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Hunting Application Season is in Full Swing

It seems like hunting has evolved from planning an outdoor excursion with your family and friends that revolves around a hunting camp full of close friends and family to an exercise in becoming a Vegas odds statistician so you have the best chance at even drawing a tag.

Gone are the “good old days” of working all year to that last minute trip to the local hardware store to get your tag, go home to pack your hunting gear and then head out to your favorite camping spot with family and friends for opening day of hunting season. The younger generation probably doesn’t remember this, and it is truly unfortunate.

Now, it seems that “hunting season” is a year-round exercise in hunt applications in multiple states hoping to draw one somewhere, just so you can hunt. Now, obviously, if you are the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, you can always resort to a farm/high fence hunt, but it turns out that there are only about 500 of those folks, so for those of us in the cheap seats, we must rely on luck of the draw. Or do we?

As for us “normal” folks, we just want to hunt. I don’t know about all of you that are reading this, but I truly just want to hunt. Application season seems like just a way to put a little hope in our souls that we “might” get to go hunting in our home state and in our favorite spot, but sadly, when the draw results come out, obviously more of us get a lump of coal than a coveted tag.

Speaking of the “good old days”, do any of you remember when you would buy your tag, go out opening weekend and harvest a “nice” 2-point buck, or even better a nice “4 by 4”. Man, you were on cloud nine and called (you couldn’t text a pic, you had to actually draw a visual picture in your friend’s mind with words) all your friends, relatives, and really anyone that would listen to hear your story about the “great” buck that you got.

Today, you know what we celebrate? That we even got a stinking tag! Check out social media in the spring and it is loaded with people who are so excited that they even got a tag. Kind of a sad commentary on our “hunting lifestyle” these days and painful reminder that there truly were “good old days” of hunting.

So as not to be too negative in my approach about this subject, there is still one small glimmer of hope, and that is Idaho outfitter allocation. If you are interested in booking with an Idaho hunting outfitter, us or any others who have an allocation, you can be assured that you will be going hunting the year you book. You will have a guaranteed tag and an opportunity to go out (hopefully with family and friends) and explore Idaho’s amazing backcountry real estate and big game.

Allocation, like anything worth while and regulated by government is on the chopping block this legislative session in Idaho. It seems that some don’t like outfitters having guaranteed tags so that nonresident people like you can come to rural Idaho, spend money locally and truly make a contribution to small town America. That’s right. You coming to rural Idaho towns with your sportsman dollars really does make a difference and us small town residents are truly grateful for your contribution.

So, get out there and play the “tag application game” in all those states (including Idaho), but be sure to visit with an Idaho outfitter as, at the very least, a “back up” plan to hunt this year.

Good luck in the draws!

Happy hunting, and as always, be sure to take a kid hunting!