Securing a tag is one of the biggest challenges in Western big game hunting. Each year, this creates problems for hunters as we attempt to sift through mountains of information to find the answers we need. Determining what licenses, permits, and tags are necessary, and keeping track of tag application deadlines, can be a serious burden. This breakdown from HuntStand will make it much easier as you plan your next Western hunt. Here’s what you need to know about Western big game draws and deadlines.
Big mule deer are rare and difficult to find. Obtain a good tag, and it's typically easier.
Arizona
Arizona is a Western big game gem. Most of the state’s units are managed for trophy potential, not hunter opportunity, making pulling a tag a chore. Still, be sure to apply in Arizona each year. The state continually produces gagger mule deer, elk, pronghorn, and other big game species.
Point System: Bonus point
Application Fee/Terms: A qualifying license is needed (most often a $160 hunt/fish combo), and there is a per-species application fee. Credit cards will be charged for the big game species drawn when a license is awarded.
Application Deadline: Mid February for most species
Results Posted: Mid-April
Special Details: Southern Arizona units that once offered OTC tags for archery Coues and mule deer have gone to a capped license system.
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Colorado
A popular destination for big game hunters, Colorado is one of the few remaining states with OTC tags for pronghorn, elk, and bear for archery and rifle seasons.
Most of Colorado’s hunt units are managed for opportunity rather than trophy potential, but the state has many draw units where trophy potential is high, and many draw tags take less than five years to acquire, even with point creep.
Point System: Preference point
Application Fee/Terms: A qualifying license is needed (spring turkey $183.94; annual small game $98.92). All license fees include a 25-cent search-and-rescue fee and a $1.50 fee for the Wildlife Education fund, if applicable. Preference point and weight point fees are $50.
Application Deadline: Early April
Results Posted: Mid to late June
Special Details: Colorado is one of the few Western states that allows non-residents to apply for Rocky Mountain Big Horn Sheep and mountain goats (in certain areas). For 2024, Colorado’s tag allocation system is 75 percent residents and 25 percent non-residents.
Quality age structures stem from elk and other big game living in areas where it's difficult to draw a tag.
Idaho
There’s a reason Idaho went to an OTC with CAP system for its elk licenses — the state’s elk hunting can be so good that too many people were invading the Gem State’s elk woods.
Wolves in Idaho are still a problem, especially in the northern Panhandle. Still, this region of the state holds incredible big game numbers, and the terrain is steep and rugged, which limits easy access.
Idaho has a remarkable black bear population, and tags are still easily attainable. In some hunt areas, non-resident hunters can purchase more than one black bear tag.
Point System: None
Application Fee/Terms: A qualifying license is needed to enter Idaho’s draw and hunt big game. Furthermore, application fees apply and the $185 Hunting Adult hunting license is non-refundable.
Application Deadline: December for non-resident deer and elk general season. April through June 25 for big game Controlled Season hunts.
Results Posted: July
Special Details: Idaho doesn’t have a point system. If you plan to obtain a general season deer or elk tag, know the online/at-office on-sale date, and do your planning ahead of time. Capped licenses sell out extremely fast.
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Premier mule deer units can offer sights like this one.
Montana
One of the most remarkable states for hunting Western big game, Montana is an opportunity state that’s loaded with lots and lots of big critters. Each year, even in locales managed for the opportunity, sizable bucks and bulls are killed. Should you hit draw paydirt and secure an elk license in the state’s eastern half, the chances of dropping a bull with high-scoring headgear are strong.
Game populations in areas of Montana have been hit hard by wolves and grizzlies, but the overall outlook for 2024 is promising. Don’t ignore Montana’s Block Management Units (BMUs), which provide public access to private ground. And, of course, the state is loaded with National Forests, BLM tracts, and other open-to-public-hunting locations.
General Season: Yes — prices vary depending on species and license type.
Point System: Bonus and preference points
Application Fee/Terms: Varies depending on species
Application Deadline: March through June
Results Posted: April through June (depending on species)
Special Details: You must apply for a general season permit, even if you apply for a permit-area (limited-entry) tag. There are two options for a general season permit: big game combo license or elk combo license. If you apply for a permit-area tag and you’re unsuccessful, you can use your general season permit to hunt in any general area of the state. If you missed the draw, leftover general season tags can usually be bought over the counter.
The best elk units offer numbers, but more importantly, older bulls with bigger headgear.
Nevada
Nevada offers no general season hunting for non-resident hunters, and obtaining a tag through the state’s draw system can be difficult. However, the wait is often worth it. Nevada is known for its trophy elk, mule deer, and pronghorn, and if you continue to apply each year, eventually your number will get pulled.
Point System: Bonus
Application Fee/Terms: Application fee plus $156 NR Annual Hunt/Fish Combo
Application Deadline: Early May
Results Posted: June
Special Details: Nevada dedicates a portion of its big game licenses to drawings and auctions.
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New Mexico
Though New Mexico offers a low percentage of its big game tags to non-residents, this is a state where you want to apply to each year. Public land abounds in New Mexico, and it’s renowned for producing record-class big game animals.
The world-record pronghorn (94 4/8 inches) was harvested in New Mexico’s Unit 16, and the 2020 outlook is bright for those who pull a coveted tag. The highest density of pronghorn is found in the northeast, but populations are stable across the state.
Point System: Lottery
Application Fee/Terms: Prices vary by species; applicants must purchase an annual game-hunting or combination game-hunting and fishing license and Habitat Management and Access Validation.
Application Deadline: mid February through late March (species depending)
Results Posted: April/May
Special Details: New Mexico has several unique species, such as oryx, ibex, and Barbary sheep. Do your research and be sure to find the 411 on these critters.
States that offer early seasons can often make for easier patterns on unpressured bucks and bulls.
Utah
Utah, like Colorado, is a unique western state. Hunters can still purchase general season tags for some big game species in some areas. Most of the Beehive State’s tags, though, are allocated through a draw process. If you pull a coveted tag for elk or mule deer, you can expect solitude and plenty of trophy animals to chase.
General Season: Yes
Point System: Bonus
Application Fee/Terms: Prices vary by species. An application fee is required, plus $120 hunting license.
Application Deadline: Late April
Results Posted: May 16, 2024
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Wyoming
The Cowboy State is a winner. Even though pronghorn numbers have dipped in recent years and licenses have gotten more difficult to obtain, you can still hunt speed goats in Wyoming every few years, especially if you do your research.
Wyoming is rich with public land, and despite a significant 2023 winter kill (in some regions), the 2024 forecast for elk and mule deer is good. Populations for much of the state are stable.
Point System: Preference
Application Fee/Terms: Prices vary by species.
Application Deadline: January 31 elk; pronghorn and mule deer May 31
Results Posted: May-June
Special Details: Most Wyoming archery tags allow you to continue hunting with a rifle if you don’t harvest an animal during the archery season.
While muleys get a lot of the attention among Western deer hunters, consider overlooked opportunities for big whitetails.
Bonus State Intel
Oregon
OTC Tags: Yes
Controlled Hunt Tags w/Drawing: Yes. Drawing opens and ends May 15, 2024. Results available by June 12.
Washington
General Season: Yes (until tags are sold out)
Special Permit Drawing: Yes (March 31 deadline)
South Dakota
General Season: Yes. Non-resident Access Archery Permit to hunt public land drawing June 10, 2024 to July 1, 2024.
Controlled Hunt Tags w/Drawing: Yes (dates vary by species)
Implement HuntStand into your scouting and hunting strategies.
Nebraska
Special Details: All non-resident Nebraska deer and turkey permits are capped. On-sale dates for turkey tags are early January. Deer tags go on sale July 10.
Kansas
Controlled Hunt Tags: All Kansas deer tags come through a drawing. The state operates on a preference point system, and the drawing deadline is April 26, 2024. Results are posted in early June.
Texas
Though Texas does have a drawing for some public land tags, most Texas hunting tags are OTC. Species like elk, considered an exotic species in Texas, can be hunted with a Type 107 ($132) license.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma offers OTC tags for deer for archery and rifle hunters throughout the state. Some areas do have special regulations, so do your homework. Controlled hunts are also available, and the 2024 deadline is May 20.
Are you still unsure of what some of the above means? Brush up on western big game tag acquisition lingo, and you’ll be in much better shape.
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