How do other states work for a hunter to selected to hunt an area and draw a tag? I am asking to see if it is comparable to how Our state of Alabama is going about with the system of selecting hunters for the SOA hunts.

It’s not comparable.

Almost all other states with quota hunts have a preference point system. You apply every year with no chance of getting the hunt until you build enough points. Georgia for example is similar to Alabama in the way you apply, but it limits the number of hunts you can sign up for. The draw data is published so that you can know how many points it takes to be selected for a hunt at each wma. If the wma generally takes two points to get drawn, then you will get drawn with two points, any remaining spots will be filled with people who have ones. The people who have zero don’t have any chance of drawing. So the breakdown would be people who’ve waited 3+ years have a 100% chance of drawing, 2 years may have a 10% chance, and 1 year would have a 0% chance. That’s the way it is done almost everywhere, except when chuckie does it. Then it’s a free for all.

Leave it to AL to try and figure this out when there are several western states that have perfected it decades ago!

While we are on the subject of out of state hunts, can someone explain what the difference is in a draw hunt and an Over the Counter tag? Are there different areas within the same state for which you can get drawn and other areas where you can purchase a tag over the counter? I've never actually looked into it, but the way I hear people talk it seems like they hunt some states every year and I thought "there's no way they got lucky enough to get drawn for that state every year"

Some states have a draw, and there are tags left for over the counter purchase on a first come basis.

Some states out west have draw zones or units and otc units

Some units may be draw for certain seasons then otc for other seasons.

Some states even residents may never get a tag for certain species in certain units.

And some are “once in a lifetime “ tags. Or you’ll have to wait a certain number of years to apply.

Just depends on animal and demand vs supply of older males in the herd.

Tennessee has a good draw system.

Comparing Alabama to western and midwestern states is dumb. Alabama is not and never will be a destination state for trophy deer hunters. Modeling our licensing structure after theirs makes no sense and is just going to drive away OOS hunters.

Agreed we have so many more hunters and so much less land. Last thing we need is to make hunting more exclusive. To that end, I'm thinking more and more that a trip out west once a year to kill an elk or muley would be more rewarding and cost effective than hunting here Alabama. There's a good plan out there for an OTC CO cow elk hunt for $1,000. Add a bit more for a bull elk and you're still around the cost to join a mediocre club or lease here.

I do a Western hunt every year or so instead of a Drama Lease here in AL.
Just do public stuff here.

I've looked at some of the OTC tags and areas for cow elk. It's meat in the freezer, a nice trip, and no drama or stupid political money-grab bullchit with idiotic "baiting privilege license" fees or "define the area" crap or other mess. Plus, the Rockies are gorgeous. I think Colorado has some units with OTC cow elk tags.



It would be nice to be able to do this in Kentucky for cow elk but they reduced the number of tags. Tourism people in eastern Kentucky along with some rich assholes who want to see and hunt more bull elk pressured the DNR to reduce the number of hunting tags. So now they have more elk than their management goals and can't thin them via hunting. A few more years like that and they'll have problems, just like with bears in Gatlinburg or New Jersey or Florida.

Hunting politics are stupid.

Based on Alabamas tendency to try and reinvent the wheel, they would adopt another state's successful system and make enough changes to it to screw it up

The truest statement you'll see on the interwebs this week.

Two fields that politicians need to stay completely out of are Law Enforcement (other than putting laws on the books, which they usually end up screwing up anyhow) and Wildlife Management.