One thing I was happy to see was if you apply for multiple hunts within a hunt category, all of your points count on each application within that category. That should help us public hunt veterans get drawn on categories that have a lot of points accumulated, assuming that there are several hunts in it. Doesn't help on single hunt categories like pronghorn though.
I also think a lot of high point holders will get drawn this season because of that very reason and because of the second round draw. I personally don't want to just get drawn in a category. The reason I have double digit points in most categories is because I mostly only apply for the more exceptional individual hard to draw hunts. It was tempting to be like a kid in a candy store and apply to several hunts, but in the end I did not give in and most of my applications are still for a single highly sought after hunt in each category. This year, I am probably just as less likely to not draw anything as I ever was. But maybe, just maybe, I will be more likely to draw those seemingly impossible to draw hunts in the future if that pool of high point veterans that always for them gets significantly smaller.
It would be real interesting to see the full stats of the public hunt draw showing how many applications, how many loyalty points drawn applicants had, how many non residents apply and draw, how many drawn don't pay and don't show up, and so on. I am sure there are still hunters out there applying for hard to draw hunts they don't want to draw as a way to gain preference points, including adding zero point family members to reduce their draw odds. Especially non residents. I saw it in print on one of the multi state drawn hunt how to type websites. I would like to see the stats from last year to this, to see how it played out. The state was very dumb to not give a preference point only option, and to not require a previous or current year hunting license for non residents. Or to require it for all applicants. They have done nothing prevent any national anti hunting groups from blocking a hunt by flooding with easy cheap applications as they have done to hunts in other states before. In fact they made it easier for them to do so.
