Starting the Points Game — A New Hunter's Guide to Western Big Game Draws

Western big game tags for the best hunts are awarded through a draw, and most states use a point system that rewards you for applying every year. This guide explains how draws and points work across Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and Nevada for a hunter starting from scratch: what a point is, how the draw works, and how to apply your first year without wasting time or money.

Percival is going to be straight with you from the jump, partner. This post is not written for the hunter who's been at this for fifteen years and has a spreadsheet tracking preference points across four states. That hunter is welcome to stay (maybe there's a nugget in here for you too), but the seat at the campfire Percival is pulling up right now is for the hunter who is just getting started.

Maybe you've heard the term "preference points" and nodded like you understood it. Maybe you've got a handful of points in one state and aren't sure what to do next. Maybe you have "bonus points" and don't know the difference from one state to the next, or which point systems each state actually uses. Some use both. Maybe you've been hunting general seasons and Over The Counter (OTC) your whole life and you're starting to wonder what this whole draw game is actually about. Whatever brought you here, you're in the right place. Pull up a chair.

What a Draw Tag Actually Is

Most states in the West don't let you just walk into a sporting goods store and buy a tag for their best big game hunts. The tags are limited (the state only issues so many per year), and they're distributed through a draw. You submit an application before a deadline, the state runs the draw, and either your name comes up or it doesn't.

The hunts that go through a draw are generally the better ones. More controlled pressure, better animal quality, less competition in the field. The tradeoff is that you might not draw every year (or even every few years), depending on what you're after and how many other hunters want the same thing.

That's where points come in.

What Points Actually Do

Most western draw states use some version of a point system to give consistent applicants a better shot over time. Every year you apply and don't draw, you earn a point. That point goes on your account for that state and that species. The next year, you apply again, with one more point than you had before. Keep doing that, and eventually your point total gets high enough to draw the tag you're after.

That's the core of it. Apply every year. Accumulate points. Draw the tag when your number comes up.

Simple in concept. The part that trips up new hunters is that each of the five main western draw states (Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and Nevada) runs its system a little differently. Same basic idea, meaningfully different mechanics. Understanding which state does what changes how you should approach each one from year one.

The Five States: What You Need to Know in Year One

Here's a plain-language breakdown of how each state's system works, written specifically for a hunter who's starting from scratch.

Colorado: Pure Patience

Colorado currently runs what's called a pure preference point system. The tags go to the hunters with the most points, top to bottom. No exceptions for most hunts. That means if you're new, you're at the back of the line, but you're building toward something real with every year you apply.

The important news: Colorado is overhauling its entire draw system starting in 2028, moving to a 50/50 split where half the tags go through a random draw open to everyone, including hunters with zero points. If you start building Colorado points now, you'll be in a strong position when that door opens. Our Colorado 2028 draw overhaul guide has the full breakdown.

Wyoming: Points Plus a Random Shot

Wyoming uses preference points for its nonresident draw, but with an important twist: 25% of nonresident tags go into a dead-even random draw. Zero points and fifteen points have the same odds in that pool. As a new hunter, you have a genuine shot at a Wyoming tag in year one: not a great shot, but a real one. Apply every year and work both sides of that system.

Wyoming also lets you buy points without entering the draw, so you can start building your position without committing to a specific unit yet.

Utah: Built for the Consistent Applicant

Utah is the one state where you need to know upfront that there are actually two separate point systems running side by side, and they work very differently. A lot of hunters get tripped up here, so it's worth being clear.

For general-season hunts (general buck deer, antlerless deer, antlerless elk, doe pronghorn), Utah uses a preference point system. Tags go top-down to the highest point holders, just like Colorado does right now. If you're at the bottom of the point stack, you don't draw. There's no random floor. You're simply building toward the day your points are high enough.

For limited-entry hunts (elk, limited deer, pronghorn), Utah switches to a bonus point system with a 50/50 split. Half the permits go to the highest bonus point holders. The other half go into an open random draw that every remaining applicant enters, regardless of points. You're in that random pool from day one. Bonus points also earn you extra entries in the random half, so they help you even before you hit the top of the list.

The key takeaway: if someone tells you Utah is a "preference point state," they're half right. If they tell you it's a "bonus point state," they're also half right. Which system applies depends entirely on what you're hunting. For most hunters chasing elk, limited deer, or pronghorn (the hunts worth building toward), the bonus point system with its random floor is what matters most. Utah rewards exactly the behavior you want to build anyway: apply every year, accumulate points, stay patient. The floor of opportunity is always there.

Arizona: The Door Never Closes

Arizona specifically designed its draw to keep every applicant in the game. The draw runs three passes. The first pass issues up to 20% of each hunt's tags in descending bonus point order, starting with the deepest point stacks and working down until that 20% is gone. Hunters with zero points sit that one out. The second and third passes are open to all remaining applicants, including you, on day one. You're never fully locked out of an Arizona draw, and every point you build improves your position in that second pass.

Arizona also has a Hunter Education bonus point: a permanent, once-in-a-lifetime point that never goes away, even after you draw. If you've completed a hunter education course, Arizona credits that point automatically.

Nevada: One Pool, Everyone In

Nevada is the most straightforward system for a new hunter to understand. There are no separate tiers, no preference pools. One random draw, every applicant in it together. Points don't guarantee anything: they multiply your entries. Zero points earns you one entry. Three points earns you ten. Five points earns you twenty-six. The compounding is fast, and consistent annual applications pay off quickly.

One rule to know cold: if you miss two consecutive application years in Nevada, all your points for that species are wiped out. Start over from zero. Apply every year without exception. Percival has watched good hunters lose years of work to that rule. Don't be one of them.

The One Move Every New Hunter Needs to Make

Here's the thing Percival wants you to hear clearly: the single most expensive mistake a new hunter makes is waiting.

Points are time. Every year you don't apply is a year of accumulation you can never recover. The hunter who started building Arizona bonus points five years ago is in a meaningfully different position than the hunter who starts today, and in five more years, that gap compounds further. You can't go back and get those years.

You don't need to know your target unit before you start. You don't need to have everything figured out. What you need to do is get your application on file this season (in as many of the five states as makes sense for your species goals) and start the clock running.

Here's something worth knowing before you start the clock: the entry cost is not the same in every state, and for nonresident hunters it's more than just an application fee. Most western draw states (Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and Nevada) require you to hold a valid nonresident hunting license before you can even apply for a tag or purchase a point. Wyoming is the notable exception, allowing NR hunters to purchase preference points without a hunting license. That NR license fee is on top of the application fee, and in most states it's nonrefundable whether you draw or not. The exact amounts change annually, so always verify current fees directly with each state agency before applying. But going in with the expectation that each state could cost you a meaningful fee per year is the right frame of mind.

Across five states that's a real annual investment. Which is exactly why having a strategy matters. Spreading application fees across states where your odds are low and the draw floor is far out of reach is a slow way to spend money without progress. Knowing which states give you genuine annual opportunity at your point level, and which ones are pure long-term accumulation plays, is how you make sure every dollar is working toward something.

Quick Reference: Year One by State

What Comes Next

Once you're in the game (applications filed, points accumulating), the next step is understanding what your points are actually worth. How many hunters are ahead of you? How many tags went out at your point level last year? Are you closing the gap on the unit you want, or treading water?

That's where the real strategy starts. Our western draw strategy guide maps out the full picture: how to balance point-building states with states where you have real annual odds, how to spot the gaps in your portfolio, and how to make sure every application season has a purpose. When you're ready to dig deeper into how point creep affects each state differently, the point creep breakdown is worth the read. And if you're weighing whether to burn the points you've built or keep accumulating, the draw portfolio guide gives you the framework to make that call. When you're managing points across multiple states and want a personalized strategy for where to burn and where to build, The Prospectors Playbook builds that roadmap.

One more thing for hunters just getting started: you don't have to wait for points to have a real shot at a tag. Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, and Nevada all give zero-point hunters genuine draw odds every year. The zero-point draw strategy guide breaks down exactly how each state's random floor works, and how to use it while you're building your long-term position.

For now, get in the game. That's the move.

Frequently Asked Questions