highsierra
Active Member
- Messages
- 313
The 2024 application season is upon us....So far NM and AZ (elk, pronghorn) showed me no love. Utah and Nevada and Wyoming are next up....fingers crossed. I do know that I should draw a WY elk tag this year as I have ample points for the zones applied for. This WY elk hunt has influenced my choices in other states as the time I am allotting for it conflicts with many of the hunts in other states I typically apply for...thus a little change of strategy this year is in order. For mule deer I will be exclusively applying for those difficult to draw "late season" November and December hunts....ditto for AZ coues deer. Needless to say, if I draw one of my choices, I expect it will be a really good hunt.
In my home state of California I'm in a new situation regarding my application for mule deer....I now have 0-points due to drawing a premium hunt last season. The zone I was successful in drawinig in 2023 was one had gone "all-in" on many years ago, dedicating my first choice to it each and every year for well over 30 years. It was worth the wait as I was able to capitalize by harvesting a tremendous buck (CA standards). So what to do now? I'm now in my mid-50's so waiting my turn for that tag again is out of the question. There are several x-zones that I can draw with 1-4 preference points so I'll probably choose one of those that I am fairly knowledgeable of and concentrate there...maybe I'll get lucky in the random drawing (no pref points)...if not, I'll settle for my home zone (D-6) like I have for the majority of my adult years. This is not my only hope for California however.....Here we can purchase a second tag for some of the other "general" zones. I jumped on this opportunity and will be attempting to scout one of the B-zones on the north coast this summer and then hunt it in the fall. This should offer the adventure I am hoping for....I'm really excited to learn something new!
As more drawing results trickle in over the next month the path I end up on for this journey will become more clear....
In my home state of California I'm in a new situation regarding my application for mule deer....I now have 0-points due to drawing a premium hunt last season. The zone I was successful in drawinig in 2023 was one had gone "all-in" on many years ago, dedicating my first choice to it each and every year for well over 30 years. It was worth the wait as I was able to capitalize by harvesting a tremendous buck (CA standards). So what to do now? I'm now in my mid-50's so waiting my turn for that tag again is out of the question. There are several x-zones that I can draw with 1-4 preference points so I'll probably choose one of those that I am fairly knowledgeable of and concentrate there...maybe I'll get lucky in the random drawing (no pref points)...if not, I'll settle for my home zone (D-6) like I have for the majority of my adult years. This is not my only hope for California however.....Here we can purchase a second tag for some of the other "general" zones. I jumped on this opportunity and will be attempting to scout one of the B-zones on the north coast this summer and then hunt it in the fall. This should offer the adventure I am hoping for....I'm really excited to learn something new!
As more drawing results trickle in over the next month the path I end up on for this journey will become more clear....
