Rod Carpenter

After years of applying, I managed to draw an antelope tag this year. The way things are going, I’ll be in my 70s before I draw another one. With more hunting now requiring a draw, and each draw requiring more points to get, hunting close to home is getting harder to do. While that may sound all doom and gloom, there are still lots of opportunities to go hunting these days for those willing to be a little flexible.

A good example is one of my first out-of-state hunts. My brother-in-law invited me on a muzzleloader hunt for Roosevelt elk in Washington. I had never hunted with a muzzleloader, never hunted Roosevelt elk, and never hunted Washington.

The hunt did not get off to a good start. I borrowed a muzzleloader and practiced with it, but still wasn’t very good. When I got to the hunt, I discovered that I had forgotten my glasses, boots, and rain gear. Naturally it rained every day we were there. On the first day I bumped a spike but my soaking wet rifle refused to go off. On our third day I managed to find another spike. I had no faith that my wet powder would go, but decided to at least try. Sure enough, on my first shot, the cap just popped. He was still there, so I slapped on another cap and tried again. I was as surprised as he was when the gun actually fired. We found him down within 50 yards. Since then I have been on a couple more muzzleloader hunts, messed around with archery and hunted in other states.

While it is becoming harder to hunt in your own backyard on a regular basis, there are still lots of hunting opportunities available for those willing to get a little creative and do some traveling. Here are some suggestions on how you can hunt a little bit more.

First of all, children are a gold mine of opportunity. If you have kids, or grandkids, and aren’t buying them points and taking advantage of the mentored youth and first time hunter programs, you are missing out. If you start when they are young, they can have a tag at least five years in a row, with enough points to get you a tag every now and then when you apply as a party. Take the time to look at youth opportunities in other states. I can’t afford to apply in Arizona, but licenses and tags for youth are dirt cheap. For the last several years I have been buying points for my son. This year we don’t have the points to draw deer or elk here in Oregon so we cashed in his Arizona points, put in as a party, and are headed south for a Coues deer hunt in November.

Don’t be afraid to hunt other states. It isn’t getting any cheaper, but Idaho and Colorado still have over-the-counter tags in many areas. General areas in Montana and Wyoming aren’t terribly difficult to draw. The Coues deer hunt I mentioned only takes one or two points to draw as well. I will let you know how it goes.

Hunting somewhere new can be intimidating. I do as much online scouting as I can. I spend some quality time on Google Maps, and shave a few days off the end of the hunt so I can go down a day or two early to look around.

If you are willing to try for “non-trophy” game, then your chance of getting a tag goes way up. Most of us will never draw a bull moose or bighorn sheep tag. However, odds go way up if you are willing to hunt a cow or ewe. My friend Kyle had a great time hunting cow moose in Colorado. Here in Oregon it is no great trick to draw a cow elk tag every other year or so.

Be willing to expand your weapon systems. I confess that I am a rifle guy to the bone. I don’t care much for muzzleloaders, and even less for archery. That being said, I would hunt with a fork if that was my only option. Some muzzleloader deer and elk hunts here in Oregon can be drawn every year or every other year pretty easily. Even though archery deer and elk tags around here have gone to a draw, it looks like resident tags will still be pretty easy to get. The same holds true for other states you may want to explore. Primitive weapons tags are almost always easier to draw.

My final piece of advice is to expand to what might be called non non-traditional game. Pig hunting in California, Texas, and across the South is becoming popular. Many ranches sell hunts for exotic game. They cost more than a deer tag, but are less than a trip to Africa. Again, if you are willing to hunt non-trophy, they can be quite affordable. My buddy Lenny took his wife to Hawaii, and while she lounged at the beach, he went hunting. It cost him about $100 a day and he was able to harvest multiple animals.

Hunting definitely isn’t as easy as it used to be, but it is still very doable. After a year or two, the new area becomes the old area. You get used to and even enjoy shooting your shiny new muzzleloader. You add some new adventures to the old memory banks, and you get to go hunting.

Have a trick to get in more hunting? Share it with us at shootingthebreezebme@gmail.com.