2024 NR elk applications - special vs regular

SDBugler

SDBugler

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Did everyone get their NR elk applications in?
It is ridiculous that the NR's need to put in months before the seasons/tag allocations are even finalized. But that is another thread discussion in itself.

Post up if you put in for the regular or special this year and if that is different than what you normally apply for. just curious to see how people reacted to the new higher special tag costs.

I put in for the special this year. I usually put in for the special as elk hunting is my #1 passion and a tag is that valuable to me regardless of the cost. Also, it gives me more options when it comes time to change my choice before the May 5th modification deadline after other states draw results are out and after WY finalizes seasons / tag numbers.
 
Yep I got my sheep, moose, goat I mean elk fee in. I still think a couple of these will draw with a point less with Reg than Special fee. My buddy did say for the first time that he is out on the higher special fee. He has been trying for a random while building points. He can afford it also, so I wonder how many will say no thanks.
 
I usually put in for special but I'm sitting it out this year and just buying a point to see what these changes do to the landscape and then decide next year what to do. Plus I have other options I can cash in on this year. Best of luck to you guys.
 
Regular draw for a West Gen tag.
I have always applied special before but no more of that for me. 2K for a gen tag is crazy.
 
Regular for me and youth fee for my son. Both of us trying for random. Also applied for RP cow. If RP cow wasn't an option, I likely would have saved more money and done the special.
 
Regular fee for me. Should draw with regular, so why spend $2000 when I don't have to. Others in my group had no interest in special fee. For elk, I'll probably only do regular in the future unless I'm applying solo or my group of friends wants to do special.
Depending on how I do with other draws, I might apply for special deer or pronghorn if I really want a tag this year.
 
yotebuster17 said:
My bet is we’re gonna see the odds get harder on special as everyone thinks they’re gonna go down so they pile on. Just like muzzy regulations do to odds. Makes people seek out things they normally wouldn’t.
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My thinking is that the higher point units (+12 points) will likely see the special draw become harder to draw than the regular as those guys have been in it for a looong time, already have a lot invested, and are hoping to get an edge to finally draw the tag they have been chasing.
However the lower point units (-8 points) will likely see an advantage in the special as most guys don't want to spend $2K on a tag that can be drawn with only a few points. the mid tier units probably wont see much change.

Just my guess..............
 
SDBugler said:
My thinking is that the higher point units (+12 points) will likely see the special draw become harder to draw than the regular as those guys have been in it for a looong time, already have a lot invested, and are hoping to get an edge to finally draw the tag they have been chasing.
However the lower point units (-8 points) will likely see an advantage in the special as most guys don't want to spend $2K on a tag that can be drawn with only a few points. the mid tier units probably wont see much change.

Just my guess..............
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Exactly my thoughts. I rolled the dice on a 14 point unit with 12 points regular. I'm hoping most go special. Assuming I get thrown into the random pool, odds should be slightly better than special. It will be interesting to see how this shakes out.
 
Danny_Ocean said:
Random Reg, no elk is worth 2k to me.
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You sure about that?

Screenshot 2024-02-01 234540.png
 
elkantlers said:
You sure about that?

View attachment 136139
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The vast majority of Wyoming's $2000 elk are NOT going to look anything like this bull. Many will be raghorns and small 6 points like most of the WY narcissist's bulls.

But the 77% of license revenue provided by NR dollars is very likely to push 90% starting in 2024.

Far more guys are indicating special apps than I ever would have thought.

As stated above, the high point guys are likely to spend the extra $1200 to sneak a tag. But so many of them are applying special that they might come to find that they were buying minimal improved odds with that extra money.
 
Sure, it's worth $2,000- if you're a person that has that kind of money. I really don't. I have two teenage girls who are driving. A lot of money right now is going to gas and insurance, and we'll be paying for college soon. I would rather spend $700 for the regular draw, or $300 for a reduced price cow tag.
 
I'm sure there are a pile of Average Joe hunters that really aren't too terribly concerned about when they draw a Wyo elk tag and would rather pay a lower price when they do draw. Similar to Bob D., the mass majority of nonres with young hunters in their family may be priced out of the $2,000 tag category. How many father and sons can afford $4,000 for a pair of nonres Wyo special elk tags plus the other expenses of a hunt?

It will be interesting to see what happens. My guess is there may be some flip-flopping of draw odds the next few years as draw odds stabilize.
 
jims said:
I'm sure there are a pile of Average Joe hunters that really aren't too terribly concerned about when they draw a Wyo elk tag and would rather pay a lower price when they do draw. Similar to Bob D., the mass majority of nonres with young hunters in their family may be priced out of the $2,000 tag category. How many father and sons can afford $4,000 for a pair of nonres Wyo special elk tags plus the other expenses of a hunt?

It will be interesting to see what happens. My guess is there may be some flip-flopping of draw odds the next few years as draw odds stabilize.
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True Jim, but let's be honest here. Out of state hunts have always been about excess cash flow and very limited to who can afford it. Average joe family are not taking the whole family out on a yearly trip. Even CO back in the 80's was a steep pull for average joe

The best thing WY has going for it right now for a NR who wants to simply hunt, are the doe/cow tags.
 
Two people I know chose not to apply at all solely due to cost increases. They are planning to continue to build points and only justify increased cost based on a chance at a "better" hunt. Time will tell if thier odds get any better. I'll hunt any chance I get with my kids so they are in the special draw.
 
Everyone is in a different situation when it comes to elk hunting. some live in states where they can draw a tag every year and it is pretty cheap. Some, like me, live in states where there are a few elk but it takes 15+ years to draw a tag and have to rely on high priced NR fees and low odds to elk hunt every year or couple years in other states. Some live in states with no elk and have to rely totally on high priced NR fees and low odds.
Even in Colorado which is an opportunity state a NR still has to pay $760 to hunt bull elk.

We each also have our own financial situation and vacation availability.

We also each have out own expectations out of what we want out of a hunt. Some just want to harvest an animal. Some just want a trophy caliber bull. Some want the experience.

With all the different variables, we all have different values when it comes to the valuation of the cost of a license.

Good discussion from everyone though!
 
After thinking about Danny O's comment a little more I looked back at our family's elk experience in Wyoming and special vs regular cost and was it worth the costs:

Two tags for my oldest two sons both at regular cost resulted in two great bulls. (1 was drawn with max points and one was drawn with 1 less than max).

Two tags for my youngest son and myself both at special cost resulted in tag soup!!! (1 was drawn with max points and 1 was drawn with 4 less than max)

We had great experiences on all four of those hunts though and that is what was most important.
 
Special. I am low point holder since I drew at Regular cost a few years ago. Worth the extra money to possibly up my odds to draw a random tag.

I really do not think it is going to change elk draw odds much for higher quality tags though. $80K+ trucks, $5K guns, $30K UTVs, $2K hunting outfits, $4K in optics, etc. The cost of the tag is insignificant once you are this deep.
 
With point creep being what it is, even the general tag is quickly becoming a once in a lifetime tag for most NR.

If you look at it that way the 2K is worth it. Instead of hunting Wyoming bulls 4-5 times in your life at 700 a pop, you will hunt once in your life at 2k.

The hunters just starting to apply should take a serious look at the Wyoming application numbers and point creep. Unless you get lucky with a random tag you won't be able to walk when you draw your Wyoming General bull tag. It's approaching the same situation as Utah really.

Once point creep hits that 1 point per year mark you are random pool or nothing if you are just getting started.
 
Two son's in on regular. I realize they still have very low chance of drawing with one point under max.
 
jims said:
I'm sure there are a pile of Average Joe hunters that really aren't too terribly concerned about when they draw a Wyo elk tag and would rather pay a lower price when they do draw. Similar to Bob D., the mass majority of nonres with young hunters in their family may be priced out of the $2,000 tag category. How many father and sons can afford $4,000 for a pair of nonres Wyo special elk tags plus the other expenses of a hunt?

It will be interesting to see what happens. My guess is there may be some flip-flopping of draw odds the next few years as draw odds stabilize.
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I'd rather pay less for a new truck, less for fuel, less for insurance, less for groceries, etc.

That's not reality.

The GF doesn't get to choose what it pays for those things either.

Quit being a cheapskate and either pay it or stay home. Don't care which you choose.
 
Crampy said:
The vast majority of Wyoming's $2000 elk are NOT going to look anything like this bull. Many will be raghorns and small 6 points like most of the WY narcissist's bulls.

But the 77% of license revenue provided by NR dollars is very likely to push 90% starting in 2024.

Far more guys are indicating special apps than I ever would have thought.

As stated above, the high point guys are likely to spend the extra $1200 to sneak a tag. But so many of them are applying special that they might come to find that they were buying minimal improved odds with that extra money.
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These worth $2k?

DSC00601.jpg


558.jpg


I'd pay $2k every year, and greedily, good thing is I got them both for a cool $50.
 
Seems odd to me that anyone would find fault with the price and availability of NR elk tags in Wyoming. Here are NR elk license price options.

$1950
$692
$288
$275
$100

7250 cap is gone. Prior to that Wyoming issued damn near double that amount to NR anyway. The total number of NR elk licenses issued this year will go up, guaranteed. If a NR hunter cannot find a price point and availability with all these options they are either willingly limiting themselves or a fool.
 
Antlers aren't worth anything to me. I'm paying for the experience, and the meat. This year I hope I'll be paying $692 for a cow elk. Just have to get lucky in the draw.
 
Crampy said:
I said the WY narcissist shoots “mostly” WY rags and small 6 points. Always figured he had probably shot one big WY bull.

Greedy, that he is.
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Its been a few more than one...for the record, care to hang a picture of something you've shot in Wyoming other than your mouth and yourself in the foot?
 
BuzzH said:
Its been a few more than one...for the record, care to hang a picture of something you've shot in Wyoming other than your mouth and yourself in the foot?
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WY defrauded me and I have zero WY harvests to show for the thousands I used to fund your under priced $50 resident tags.

I spent many years buying moose & sheep points as prices were raised to $150/point. And then, Wyoming completely changed the scheme and defrauded me (and many others) out of many thousands of dollars.

Change the rules - sure, that is fine. But Wyoming 100% un-valued all those "preference points" they sold for exorbitant pricing, $150. They were only worth $150 because of their preference nature and the 20-25% NR allocation that was sufficient to support a preference scheme. 90/10 on Big 5 completed the fraud. And to further disrespect the consumer, Wyoming will wipe those points away completely after 2 years of not purchasing more.

An unprecedented fraud scheme. If a private company did it, the state would shut the company down. Here, the state is the bad actor.
 
Crampy said:
WY defrauded me and I have zero WY harvests to show for the thousands I used to fund your under priced $50 resident tags.

I spent many years buying moose & sheep points as prices were raised to $150/point. And then, Wyoming completely changed the scheme and defrauded me (and many others) out of many thousands of dollars.

Change the rules - sure, that is fine. But Wyoming 100% un-valued all those "preference points" they sold for exorbitant pricing, $150. They were only worth $150 because of their preference nature and the 20-25% NR allocation that was sufficient to support a preference scheme. 90/10 on Big 5 completed the fraud. And to further disrespect the consumer, Wyoming will wipe those points away completely after 2 years of not purchasing more.

An unprecedented fraud scheme. If a private company did it, the state would shut the company down. Here, the state is the bad actor.
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Complaining about a state you don't even hunt...isn't that special?
 
Points only this year. Hopefully next year my daughter can draw a general tag. It'll be interesting to see how many points that will take. Then I'll jump back into the draw and pray something good happens.
 
I don't mind seeing the price increase, it will make some areas have a lot better draw odds. It gives me and other hunters the option to decide if it's worth it to us. Which I feel is the reason for the price difference being in place. Whether you agree with it or not, a large difference between the regular and special have been in place for decades. Up until 4-6 years ago it made a difference in your draw odds in many units This bump will likely bring that back. Time will tell..

I think this will have a lot of affect in the general draw for elk, and some lower point units.

For deer and antelope I feel it will have a lot of affect in the odds for everything except that already hard to draw areas. (If the deer quality and quantity ever comes back, I feel people will pay more for the special tag. How things currently are, I'm not sure how many will pay more)
 
Iowan said:
Special. I am low point holder since I drew at Regular cost a few years ago. Worth the extra money to possibly up my odds to draw a random tag.

I really do not think it is going to change elk draw odds much for higher quality tags though. $80K+ trucks, $5K guns, $30K UTVs, $2K hunting outfits, $4K in optics, etc. The cost of the tag is insignificant once you are this deep.
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I totally agree that for those guys it won't make a bit of difference.
However I drive a truck with 200K miles on it, do good to carry a 2K gun, wear 10 year old Cabelas gear, and use modest optics. The added cost for special makes a huge difference for me.
 
Special with 1 less than max for me. 🤞

My daughter is in the youth regular
S general with 3 points. Which general region do you think will be the easiest to draw?
 
I have been trying to get a random , special tag for the last 4 years since I drew last.
this year its points only for me. The odds are so low for a random and because of the cost , that was the factor in my decision
 
That's the same luck my family has with random tags, with the exception of my youngest son. He's the luckiest dude drawing tags! The oldest is inn on the special side and should draw with 15pts.
The tag he wants had better odds on the non special last year. I would of stuck with that but he decided to go special. We shall see what happens.

QUOTE="SDBugler, post: 2249272, member: 4943"]
wow!! two WY tags in three years?!?!
That means his second tag was most likely a random tag?
I have three sons and none of the 4 of us has ever drawn a random tag. Congrats to him for not only drawing a random tag, but on two great bulls!!!
[/QUOTE]
 
I've always done the special and have drawn unit 55 three times in five years.

BP only this year as I'll have a commissioner's tag:p
 

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