Yes that is correct, preference points only count toward 1st choice hunts you apply for. If you did drew a 2nd or even 3rd choice you put in for your points would not go towards that tag.
Not sure what you mean by private land though - are you putting in for and hunting a unit with lots or private that should be easy to draw?? That used to be easy to do but if you look at last years draw results there aren't many units you can draw anymore as a 2nd choice, even in tough to find public land units.
Or are you hunting a unit set up like unit 23, that has type 2 tags that are specific to private land only? If thats the case you should be able to draw that as a 2nd no problem.
