Wyoming applications for mountain goat, moose, sheep, and bison are due April 30th
The good part is that you are not required to purchase a hunting license to apply. The bad part is that you are required to submit the cost of the tag with the application.
There is a point system for sheep and moose, but mountain goat and bison do not acquire points. The point system is preference. The trick here is to apply in areas that also have random draw, because extra points do not help in the random draw.
Idaho applications for sheep, moose, and mtn goat are due April 30th
Idaho is a little tough. First you need a hunting license that runs around $200.00, then there is the processing fee and the trophy processing fee.
So, you are in it over $300.00 that you don’t get back, plus now you must submit the $2600 plus tag cost with the application!
Maybe, with these prices, it is a blessing that they only allow one species application!
One thing I hear that people like is the fact that there is no point system and because of the one species limitation, the odds or the both better and the same for all applicants.
Montana applications for sheep, moose, mtn goat, and bison are due May 1st
Montana costs around a hundred dollars including the point fee to apply for each of these species. There is no point for bison. They square the points for the other species, so the pool must be similar to the national debt, and it is a random draw, so your odds get worse each year. The good part is that you are not required to submit the tag cost with the application.
Nevada applications are due May 8th
Nevada applications require that you first purchase a hunt/fish license for $156.00, then each application costs $14.00 except elk, which for whatever reason is $19.00.
They have a bonus point system and they square the points. Good system for the first few years, but after that, your odds actually go down. I have 32 points for a Desert ram. Sure, I have as good a chance as anybody, but because of the pool size, my odds are not as good as they were last year.
The one change this year is that a nonresident can apply for a mountain goat hunt. Brings back memories of a Himalayan snowcock hunt there in the Ruby Mountains. We got out of the truck at 8600 feet, climbed up and up, sat down and observed mountain goats below us. By the way, I was younger then.
Outside of the trophy quality in every species, the big draw is the for a Desert bighorn. Nevada gives more Desert tags than any other state. My wife did shoot one in the Black mountains next to Lake Mead. Rented a boat, and spotted the ram from the lake. That was fairly easy as packing the ram downhill to the boat was not bad.
Applications allow for 5 choices for each specimen, and all five are considered before they move to the application.
Nevada has Desert sheep, Rocky Mountain sheep, and California sheep. Nonresidents can apply for Desert and California, but not Rocky Mountain.
Nevada applications are due May 15th
Oregon is tough, First, you must buy a $172.00 license, and spend 8.00 for each application. The license is not bad, the application is not bad. The tough part is that they only allow 3 to 5% of the tags for nonresidents for deer elk and antelope, and 75% of the tags go to the applicants with the most preference points. The good part is that there is no point system for Bighorns and Mountain goats.
Washington applications are due May 15th
What can I say? Washington's good hunting overall is over! Wolf numbers (that they admit to) are now 260. Any kind of math you apply will document somewhere over 10,000 ungulates we trade every year for wolves. Rumors are that the commission does not believe that hunting is a useful way to control wildlife. I can’t disagree. With the wolf number increasing over 20 % each year, and cougars on top of that, and the tribes that laws do not apply to; There is not much room left for us.
It is sad, but the Mountain Goats are managed as strictly here as any state, Moose are here, You just have to hunt harder and probably longer as there are far fewer of them, and believe it or not, cow tags are still being issued.
We have excellent bighorn sheep opportunities. If you draw a good bull elk tag, you will probably get a good bull. It is not what it once was, but I apply anyway.
