Montana 2023

[idaho guy]

I actually like Montanas draw system ha ha. They reserve 25 percent of the general tags for hunters that don’t want to play the point game. That is hunter friendly and it’s nice to have good odds without having to buy points for 5-10 years. They eliminated point building by requiring actually entering the draw. They limited point creep by capping preference points at a maximum of 3. They have a system that eliminates or at least limits a lot of what everyone bitches about with other states point systems. All of these moves cost the state revenue they could get from selling preference points. I hear a lot of people complaining about Montanas draw systems but most just don’t understand it.

[Stein]

The system is one thing, execution is another.  I think they need to lease the "oh deer" landing page from WDFW, lots of mistakes in the last several years.

[idaho guy]

The system is one thing, execution is another.  I think they need to lease the "oh deer" landing page from WDFW, lots of mistakes in the last several years.

Agreed. But I’m from Idaho so Montanas execution seems flawless. 😂 we like to give out sheep tags and then take them back ha ha. It’s always a matter of perspective but most often I hear hunters complain about the complexity of Montana. That’s just not true but few take the time to actually understand it. Lots of states create new ways to sell points but Montana did the opposite with preference points. I appreciate that but most people bitch about it because they don’t get it or don’t realize it’s helping at least limit some of the issues with point systems. For the general tags mostly. Even requiring a draw of the general tag BEFORE entering the le draws for NR helps the le odds as well. Number 1 or 2 complaint I hear. Compared to other states it’s a pretty good system but different enough that people must get confused. I would say compared to most other states that invent new ways to sell points Montana did a hunter friendly move on the preference points.

[Wingin it]

I much prefer Montana’s draw system to any other state I’ve hunted or attempted to hunt.

[Stein]

It's pretty complex, both bonus and preference, split draw in one but not the other and obviously a gotcha or two.  I don't even put in for special draws anymore.

But, at least for now you can hunt mulies in November every couple of years and the general elk tag is good for over 12 weeks.

[mburrows]

MT isnt perfect for non-resident but at least they get their results out quick and getting general tags is mostly predictable if you dont apply as a group with various preference point levels.  Kind of a bummer that groups get split up on the released tags and you'd lose your points if you turned your tag back in but at the end of the day I think its really a pretty efficient system for getting tags out and making guys use their points.

Would be nice if they let you check a box that said either the whole group gets tags or no one in the group does but on the other hand then you'd have a lot of guys waiting the 3 years for a tag.

The WA system for drawing may be simple but then again you've got a hell of a lot of guys putting in for very few tags.  Most guys will never draw one of the top tier tags at the current rate and I argue a lot of MT is still better than a lot of the "quality tags" in WA for elk and mule deer.  MT still beats the piss out of ID's current tag allocation process for the capped hunts.

[Stein]

Very true, I'm quite happy with my Quality Multi Season MT general tag.

[idaho guy]

I hear people talk about a few things they like with different states draw systems. But mostly everyone just bitches about all of them 😂 myself included sometimes. I still contend the main problem with every states draw systems is the social media influencers, tag services and hunting personalities. They are all trying to monetize western wildlife. The result is they have broken all the state draw systems. I get 3-4 emails a week on draws from organizations I’m not even a member of. No state draw was ever set up to have hunters from all 50 states applying every year. They broke the draws and then do podcasts telling all the “worthless” game departments how to fix it. Classic

[mburrows]

I hear people talk about a few things they like with different states draw systems. But mostly everyone just bitches about all of them 😂 myself included sometimes. I still contend the main problem with every states draw systems is the social media influencers, tag services and hunting personalities. They are all trying to monetize western wildlife. The result is they have broken all the state draw systems. I get 3-4 emails a week on draws from organizations I’m not even a member of. No state draw was ever set up to have hunters from all 50 states applying every year. They broke the draws and then do podcasts telling all the “worthless” game departments how to fix it. Classic

Hard to disagree with that.

[vandeman17]

Sign me up for a state that has no points for anything. General tags, special permits, whatever. Make everything random just like the lottery, which is really still is.

[andrew_in_idaho]

Sign me up for a state that has no points for anything. General tags, special permits, whatever. Make everything random just like the lottery, which is really still is.

Idaho and New Mexico


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[vandeman17]

Sign me up for a state that has no points for anything. General tags, special permits, whatever. Make everything random just like the lottery, which is really still is.

Idaho and New Mexico


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Idaho screwed it up with their system. New Mexico, agreed

[CarbonHunter]

Very true, I'm quite happy with my Quality Multi Season MT general tag.

I’m very happy with my quality MT and ID tags as well. I am far less happy with the 20+ points I have in Washington that I will most likely never draw a tag with. And according to goHUNT there is better trophy potential with the tags I hold this year than anything Washington has to offer.

[CJ1962]

For those of us that didn't draw has your credit card been refunded?  As of today mine hasn't....

[Karl Blanchard]

For those of us that didn't draw has your credit card been refunded?  As of today mine hasn't....

unless something has changed since I last got a refund it will come as a check in the mail.