What is the benefit of the draw hunts - 02/27/21
I'm on my third year in Alaska and having lived in remote areas, I haven't paid attention to the draw hunts.
I'm planning to move onto the road system this coming year so I figured that it was time to start paying attention. When the results came out this last week I was shocked at the number of guys who were angry at now drawing any tags, and who seemed to plan on sitting out the year and not doing any hunting.
So, what gives? Hunting for all of the common animals is available to residents each year, so why are these guys willing to sit out the year just because they didn't draw a limited tag?
I guess having lived in Wyoming I just can't understand sitting out a year, when there are general tags available. In Wyoming/Colorado/Utah the draw hunts tended to be in premium units, or were structured to reduce hunting pressure, or both. But if you didn't draw a tag, you went with your plan B and hunted on one of the over the counter general tags(if available).
So I guess my real question is: what makes the draw hunts so desirable? I know that some are managed for trophy quality. But it seems that there is more to it than that if not drawing a tag is keeping guys from hunting at all. Does it boil down to an access issue? Are guys wanting to draw so that they can drive to the hunting area instead of flying/boating/hiking in? Are they staying home because they don't have a boat or don't want to fork out the cash for a flight?
Thanks in advance.
Jason
I'm planning to move onto the road system this coming year so I figured that it was time to start paying attention. When the results came out this last week I was shocked at the number of guys who were angry at now drawing any tags, and who seemed to plan on sitting out the year and not doing any hunting.
So, what gives? Hunting for all of the common animals is available to residents each year, so why are these guys willing to sit out the year just because they didn't draw a limited tag?
I guess having lived in Wyoming I just can't understand sitting out a year, when there are general tags available. In Wyoming/Colorado/Utah the draw hunts tended to be in premium units, or were structured to reduce hunting pressure, or both. But if you didn't draw a tag, you went with your plan B and hunted on one of the over the counter general tags(if available).
So I guess my real question is: what makes the draw hunts so desirable? I know that some are managed for trophy quality. But it seems that there is more to it than that if not drawing a tag is keeping guys from hunting at all. Does it boil down to an access issue? Are guys wanting to draw so that they can drive to the hunting area instead of flying/boating/hiking in? Are they staying home because they don't have a boat or don't want to fork out the cash for a flight?
Thanks in advance.
Jason