I live in Wyoming so I'm not all that familiar with other states.
Wyoming is a drawing only deer tag for non-residents. And yes, they use a prference point system, but they have a built in system in the drawing that allows a smal percentage of first time aplications to draw a tag. Otherwise, what would be a guys motivation to even put in? And inWyoming, you apply for a REGION, not just one hunt area. A region will have anywhere from around 8 areas up to 12 or more. That allows the non-resident to hunt a much larger part of the state than just on particular area.
Oh, and we got Mulies!I've seen mulies on public lands that I thought were elk!We also have more public land to hunt than any neighboring state. Nat'l Forrest, BLM, State sections, and a lot of private land that is accessable to hunt called "Walk-in" areas.
The application period in from Jan 1, to Mar 15. Check out a lot of info at:
http://gf.state.wy.us/index.asp
Another unmentioned difference between hunting white tails and mulies, is that the deer season here is BEFORE the rut (for the most part anyway). No mulie hunting during the rut. Mulies can be in heavy timber to open sage covered flats and ridges.