dying with points

elkantlers

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I heard that a guy died recently and he had 20 LE deer points and 25 Desert sheep points. Man, What a shame.

Then I got to wondering if anyone else knows of people who have passed carrying a ton of points.
 
A good friend of mine from Montana passed on two years ago and he had 23 nonresident elk points for for the San Juan anyway that's the only unit he ever put in for it's sad to see that happen...
 
There are a LOT of older folks (my kids call them boomers :ROFLMAO: ) with a ton of points out there - not the way we want to remove some pressure on point creep but it will have some impact over the years.
 
When I turned 70 I decided I wasn’t going to die with “money in the bank”, if at all possible.

Over the last five years I spent my Wyoming Antelope tag, Wyoming mule deer tag, Utah Bear tag, and my Utah LE deer tag.

Still have 21 Wyoming moose points, 10 Utah Mt Goat, and 15 Colorado mule deer. Hoping for the Wy Moose this year or that one may get to come with me……… in the coffin, due to the change in non resident tag distribution in the cowboy State, doubt I’ll ever draw the Ut Mt Goat.,… started late on that one and never really expected to draw it, other than a random draw, and still hoping for one more Colorado deer tag……. before it’s over.

No regrets, just the cycle of life.

I’ve certainly had all the opportunities to hunt big game that I’ve deserved.
 
Drew Utah mountain goat last year with 22 points. Maybe my 26 will get me the Henry's deer tag this year. My hunting buddy has 26 also but health issues have taken him out of the game.
 
There are 7 residents with top (29) elk points and they still seem to just buy a point every year.

Some hunters must plan to cash in their points in the "Happy Hunting Grounds" to get them on some real trophies!
 
Yep. I put my Dad in every year for elk and moose and paid for his points. He had the same elk points as myself when he passed away. I continued to put in and drew San Juan elk ridge in the max point pool probably 5 years ago.

My Dad would have drew both his elk and moose by now, but them points went to the grave with him.

Rest in peace Dad. Thanks for being there and teaching me to hunt and enjoy the outdoors since I was just a little fellow. Thanks for all the memories.
 
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I will mostly hunt limited entry hunts the rest of my life and sure to die with pts, I just cant use them all, same for my wife, we invested wisely and hunted heavily while building pts. cant use pts while in Alaska or Africa. For now it is pick and choose, did put in for pauns muzzy with 25 and it wont be a big deal if I don't draw, I did not build those pts for some rare trophy as much as a rare hunting area with top end possibilities, being there with a tag is the best part and I will not be disappointed . If you want to be in the game there it not much of a choice not to build pts and you may not get to use them.
 
I'm sure most of us will die with a scattering of some points, I just hope I don't die carrying enough points to be guaranteed some great tags. I have 24 UT Desert sheep points and max points for deer and elk in Wyoming. I should have those spent in the next couple of years and then it will just be random tags from here on out.
 
I just used up my 20 bps in AZ to draw an elk tag for Unit 23. It will be transferred to a wounded vet to use. That was my last time to use the elk points.

I'm still sitting on 20 points for pronghorn & 26 for bison, however. Although I'll never hunt either again, I keep buying points when possible. There's a good chance I'll take them with me in the not-too-distant future. :(
 
Drew Utah mountain goat last year with 22 points. Maybe my 26 will get me the Henry's deer tag this year. My hunting buddy has 26 also but health issues have taken him out of the game.
Hey neb- maybe your friend can mentor a younger hunter with his points.? There are deer units in Utah other than the Henries where he could basically hunt from a road and kill a nice buck or a young family member could...
 
I don't know anyone with that many points. I hope more and more people stop chasing inches, and start getting out to enjoy the hunt for the hunt's sake. Make memories. When my dad passes, I'll likely get a few or maybe all of his antlers and mounts... They're a good reminder, but they are not everything.
 
I think for some people, maybe even a lot of people, the points are being accumulated for when they are ready to go. There are plenty of things and places to hunt and as much as I would like to burn points, I really don't have the time due to other hunts in other places.

I'm accumulating points to hunt swans in Utah...I'm not sure why as I have an 80% chance of drawing in my home state but maybe someday I will want to. Lots of places to see and hunt, but buy points as a maybe one-day type of thing. If I am on here someday talking about my 20 swan points, I can guarantee you it wasn't because I didn't spend time hunting.
 
I almost never read this thread because it sounded so stupid.

Thank God people see the world different! Some of you younger guys think you got it all figured out. Most of the guys that die with lots of points had their share of great hunting. The world you exist in today won't be the same down the road. I'll guarantee you that. So, what if I die with points. I was living my life in the meantime enjoying all the opportunities I could. I've got lots of point totals over 20 to 29. Some of them hunts are no better now, than open hunts were in the past. But I'll still try getting the opportunity to hunt! I'll be grateful for what I get.

Most of the time how people imagine things are going to turn out and how they actually do aren't even close! If you have the opportunity to do something, you want. Do it you might never get the chance again!

Retired & Living the Dream. My Dream!
 
What other options are there for those who cannot draw a tag but to take those points to the promised land with you. Nothing is ever guaranteed. I'm happy for those guys and girls who have invested in a lifetime of applications and draw when they are still able. You never know when lightning strikes. Good luck to all!!!
 
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The guys that don’t like points, usually don’t have points. Applying for tags and building points was all part of my long term plan. I have had a lot of great hunting, plus teaching my daughters and wife to hunt and they have all killed very nice animals. I dumped Oregon and Montana two years ago with a lot of points, no big deal I enjoy donating to Wildlife. I am working over Colorado the next couple of years and I will be done there. The hunt I applied for this year in Colorado has only 5 tags and I will draw. Looking forward to another great hunt in Colorado. I will finish off my hunting in Nevada and when I don’t draw there I have my home state of Idaho. If I die with points no big deal, that money goes to conservation. My father is pushin 90 years old this year and he is still trying to draw 1 more sheep tag in Wyoming, he is 1 point behind Max. He is after a unit close to home, where he can get around. God Bless him.
 
No offense but I wish more people died with points. In the old days, people would age out and die out of the draws. Now that we allow “mentor hunts,” grandma and grandpa keep applying with the hopes that “Johnny” might be able to use their points someday. We simply need to move more people through the draws more efficiently.

Hawkeye
 
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"No offense but I wish more people died with points." ?

Points systems were sold on the premise that everyone gets their turn. Not so when the odds are longer than a lifetime. Plus, it assures that those who draw through points will eventually be elderly.

At some point the points systems will be changed/eliminated too......
 
No offense but I wish more people died with points. In the old days, people would age out and die out of the draws. Now that we allow “mentor hunts,” grandma and grandpa kept applying with the hopes that “Johnny” can use their points. We simply need to move more people through the draws more efficiently.

Hawkeye

That's easy. Increase tags and decrease the importance of "trophy quality".
 
I know a few older folks who took points to the grave but they lived a good hunting-life already.

My son drew a desert sheep tag in 2015 and we had a wonderful hunt.

He also had enough points to draw for Wyoming bighorn but took them to his grave after a nasty fall in the mountains in 2017. Sad?

Zeke
 
I knew a guy who had 22 bison points and 23 elk points. He always said “next year I’ll have time and apply for a tag”. He only ever applied for points. He was a LL deer tag holder and he did that as time allowed, which wasn’t enough in my opinion. He retired in May and said that the next year he would apply for a tag and asked me if I’d be willing to go. The answer was absolutely and I was looking forward to the following year. July he was diagnosed with cancer. November he was in the ground.

Burn the points when you can. You don’t know what “next year” might bring
 
I knew a guy who had 22 bison points and 23 elk points. He always said “next year I’ll have time and apply for a tag”. He only ever applied for points. He was a LL deer tag holder and he did that as time allowed, which wasn’t enough in my opinion. He retired in May and said that the next year he would apply for a tag and asked me if I’d be willing to go. The answer was absolutely and I was looking forward to the following year. July he was diagnosed with cancer. November he was in the ground.

Burn the points when you can. You don’t know what “next year” might bring

This. I always say there is very, very little that is justified in getting in the way of things you enjoy.

Work is never one of them because it won't miss you when you're gone...
 
All of us have succumbed to the realization we are going to die with points in our pockets. This isn’t a surprise at all.
 
And…this is why we have a rule at fishing camp. If you die while at camp you’ll be duck taped to the front seat in one of our boats with a rod in your hand. This way we can continue to keep your limit of fish, as you have a current license. We might even spin you around in the seat every now and then.
 
Not me. I'm moving to UT in the very near future and will pull tags like no tomorrow with all the points I've accumulated for everything.

The benefits of starting out as a nonresident...:)
yep.....lots of all OIL points....not sure it would be worth living there though....
 
Your points will be nowhere near what residents have if you move to UT. (Except for one OIL species 13 is max for NRs). Unless you figured out something I have not. Sitting on 23 Bison, 13 Mtn. Goat & 13 Desert Sheep.
 
Your points will be nowhere near what residents have if you move to UT. (Except for one OIL species 13 is max for NRs). Unless you figured out something I have not. Sitting on 23 Bison, 13 Mtn. Goat & 13 Desert Sheep.

I have been buying points for years as a nonresident for all species, not just two.
 
I have been buying points for years as a nonresident for all species, not just two.
I understand, but for many years you could only apply for 1 OIL. Which I chose Bison (now have 23 pts). 13 years ago NRs were allowed to apply for all. So there is no way a NR can have more than 13 points in all the OIL’s (except one).
 
I understand, but for many years you could only apply for 1 OIL. Which I chose Bison (now have 23 pts). 13 years ago NRs were allowed to apply for all. So there is no way a NR can have more than 13 points in all the OIL’s (except one).
not exactly true...but I get your point

Limited-entry Buck Deer
16
2021


2022

General-season Buck Deer
5
2021


2022

Limited-entry Buck Pronghorn
11
2021


2022

Limited-entry Bull Elk
12
2021


2022

Desert Bighorn Sheep
15
2021


2022

Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep
14
2021


2022

Bison
13
2021


2022

Mountain Goat
11
2021


2022
 
I understand, but for many years you could only apply for 1 OIL. Which I chose Bison (now have 23 pts). 13 years ago NRs were allowed to apply for all. So there is no way a NR can have more than 13 points in all the OIL’s (except one).

Do the residents have more than 13 for all the OIL's?
 
Not me. I'm moving to UT in the very near future and will pull tags like no tomorrow with all the points I've accumulated for everything.

The benefits of starting out as a nonresident...:)
It's part of the points game and you'd be welcome here! Play it with gusto.
Nothing wrong with living in Utah and burning points on great hunts!!!!

Zeke
 
It's part of the points game and you'd be welcome here! Play it with gusto.
Nothing wrong with living in Utah and burning points on great hunts!!!!

Zeke

As a resident in UT with the points I have, I am nearly at the top of the list for Pronghorn buck. So-so for the others, but as a resident, you have more tag opportunity than you do as a non-resident.
 
Not me. I'm moving to UT in the very near future and will pull tags like no tomorrow with all the points I've accumulated for everything.

The benefits of starting out as a nonresident...:)
The thought of moving just to spend points as a resident doesn’t make sense……..unless you truly want to retire in Utah. The cost of uprooting your life, real estate transactions, and time lost from moving and setting up your life sets you back big time. However, if you are unhappy where your living, the move to Utah to make your life better would make sense and you would have some sweet points to burn! ?
 
The thought of moving just to spend points as a resident doesn’t make sense……..unless you truly want to retire in Utah. The cost of uprooting your life, real estate transactions, and time lost from moving and setting up your life sets you back big time. However, if you are unhappy where your living, the move to Utah to make your life better would make sense and you would have some sweet points to burn! ?

Yeah, it's not a move just for using points as a resident. NM is ruined from gross negligence of liberalism.
 
This is a problem for many I'm afraid. It has become a status symbol. People brag about how many points they have and for the elk or deer, they will someday take. I know guys that just keep collecting and it is almost like if they burn them and go then they have to deal with the pressure of the hunt and the expectations and if it isn't a guarantee for a trophy that meets those expectations then it is a failure and afterward then what? You waited half your life for an opportunity that didn't land you in the Eastman's magazine. Expectations vs reality. And if you burn your points you can't dream anymore about the giant you may someday take.
 
This is a problem for many I'm afraid. It has become a status symbol. People brag about how many points they have and for the elk or deer, they will someday take. I know guys that just keep collecting and it is almost like if they burn them and go then they have to deal with the pressure of the hunt and the expectations and if it isn't a guarantee for a trophy that meets those expectations then it is a failure and afterward then what? You waited half your life for an opportunity that didn't land you in the Eastman's magazine. Expectations vs reality. And if you burn your points you can't dream anymore about the giant you may someday take.
Quite a bit of truth/wisdom in that post.

Zeke
 
This is a problem for many I'm afraid. It has become a status symbol. People brag about how many points they have and for the elk or deer, they will someday take. I know guys that just keep collecting and it is almost like if they burn them and go then they have to deal with the pressure of the hunt and the expectations and if it isn't a guarantee for a trophy that meets those expectations then it is a failure and afterward then what? You waited half your life for an opportunity that didn't land you in the Eastman's magazine. Expectations vs reality. And if you burn your points you can't dream anymore about the giant you may someday take.
Hey, hey, back off there Yo Samady, you’re getting pretty personal…….. I bought the tee shirt, now you don’t want me to wear it?
 
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This is a problem for many I'm afraid. It has become a status symbol. People brag about how many points they have and for the elk or deer, they will someday take. I know guys that just keep collecting and it is almost like if they burn them and go then they have to deal with the pressure of the hunt and the expectations and if it isn't a guarantee for a trophy that meets those expectations then it is a failure and afterward then what? You waited half your life for an opportunity that didn't land you in the Eastman's magazine. Expectations vs reality. And if you burn your points you can't dream anymore about the giant you may someday take.
This might be true in some cases, or at least partly true in many cases, but there are are many other reasons people end up with lots of points. Utah raised the bar for me when they added the multi-season hunts. Although I would like to apply for the LE deer hunts, there are not many really good LE deer hunts and the odds are brutal, so I keep applying for multi-season elk hunts. I always apply for a hunt, not just bonus points, but at 56 years old I view this as the once in a lifetime chance that it is for me now. I’d like to try a multi-season hunt on the book cliffs, but not when I’m hearing that it is really in the dumps. I have hunted with several people that ended up very disappointed on units that suddenly declined after they opened general spike hunts on the unit. I realize very well that hunts are not always easy or successful, it should be a challenge and you need to do your research. It can be tough when you have full moon and extended high-pressure weather patterns or storms that limit what you can do, which is one of many reasons I’m interested in the multi-season opportunities. I could go on about reasons why I have more than 20 points, but I don’t think it is because I want to brag about having points. Some people say that our point system is broke because a few people have more than 20 points, or whatever, but there are in fact many good elk hunts that can be drawn with significantly fewer points. I know point creep is frustrating, but there are worse problems. I think it makes sense to try and optimize our hunting opportunities in Utah and maybe put more restrictions on how we can apply for hunts and accumulate points, but I still think that the system can work for everybody without pulling the rug out from those that have paid some time and money to the system.
 
Well might be reading about me one day. I have over 20 points for multiple species in several states. 23 moose in UT, 21 deer Colorado are a couple. I'll be 70 in SEP. If my health stays good I hope to use most up eventually. Ill be in WY for Elk this SEP since I cashed in those points.
 
This might be true in some cases, or at least partly true in many cases, but there are are many other reasons people end up with lots of points. Utah raised the bar for me when they added the multi-season hunts. Although I would like to apply for the LE deer hunts, there are not many really good LE deer hunts and the odds are brutal, so I keep applying for multi-season elk hunts. I always apply for a hunt, not just bonus points, but at 56 years old I view this as the once in a lifetime chance that it is for me now. I’d like to try a multi-season hunt on the book cliffs, but not when I’m hearing that it is really in the dumps. I have hunted with several people that ended up very disappointed on units that suddenly declined after they opened general spike hunts on the unit. I realize very well that hunts are not always easy or successful, it should be a challenge and you need to do your research. It can be tough when you have full moon and extended high-pressure weather patterns or storms that limit what you can do, which is one of many reasons I’m interested in the multi-season opportunities. I could go on about reasons why I have more than 20 points, but I don’t think it is because I want to brag about having points. Some people say that our point system is broke because a few people have more than 20 points, or whatever, but there are in fact many good elk hunts that can be drawn with significantly fewer points. I know point creep is frustrating, but there are worse problems. I think it makes sense to try and optimize our hunting opportunities in Utah and maybe put more restrictions on how we can apply for hunts and accumulate points, but I still think that the system can work for everybody without pulling the rug out from those that have paid some time and money to the system.
I never wanted to be an accountant that has to manage so many different systems and point pools for years to be able to have a quality hunt either. And somehow I have ended up with way more points in a few states than I ever thought I would have. Some of that comes from trying to manage when to draw and not draw too many in one year and end up overwhelmed and unable to devote time to each. Applying to UT as a non-resident you really have the numbers stacked against you. For example they give only 3 total Nonres tags out last year. Two went to the max point holders which left only 1 for you and the 107 other applicants. With 20 points you are right up there and could draw this year for that unit unless others with more points than you decide to put in for the Wasatch. My point is that if you were to put in for the same unit for muzzleloader you would have like drawn 5-7 years ago. The unit has gone downhill since then as well. And if you put in the time hunting hard the full 9 day season you would have multiple opportunities at nice bulls, in the prime rut, maybe not the 350+ type but then again maybe so. And then you have the issue of as we age, get fat, lose testosterone, and interest, we may not have the energy or care to get after it anymore. Its a tough pill for us all to swallow but I am looking forward to getting out while I still can. The opportunities available today may not be there tomorrow. War, inflation, not to mention some of the states changing up their point schemes like Wyoming reducing tags for non-residents. The best bet may be to roll the dice and go make the best of it.
 
Hey neb- maybe your friend can mentor a younger hunter with his points.? There are deer units in Utah other than the Henries where he could basically hunt from a road and kill a nice buck or a young family member could...
May have to check on that for him but we may be past that point already.
 
Well might be reading about me one day. I have over 20 points for multiple species in several states. 23 moose in UT, 21 deer Colorado are a couple. I'll be 70 in SEP. If my health stays good I hope to use most up eventually. Ill be in WY for Elk this SEP since I cashed in those points.
So what did you draw in Wy ?
 
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