Time to finalize those fall vacation plans and apply for your favorite hunts!

Andy

Got a question from a friend,,,he asks: is youth considered 16 and under? Because there are several GMU's that offer 'any deer' for modern firearms. He is 16 at this time so he is definately hopping so.

Thanks.
C1

youth was 16 AND under 12 years ago and still is i think. one of those hunts was how i got my first deer

UNDER 16, not 16.

My Cousin wants to know if it would be a good idea for him to call the state to find out if there was any way for him to be considered under the "youth" category since his B-day is a ways after hunting season.
Or if it would be hard for him to get an any deer permit for that area.

Thanks,
Catch

Sorry, no exceptions. He should have started to hunt earlier in life. What do they tell kids who applied for the moose permit and didn't draw before they turned 16? Tough luck.

There are many things that you can do to increase your chances of drawing a special permit hunt tag.

1. Go over the special permit section for hunts within an acceptable driving distance to you. I would suggest making that an area within 100 miles, for starters.

2. Look at the hunts that had a lack of applicants and special permits went unused, or have a low ratio of applications / permits issued. There was one muzzleloader unit last year that didn't get any applications, and the permits went unclaimed. If you can get your odds under 1 chance in 4, you're doing good. Some hunts have odds as high as 1 chance in 40 for deer. (If you think those are steep odds, your best chance with Bighorn sheep starts out at a little better than 1 in 500, the worst are about 1 in 1400. I'll probably draw a sheep tag about the time I turn 45, I'm 36 now.)

3. Hunt with a different method. Check out muzzleloading. Fewer people, longer seasons and many units are ANY DEER.

4. Do what I do and save your points for a quality area. Apply for only one hunt in an area that you know holds good animals. I have not drawn for my particular area in the past 4 years, so I am almost certainly due for a tag.

5. Complete the AHE/master hunter program. I have drawn 3 cow elk tags in the last 4 years and filled every one because of this program. Average odds of drawing an AHE elk tag are 1 in 2, unless you are going for Quinault ridge.

Best of luck.

Andy