Free: Contests & Raffles.
All I see is *censored*ty draw odds getting way worse! Now all the Bull hunters can draw cow hunts without losing points to screw the meat hunters and the cow hunters get to apply for bull hunts screwing the Bull hunters.
Someone in the know should send this and that poll link to someone in the know. A commisioner, a person on the board, maybe all of them and let them know just how well recieved this is. We as a site are now a majority slice of Washington hunters.
Its too complicated to have us choose where the points will go. The only way OD central can make it work is if its all or nothing..
All I see is *censored*ty draw odds getting way worse! Now all the Bull hunters can draw cow hunts without losing points to screw the meat hunters and the cow hunters get to apply for bull hunts screwing the Bull hunters. Worse all the way around for hunters and WDFW gets a ton more money. What a complete Joke!
In response to your proposed change to the special hunting permit drawing, I would like to make my opinion heard immediately, rather than wait until later in the year.WDFW says that they are proposing this change to accommodate hunters who want a better chance of drawing their premium tag while still getting the chance to draw less desirable tags. Ultimately, the option you have proposed seems to hurt everyone's odds in both categories without solving any problems except for the lack of funds for WDFW. The best thing about the current drawing system, is that many hunters are not willing to wait ten or more years to draw a premium tag. They in turn apply for the antlerless tags and are able to draw on average very two or three years. Alternatively, the hunters who are willing to wait for a premium tag are not trying to draw the anterless tags and are therefore keeping odds for drawing them relatively high. Under your new proposed system, a majority of hunters will be applying for both, in effect increasing the amount of applicants in both pools. Additionally, the hunters with very few points who have been drawing anterless tags will now be going up against hunters with 10 or more points and will have almost no chance of drawing. At the same time, they will be applying for the premium tags without any chance of ever catching up with the max point holders. Again, this proposal does nothing advantageous for any hunter except for the few waiting for premium tags who will now be able to get antlerless tags without losing all their points. There are many different alternatives that can reach the same goal without creating so many problems.1. You can implement the process used by Wyoming Fish and Game. Everyone's first choice is considered before anyone's second choice is considered. If you are drawn for a second, third, or fourth choice, you do not lose your points.2. You could go back to one of your older systems where second deer tags did not use points. That gave all hunters the chance to draw a second deer tag even if they were waiting for a premium tag. At the same time, the hunters who want to get doe tags every 2 or 3 years can apply for the tags that are not second deer tags that the premium hunters will not be applying for.Both of the above options provide the same opportunities for hunters without screwing over a vast majority of the hunters in the application pool. The one thing it does not solve is WDFW's lack of funding. But this problem can be solved easily as well. Instead of making hunters pay to apply in up to 8 different pools for elk and deer, have them pay $10 or $15 for an application point rather than the $5 they currently pay. Also, for the "once-in-a-lifetime" tags, you could do what almost every other state in the west does and require hunters to provide tag fees up front. Then WDFW could gain interest on those tag fees for 1-3 months and use that money to increase odds. At the same time, you could increase the non-refundable fee to apply for OIL tags to $20. Not only would this provide additional funding for WDFW, but it would also most likely decrease the number of hunters applying in the OIL draws therefore giving the serious hunter better chances of drawing. Ideally, a good price structure could be determined that would deter the casual hunter from applying for OIL tags, but still provide enough additional revenue for WDFW that theyare not losing money due to the decrease in applicants.I encourage you to read through the forum posts on this link, hunters as a whole do not like this idea. It does nothing positive for almost every single hunter. Please consider the desires and the needs of the hunter when considering implementing options like this.
The problem is that we can not agree on a solution.