Still doesn't change anything. The public draw for us is what 11%. If you didn't draw, what's wrong with a cow tag? I was offered buck tags for $2500.
It's not everyone else's fault you believe you can't afford it. I make sacrifices ever year to hunt somewhere. I would like to draw somewhere every year but that's not doable especially for someone not living in a Western State. I take what I can until I get drawn.
It seems you think you're entitled to a top end tag every year. I think I'm more realistic in what I think I can get. If I don't draw, I go see what I can get to make sure I get to spend time in the woods every Fall. I don't look down my nose at a cow tag. I love being in the woods and I love elk meat. It's a win win for me.
I'm taking one of my best friends and my youngest daughter on her first elk hunt in 2 weeks. They have cow tag. I'm driver and pack mule. We're going to have a ball.
I'm going hunting in New Mexico with my oldest brother (second elk hunt) and my BIL (first elk hunt). We have cow tags. We're going to have a ball.
You assume too much...
1) I've killed way more cows than bulls, even when having an ES (archery) tag.
2) the median household income in NM is $55k +/- a few thousand. It's absurd to think that "everyone" can afford to buy up a land owner voucher that equals a month's mortgage or rent, and then throw in the expense to kill the damn thing.
3) one of my choices on my app is always a cow tag, and only the first choice is a top end tag.
4) I don't have to sacrifice to buy a land owner voucher. I can cut a check today for any land voucher in the state.
Shall we compare household balance sheets? I can promise you that my debt to income ratio is likely way better than yours.
5) I burned bonus points this year in another state for a lower end tiered hunt and unit for antelope because I didn't draw NM, so yeah, I look and go elsewhere too.
6) I remind you that you stated a resident can go elk hunting for $100 on public. Yeah, only if they DRAW one of the 59% available public land tags (see example above for any readers that just jump to newest posts and skip everything in between).
7) my nephew will be taking advantage of the EPLUS UW offering for a Dec cow hunt, first ever, as did his cousins over the years because they couldn't draw a public land tag. This particular hunt isn't available to adults. And no, it's not a landowner voucher he obtained. It's a very limited public land tag through a fire sale.
Good luck on your hunts you listed above.