There are many people asking me how the preference point system works. I tell them but it is too much to really understand in the 30 seconds people want to listen about it. In this article I try to explain it not by the numbers but by the philosophy. The first thing you have to know is that if you do not apply you cannot draw. The second thing to know is that some tags are hard to draw. Some are easy and there are many in between. The third thing to know is that sometimes it is luck if you draw or not. The last key thing to know is you can draw without luck. You have to earn it. You earn it by years of applying or applying where the tags are easy to get. Some tags you do not need to draw. Usually these tags are not as good as the draw tags or are all on private land or have some other unique factor. The stories are always told that go like this. I have been putting in for 15 years and I have never drawn. I know a guy who has drawn that same tag 3 times. Well that is the luck part. In most cases i only draw the tags by earning them. If you go by the numbers I would have drawn way more tags than I have. I give an example. I put in for a great deer ares in Colorado. My son and I thought we had enough points to draw. The rules in colorado are if you have the most points you draw. And the only luck part of it is those who have the most points get thrown into a hat and you are drawn if there are not enough tags to give to everyone who has the most points. We did not draw. And I looked on Colorado’s website and it said that there was some who drew with less points than we had. I said he wait a minute and called them because I knew the rule. If you have the points you will draw. Well there was 23 tags left for those with the points we had. There were 24 people who put in. I put in as a group with my son and we had to be the last name drawn out and since we wanted 2 tags they said we do not have 2 tags and gave the tag to a person with 1 less point than we had. I call that luck. Luck that we did not draw. Make your best plan on where you want to hunt and start applying. Sometimes they add more tags to a place you are applying and you can get the tag sooner. The key thing is you have to apply. If you are lucky you might draw sooner than others. If you are unlucky then keep applying and someday you should get some good tags. There are places where you can just buy tags. Often the success rates are lower but you get to go hunting. It does not hurt to apply for some really hard to draw tags because someone has to draw. Make sure you do not miss applying. i wrote the PointHunter app to remind me to apply and to keep track of my preference points. Because I consistently put in I should draw a fantastic tag every year. But it took me quite a few years to get to this place. I do not know how to tell people to have luck. I do know that I will apply in case someday I get some luck. You also can be on the earn it plan.

Well, look at the bright side....you and son are almost certain to draw next year.

Funny, but I've spent the better part of today researching the best units in Colorado for my 6 applications. And I've been talking off and on with outfitters for over a week. I also have the max points for non-residents for sheep, moose, and deer. Goat, elk, and antelope are pretty high too. I just want to spend my points wisely, because once I draw a tag, I will not live long enough to draw a prime hunt again.

Can you draw 44 deer?

Being a nonresident, probably not. U-44 is the toughest draw. I'm looking at 53 and 54. Or maybe 22.

Don't know much about 22. 54 hasn't rebounded like the units to the South (thus the addition of their 4th seasons) 53 is a rough hunt, actually had 2 buddies and 1 of their wives hunt it last year.

I hope you draw. I am looking on the bright side. I get to draw many good tags in many states most years. I do wish sometimes I would draw on the luck end of it instead of just max points. But max points still means I get to go. So I am lucky there. We live in a place where there is public land and wild places with fun game to hunt. Life is good.

In colorado I want to wait a year because the third season deer hunt will be later next year.

Moon looks good too compared to last year. For that 54/53 area the problem is the 07-10 fawn crops from the 08 Winter kill and its lingering effects with the '10 crop being better overall than 07-09 combined. Makes those age classes of bucks a tough find and older ones that survived it have been whittled on pretty good, but '16 is looking like the year that gap should start cycling out with that '10 fawn crop hitting of age to start producing the horns you're trying to find.

My biggest failing is not having built up points for other species while applying for sheep tags over the past 14 years.

But my schedule simply does not allow for me to go every year.

Lady Luck has been with me though as I have drawn a Shiras moose and Desert sheep tag. I consider myself ahead of the game already and playing with house money from here on out. Would love to draw a Rocky tag before I get too old to go. Almost too much to hope for but,hey,miracles happen.

I'm sitting pretty with deer points at 30yo. Didn't care much for elk, still don't unless they're giant, but started applying when folks started wanting to do group hunts for them. For elk in Colorado I'll never catch the Big 4, be lucky to catch 61.