I put in alone for permits and have found that when I do draw a good permit, I get several offers from friends wanting to tag along on my hunt. If you get one of those rut permits, its a blast watching the bucks chasing the doe's. Not to mention, you can expect to see alot of bucks during the hunt. On my permit hunt last Nov, I saw 71 bucks in 8 days of hunting. I'm not going to mention which unit that was, but that is a common experience for those who have drawn those wintering ground rut hunt permits in E WA. That's what the special permits are all about. Go for draws that have a reasonable expectation of being drawn or you could be sitting on the sidelines waiting for a premium tag for many years to come. There are alot of different stategies and that is for each person to decide. So good luck with whatever you choose to do.