NR elk and deer points no mans land

map1 · Nov 24, 2016

Sitting on 5 points for deer and elk. May hunt in 2017 or wait 10 years?????? At what point roughly do you hit no mans land for each species where it's not worth waiting for a super unit? Any info appreciated......

Magicman · Nov 25, 2016

Sorta depends upon your age and life expectancy. Sorry if that sounds like a smarty answer, but it is disheartening when the birthdays accumulate faster than the weight of your PP's.

mntman · Nov 25, 2016

I'd hunt next year, would not wait another 10 years to hunt. You could get a rather good tag every other year. Heck my 3 biggest bucks have come out of a leftover unit.
a high priced tag (points) doesn't guarantee you a bigger buck/bull.

I spent my points (2) on 3rd season this year, spent 25+ days in the unit scouting/hunting. Got a smaller buck with character. Seen 132 bucks in 4 1/2 days of hunting.
Passed up many bucks that were bigger than one I got, I shot him last morning.

Same goes for elk, sure there might be higher percentage of bigger bulls in higher demand units but still need to work for them. Personally I'd rather have 10 chances (tags) vs 1 chance...

Mntman

"Hunting is where you prove yourself"

COLOelkman · Nov 26, 2016

I'd recommend looking at toprut.com and enter a high number of points....like 15 for each species you're interested in to see how long you'd have to wait for various units. Also consider that point creep will happen so if you need 10 pts to draw a unit today and you now have five, you'd want to add a few more points and just decide if you really want to wait that long. At 5 pts. you're just not going to be getting a "high" quality animal hunt but really just dealing with few less hunters compared to a tag that only took a couple points. Seems to me that if you're a NR and your points are not in the teens, it'd be best to use them and just work a little harder to get away from other hunters.

map1 · Nov 26, 2016

Toprut.com is new to me but what a great website. Looks like in the 5 to 10 point range for elk there are a few options with more options for mule deer. My son is in college with same points as me I'm thinking of holding out until he can hunt in 3 or 4 years. By then maybe we can hunt 2 or 3 different years in colorado with decent hunts. Until then i will hit idaho and wyoming...Thanks for info everyone.

gopher1 · Nov 26, 2016

Hello their. I,m currently sitting on 15pts for deer and 17pts for elk. I would never recommend this to anyone,(passed up to many hunts over the years) I have gone on a few 2nd season hunts though. The 5pts you have four elk I'd recommend a muzzle season. Any suggestion for my situation I'd look into. thanks

sticksender · Nov 26, 2016

Unfortunately with just 5 points for NR elk there is no "super unit" to wait for. You are 40+ years from drawing any of the top few units. And sadly, NR point creep will only get worse if NR allocations get curtailed further. But there are plenty of lower-demand hunts you can take now. For deer you will have more decent choices in a bit less time.

cmbbulldog · Nov 26, 2016

What are you looking for in a hunt? Any weapon?

map1 · Nov 26, 2016

Deer rifle and elk any weapon

IdaMatt · Nov 27, 2016

Hey map1, I'm in the same boat, 5 for deer and elk. I thought I would build up to 10 and then cash in and stop buying points, seems to be somewhat useless, as I got in the game far too late. I really don't have any interest in buying points for 10 years and then end up on a mediocre hunt. I think the people that hunt units that take 0-1 points and learn the unit have the system figured out, unless of course your at max or close to max points. I will look for a decent deer hunt over the next couple season and cash in, and I'm scratching my head on the elk, will probably just cash in and work hard for a good bull.

nripepi · Nov 28, 2016

It seems to me that for elk, you might as well use them now and hunt a muzzle or 1st season elk hunt of your choice in the type of terrain that you like instead of holding out for a great tag as there is no way to catch up and there is a huge jump between the easier to draw units and the tougher to draw units. This is what I would do if you are not worried about shooting a monster bull, if you are just get points and sit back and relax for 10-20+ years. On deer, I think there are plenty of hunts in all point ranges and there is not a gap like elk, so just hunt it whenever you can and pick the unit/hunt that fits your hunting style, time and location for the points you have and give err heck.

cmbbulldog · Nov 28, 2016

>It seems to me that for
>elk, you might as well
>use them now and hunt
>a muzzle or 1st season
>elk hunt of your choice
>in the type of terrain
>that you like instead of
>holding out for a great
>tag as there is no
>way to catch up and
>there is a huge jump
>between the easier to draw
>units and the tougher to
>draw units. This is
>what I would do if
>you are not worried about
>shooting a monster bull, if
>you are just get points
>and sit back and relax
>for 10-20+ years. On
>deer, I think there are
>plenty of hunts in all
>point ranges and there is
>not a gap like elk,
>so just hunt it whenever
>you can and pick the
>unit/hunt that fits your hunting
>style, time and location for
>the points you have and
>give err heck.

Pretty good advice right there.