The sullen gap between late winter and spring can be a tough time for hunters. We’re running on the fumes of hunting tales from last season, and many of us are impatiently waiting for gobblers to start dancing into our decoys. Still, this is one of the most exciting times of the year. Why? It’s tag season! And our guide to Western big game draws shortens the learning curve.
Drawing a coveted tag is what it's all about.
Mission Impossible?
Sometimes, it probably feels like you need a degree from MIT to understand Western big game draws. Words and phrases like preference points, bonus points, lottery systems, OTC permits, OTC w/CAPS permits, draw odds, point creep, etc., can make you want to crack out a bottle of ibuprofen.
Don’t fret. This article breaks down everything you need to know about the Western hunt draw system, from A to Z.
Let’s dive in.
There are multiple digital tools at your disposal, like HuntStand, to plan for a successful Western big game hunt.
Read and Research
Things have come a long way from filling out paper applications and sending them back in the snail mail. Today, you apply online for every state’s Western big game draws. This is excellent news, as most state game and fish websites are rich with information about their particular drawing process. Reading and digesting all the information a state puts out about their drawing process is imperative.
Also, while filling out applications online for a particular state, if you enter a hunt code wrong, you’ll often get a notice and can make an immediate correction.
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Understanding the Draw and Permit Systems
Every Western state does things differently when it comes to applying for, drawing, and issuing tags. As long as you understand how to apply, and purchase tags if the Western state you’re planning to hunt has OTC (over-the-counter) or OTC w/CAPS tags, you’ll be all set.
OTC Permits
Over-the-counter (OTC) permits are permits available in unlimited numbers. OTC permits are still available for non-resident hunters in many Western states.
Some states require you to apply in their annual draw to obtain an OTC tag, while others have on-sale dates for when OTC tags go on sale. For instance, other states, like Colorado, typically allow OTC tags to be sold until a particular OTC season is closed. Take archery pronghorn in the Centennial State, for example. Most of the state’s archery pronghorn hunt units offer OTC tags, and those tags typically go on sale in early August, as do the rest of Colorado’s OTC big-game tags. Archery pronghorn season generally starts August 15, and tags remain on sale.
High-quality age structures often go hand in hand with limited-entry tags.
OTC w/CAPS
This one might jump up and bite you. In many states, OTC tags are going by the wayside. State game and fish departments are doing this to control hunter numbers. OTC w/CAPS tags are still plentiful, but the main difference is they have a cap.
States allocate specific tags on sale at offices and state websites at a specific time on a specific date. The tags are gone once a particular hunt unit/area hits its quota.
Stay up to date on OTC w/CAPS tags. Many states are morphing into this system. Take Arizona, for example. In the coming years, there will be a cap/limit to the number of Coues and prairie mule deer tags that were once sold in unlimited numbers in many southern Arizona units. Nebraska has gone to OTC w/CAPS for turkey and deer, and several others are using the system as well.
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Draw Tags/Permits
These tags are available only through online draw systems. States issue these tags using different draw systems based on points and lotteries.
E-scouting with HuntStand will help you in every step of your Western hunting adventure.
Preference Points
Many Western states operate on a preference point system. Preference points allow you to earn a point each year you apply to hunt a species and don’t draw the tag. Most states charge for preference points. You need to make sure and read as you apply to ensure you check the right boxes to get your point if you aren’t successful in the draw. You can buy preference points in several Western states without applying for a specific unit. The more preference points you build, the better your chances of drawing a tag.
States that use the preference point system allot certain tags to residents and non-residents. Some states allow a specific number of draw permits to youth.
Colorado, for example, in 2024, moved from 65% tags for residents and 35% tags for non-residents to 75% for residents and 25%t for non-residents. This type of information is available in each state’s big game brochure, which is typically available for download online.
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Bonus Points
Bonus points are very similar to preference points in Western big game draws, and it can be difficult to distinguish between the two. Like preference points, bonus points happen when a hunter applies for a permit and doesn’t draw. For example, if you have four bonus points in Montana and don’t draw in year four, you will have five bonus points the following year.
The main difference between bonus and preference points is that preference point systems ensure that all or some of the tags available in the specific area of the state, for the particular species being applied for, go to applicants who have accumulated the most points. More preference points equals better odds of drawing a tag.
With a bonus point system, you always have a chance of drawing a tag. Think of bonus points like raffle tickets — every point in the bucket is another chance for your name to be drawn. For example, if you’re applying for a tag in a state that uses a bonus point system, you could draw with only one point, even if you’re competing with someone who has 20 points. It’s luck of the draw.
Don't forget about Western turkeys. These critters are crazy fun to hunt, and opportunities abound.
Lottery Tags
Some states operate their tag draws using a lottery drawing system. In a lottery-style system for Western big game draws, there are no “odds.” If you apply for a premium draw tag along with 100,000 others, and five tags are available, all the hunters have the same odds of drawing. A lottery is random; no preference or bonus points affect the outcome.
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Understanding the lingo in the tag drawing process will help navigate it easier.
Point Creep
Point creep isn’t a type of license but something that affects your odds of drawing a particular license.
Here are two excellent examples of point creep.
Six years ago, a popular Colorado archery elk unit required five preference points to draw a tag. Now, that same unit takes nine preference points to draw a tag. The state is giving away the same number of permits yearly. The problem is point creep.
Point creep occurs in preference and bonus point systems when high-point holders bank their points, often not applying for any unit until they accumulate points far above what is required to draw a specific unit. Then, they cash in all their points on the unit and drive up the point creep. For instance, if someone with 20 elk preference points in Colorado applies for a rifle unit that requires only 13 points to draw, they’re contributing to point creep in that unit.
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Draw Odds
Draw odds are your chances of drawing a tag issued through a state’s permit draw system. Most draw odd information is available on each state’s game and fish website. However, many subscription apps are available that do the math for you and provide up-to-date draw odds.
Now that you understand the above lingo and what it means, it’s time to move on. You must study Western big game draws, as well as deadlines and details by state.
