Just starting to build points in hopes of hunting with some friends who are outfitters a few years from now. I know there are a few on here who hunt out West quite a bit. Special tags worth the extra cash? Any tricks or gotchas? Looks pretty straight forward, apply and purchase points each year until your number is called for the place you want to hunt.

Unfortunately, a lot of areas have point creep. The areas I want to hunt (3 and 126) only needed 1 point 6 years ago. Every year it goes up a point. So this year it will take 6pts to draw. I have 6 but my buddy only has 4. We're trying to draw this year together. That should average us out at 5pts. We'll see what happens. I think the odds are better if you go the special draw I just don't wanna pay the extra money. I've got a GOHUNT account that shows draw odds and a bunch of other stuff. If you want PM me the area you're hunting and I could look it up for you.

Yes point cheap is a problem, I have 13 deer points and now the area I want is 15 points.
No matter what happens buy your points every year, it will happen one year.

Sounds like when I asked my grandpa how old I had to be to sit at the grown up table. He would ask how old are you? My response 12. Well you have to be 13. Next year, same question, answer well you have to be 14…

Outfitter at the TTHA show from Wyoming told me it takes 8 years to draw for an elk now as a non-resident.

Nope, not at all. Maybe for his area but NRs can draw with less than 8 PPs.

Here are the draw odds for the Regular draw last year: https://wgfd.wyo.gov/media/30130/download?inline

These were the odds for the Special draw last year: https://wgfd.wyo.gov/media/30128/download?inline

5 PPs could get you a General license in the draw last year..
We've got some good LQ areas that can be drawn with 11-12 PPs.

8 years is a stretch.

last year paying for the "special" was about equivalent to adding one preference point...i.e.- you could draw with 4 instead of 5pp...

Thank you, that is what I was wondering. May do that in a year or two then.