The populations can vary from zone to zone or even within a zone, I’m lucky in that I own a bush quarter surrounded by crop land on three sides. It’s been in my wife’s family since 1914, homesteaded by her grandfather. There is a landlocked bush quarter to the west of us, also surrounded by crop. My biggest problem is keeping trespassers off my land, the locals know about the animals on my quarter.
Hunting Draws (Province to Province)
- Thread starter bbobie
- Start date
The populations can vary from zone to zone or even within a zone, I’m lucky in that I own a bush quarter surrounded by crop land on three sides. It’s been in my wife’s family since 1914, homesteaded by her grandfather. There is a landlocked bush quarter to the west of us, also surrounded by crop. My biggest problem is keeping trespassers off my land, the locals know about the animals on my quarter.
john-brennan
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Vancouver Island B.C.
I agree, it sucks how they do it here in BC
We don’t have party hunting, but for moose we can get a partner authorization, an extra $12 and you get authority to hunt with someone who does get drawn. You must be within close proximity to the person with the tag. Only one person gets the partner authorization and with our group it fills in for the years you don’t get drawn. I believe you can only get the partner authority for moose though, I could be wrong. Elk for the most part are OTC, except for cows which you need to be drawn for.
barry1974w
Regular
- Location
- Central B.C.
I own some good habitat also, my parents have a bunch more. Trespassing is always an issue here to. But to be honest I don’t actually hunt on our land that much. I’ve taken a couple moose and some deer. But I spend most of my hunting time elsewhere. I mostly seem to hunt my place if I’ve only got a little bit of time and want to stick close to home.
barry1974w
Regular
- Location
- Central B.C.
I tend to disagree. How would you suggest they make it “fair” and predictable to draw a moose tag with 175:1 odds?
I’m at the point where I only hunt mine and my families property. Between them we have everything I buy tags for. Age has something to do with it
Yep. And they typically have access to the list of zones, and what Pri level you need to be at to expect to get a tag.
I thought they had a pretty solid system there, the guys that were willing to hold off for long periods, could cash in, with a reasonable surety of getting a tag in the zone of their choice, when they finally decided to use their points.
Here in BC everybody goes into the pool, and everybody has about the same odds of being drawn a second year in a row, or every year. Which of course means that some guys get drawn regularly, and others never do. I'd not be disappointed to see a priority system put in place here too.
About the only draw i put in for when I do bother, is the Mulie Doe tag draw in my home WMU. Lots around, usually 90 percent or better odds of getting drawn. But I have a full freezer, so have not bothered of late.
Well, I just looked up a random spot with a long wait. So 3 tags available and 142 applied and it ends up being a priority 13 draw or a 14 year wait. But after a few years of putting in and building priority you can just apply in another area with better odds if you so choose and know you are going to draw a tag.
Real long shots where the list would be too long to get a tag are lottery, and once in a lifetime tags. You get it once, you're out.
Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
BC I don’t bother with draws since with the exception of Roosevelts and bison, everything up to stone sheep and mountain goat has open season / over the counter zones. Grizz were 100% draw, but many zones had better than 1:1 odds meaning you were guaranteed a tag every year if you hunted the right zones. System works fine for me as if I wanted to enter for a draw, I can peruse the odds and looks for areas that are a gimme. If you’re dead set on hunting the mountain behind your house and aren’t interested in travelling the could be different, many southern zones have long odds.
I really like the priority system in Alberta,but again,it’s more of a “wait yer turn” system then a lottery,it would be nice if they would allocate maybe 10% of the quota to random luck of the draw so a guy at least has a slim chance of drawing a tag every year rather then waiting on the sidelines for 6-7 years for a guaranteed priority tag.
barry1974w
Regular
- Location
- Central B.C.
I’m at the point where I only hunt mine and my families property. Between them we have everything I buy tags for. Age has something to do with it
Ha, I feel where you’re coming from. I still like getting out with the wall tent and going for a couple good trips. But not as many as I used to. My son is getting older though, so far the older he gets, the easier it gets. Couple more years and he can start to hunt under my tags. Just gotta figure out how to get him to stop talking.......
barry1974w
Regular
- Location
- Central B.C.
barry1974w
Regular
- Location
- Central B.C.
So if you draw one of the 10% and loose your priority points on a year when you haven’t planned for that hunt, doesn’t it kinda defeat the purpose? Or does your model have the choice of the random draw OR adding a point??
We have the choice to either try for a tag,or select code 999 which is priority only.
For instance,let’s say the WMU where I want to hunt antlered moose.I know from the historical data that it usually requires a P6 to guarantee a tag,and perhaps 20% of the P5 applicants will also be drawn.Nobody will be drawn from P4 and lower.Theres really no point in applying for a tag if you are P4 or lower,might as well just 999 it and build another point.
So if the quota for the WMU is 100 tags,and 80 P6 applicants apply,they all get tags.If 50 P5 app,icants apply,the remaining quota (20) will be drawn from the P5s,30 of those guys won’t get drawn.Theres no quota remaining for anybody P4 or lower.
I’m saying I’d like to keep the status quo of awarding tags based on priority,but maybe instead of all 100 tags going to the P6 and P5 pools,maybe award 90 tags based on priority and 10 tags by random draw so that even a P1 has at least a slight chance to win a tag without waiting 6 years.....or if you are a P1,2,3,4 etc and have other hunts planned and/or priorities that are maturing,ie;you know you are most likely gonna get your antlerless elk with a P3 this year,so you really don’t want to draw a moose tag as well,you could still choose to just 999 your moose and build P and not end up with more tags then you really want for the year/more meat then you can use,need to buy another freezer,split your efforts between elk n moose hunting,extra vacation time taking away from your deer season etc etc.
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barry1974w
Regular
- Location
- Central B.C.
Ok, so you would have the option of just buying a point. That makes sense I guess. The BC system is far from perfect, but I dont think it’s too bad. I’m not sure if a priority system would work for us due to the vast difference in demand for LEH in different zones.
You should take a good look at the Alberta system, the info is all on line. The demand for the different zones there is no different. To get a moose tag in some zones, you need to be Pri 12 or higher. Other zones are able to buy tags outright because there are fewer applicants than the tags available after the draw is done. So it varies a lot from zone to zone.
With the ability to add Priority points annually, by entering the code 999, you can build up Priority until you can be reasonably certain of getting the Zone you want, and the Season you want, if you are willing to wait. Or you shop the zones for one that shows the odds in your favor.
Putting in for the draws there was a walk up to the counter at WalMart or wherever. Swipe your card, enter some number codes, pay the couple dollars per draw, and wait. No dicking around with finding the card, filling it out, sticking it in the mail, wondering if it even got delivered.
Suka
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Best part of AB's system is you can literally plan your hunts 4 or 5 yrs in advance.
Can hunt calling season moose and hunt elk every year. Lot's of good pheasant hunting, numerous opportunities for deer tags, not to mention the, "extra" hunts available like Wainwright. Antelope getting winter hit hard a few yrs ago put a lot of pressure on the draw which will take quite awhile to stabilize. Can even hunt sheep regularly if you like.
What's not to like?
Can hunt calling season moose and hunt elk every year. Lot's of good pheasant hunting, numerous opportunities for deer tags, not to mention the, "extra" hunts available like Wainwright. Antelope getting winter hit hard a few yrs ago put a lot of pressure on the draw which will take quite awhile to stabilize. Can even hunt sheep regularly if you like.
What's not to like?
Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
BC’s all online for draw hunts these days, best system of all for ease at least.
Or better yet for everything but bison and roosevelt elk just buy an over the counter sheep/goat/elk/moose/caribou tag and hunt an open season zone.
Yes it is really bad in BC. I lived there for 10 years and never got a buffalo draw (or any other species), but witnessed a girl and her father both get drawn for buffalo two years in a row. I stopped entering after that.
Then I moved to Sask, they have a much more sensible priority based system here, and hunters in my circle of friends get a species draw regularly (every 3 to 5 years), depending on zone, species, proximity to the big centres. The only down side is if you get drawn for more than you can handle, like three draws above the regular whitetail season, you can't decline. You have to use it or loose it, either way you are back in D pool, and must wait another 4 or 5 years to get into A or Super A.
Antelope in Sask is another story. Way too many hunters and not enough tags to go around. I have not had any luck with the antelope draw.
