality hunts in enough states, I'd probably get something worth hunting and it would cut down on the amount of "hiking" I do.
I started thinking about this: Really successful hunters can't be spending the majority of their time on OTC tags, can they?

Just because you draw a quality tag doesnt mean youll see a ton more critters from the road or even in easily located spots.  There will be exceptions to this for sure but quality tags more or less restrict pressure but there is still pressure and you still have to put in just as much work.  Really successful hunters probably spend 90% of their time in OTC or easy draw units, if not more.  Im not even close to being in the category of really successful but the vast majority of guys that kill it year and year out are hunting OTC/easy draw units.

Quite a few guys on this forum and from WA kill a lot of animals every year on general or easy to draw tags that arent considered quality.  To me its not so much the tag but the hunter. The guys that know animal behavior and have the best woodsman ship seem to be the ones doing the best out there.

Somewhat related...I occasionally see guys fall into the mindset that its not worth hunting until/unless you get that good draw tag...what happens is they don't hunt a lot, then they draw a good tag, and they are ill-prepared to take advantage of the opportunity.  For example, I know a few folks who put in for Quality Elk in WA but don't ever hunt elk if they don't draw.  Well, after a dozen years or more of not really elk hunting - they draw and more often than not they have a tough go of it because they simply haven't done much elk hunting.

So...if you are going to apply in multiple states one strategy I think makes sense is to select a few top tier units, but make sure you are applying or hunting OTC on a consistent basis so that you are prepared if/when you draw those really hard to draw tags.

Solid advice. You have to hone your skills. Even if you are unsuccessful. Just think of it as practice for your good tag you draw in the future.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[Bigshooter]

One more thing that I would suggest if picking the type of terrain you want to hunt.  There are lots of quality hunts that I am not interested in because they are in units that have a lot of timber in them.  I want to hunt high desert as often as possible so I don't really ever consider applying in units that don't offer the terrain that I want to hunt. 

[lemondog]

Hunt every year somewhere, somehow and put in for as many opportunities as your budget will allow. Odds are not good in any of the premium units anywhere but you never know. I consider myself lucky but try to put the odds in my favor as much as possible. Last 12 years 2 Wyoming elk tags (1-6 point bull) 1 Nevada buck tag (30' buck) 1 Wyoming buck tag (180' buck) 1 Wa buck tag (4 point Buck) 1 Wa whitetail buck tag (no buck) also drew 2 Idaho buck tags (1-4 point buck) and one Montana General deer ( 1-4 point buck) and a Montana archery elk tag (missed bull at 15 yards! LOL!) Put your name in the hat whenever you can, I had a friend draw and Idaho Deer super tag this past year so you never know.

[ljsommer]

If I start attempting quality tags in say....4-6 states, then I'll surely get something quality eventually. Until then I'll buy OTC and go to the pumpkin parties every year.
Speaking of pumpkin parties, I feel like if I could somehow get in touch with the other people that hunt my GMU we could have some sort of potluck in the woods or something. Might as well make it a party, ya know?

[JimmyHoffa]

The guys I know of that are successful in WA spend a lot of time out there.  Usually loggers or maintenance for DNR/Forest Circus for elk, or someone that has hiked an area for years for deer.  Hang in there, you'll start putting the local OTC stuff together and have it click.

[huntnnw]

the deer tags I have drawn outta state dont even compare to WA on any level and makes it really hard to get motivated to even hunt this state for muleys. I have had hunts outta state where I have seen over 50 bucks in a week and some were even higher than that.

[ljsommer]

the deer tags I have drawn outta state dont even compare to WA on any level and makes it really hard to get motivated to even hunt this state for muleys. I have had hunts outta state where I have seen over 50 bucks in a week and some were even higher than that.

.....

Man if you can't get motivated for muleys in WA I don't know how I am supposed to get motivated for blacktails in WA. At least you can *see* muleys.

[Pathfinder101]

the deer tags I have drawn outta state dont even compare to WA on any level and makes it really hard to get motivated to even hunt this state for muleys. I have had hunts outta state where I have seen over 50 bucks in a week and some were even higher than that.

.....

Man if you can't get motivated for muleys in WA I don't know how I am supposed to get motivated for blacktails in WA. At least you can *see* muleys.

Aww heck.... You didn't tell us you were talking about blacktails...