Somehow, on 30% odds, I managed to draw a big game combo in Montana for the second year in a row. Man am I pumped! The only bad thing is my buddy who hooked me up with a local connection last year, and went along for the ride and meat dragging despite not having a tag himself, got sent to Iraq earlier this year so will be stuck in the sandbox while I'm out hunting again.

We're planning on going in with a spike camp this year to avoid the 16-mile round trip hikes every day. Hopefully we can arrange horses to pack in the camp so I can find room in my pack to take the Omega X7 for the dark timber.

Wow, congrats! Is the Big Game Combo deer and elk?

congratulations on the upcoming hunt. It sounds really exciting. I am sure your Omega will take care of the problems for you.

Excellent Spaniel. Now all you have to do is wait, and wait, and wait. What will you hunting dates be?

It's odds like that (and money of course), that makes me not apply for those dream tags. You had better buy a lottery ticket now and who knows. Good luck and let us know how you do. If you hear from your bud in Iraq, thank the man for a great service he is providing for us here.

spaniel

You really must be living right! congrats....

Stories and pictures are a must...

Yes, the big game combo is deer/elk. If you do a search I posted pics of both, got a really nice bull and an ok muley (was afraid I'd be eating the tag at that point). Unfortunately the Omega stayed in the truck last year.

We will be going the second weekend, around Halloween. We would rather look a little harder for the elk than deal with other hunters. They all go out the first 3-4 days and then we have the mountains virtually to ourselves by the time we arrive.

This year I'll also put in for an antelope tag, they are stupid easy with firearms (maybe I'll take my bow to get some challenge if we have more than a day left for them). However the odds there last year were 21% to draw so it's by no means guaranteed.

Yes, the tags are expensive and you must play the odds game. However I think 30% odds are much better than a lottery ticket! The cost part is not fun, but I look at it two ways. 1) My wife "gave" me an elk hunt about 5 years ago for Christmas, and last year I finally "got" it. 2) You don't draw every year. So basically I'm saving up for it the years I don't go. After this year who knows, it may take 3-4 years to get to go again.

Also, I am a do-it-yourselfer and hike in. So I hunt for a small fraction of the cost of guys who take guided hunts. I spend an ungodly amount of money on preparing for the hunt last year, but that's because I needed a ton of gear I did not have. They year, I have to spend very little outside the cost of the tag and renting a 4X4 to drive out there.

I have a coworker who applies each year for some trophy unit in Utah. It takes a minimum of 9 years to draw (guaranteed wait!) I am told, and you have to pay $100 a year. On top of the actual cost when you draw the tag. Yet when he finally gets it, the bulls are HUGE and success almost 100% due to the strict management practices in the unit.

These lottery tags are a strategy and waiting game. If I had more vacation each year and knew a few more people out west, I'd find another state or two to apply to and hunt with a local for a year so I could put multiple applications in different states and the do DIY hunts with more frequency. But it's a heck of a drive from the midwest so it's impossible for me to hunt more than1 a year.

Congrats on the tag.