Definitely a stray from the original poster’s point but……
Point systems and the resulting point creep are a broken system in my opinion. They help only those that got in early, in most states anyway. How do I tell my 15 year old son to start spending money to buy points, in Colorado for instance, when top point holders are sitting on 30 points or so( 30 years), and still are not able to draw a top tier tag which will result in next year a ton of people going into the draw with 31 points (point creep). Mathematically if he lived to 100 years old he would never draw. So who did it benefit? Only those that got in the first year or two……maybe.
Iowa may not be that bad now but it could get that way with demand.
I have given it a ton of thought and I believe a total lottery system or a point bonus (name goes in the hat as many times as points you have since your last draw) is the fairest system. At least then you have an equal chance. Sure maybe one guy will hunt 4 times due to lucky draw and another never will but at least we all have the same odds.
And celebrity tags? Get rid of this Rich man / Popular man system! We need no promotion for Iowa hunting, the deman already surpasses the work load, and how unfair is it that the rich and famous get preferential treatment? What a dumb concept!
I have watched hunting become more and more of a rich man’s sport and it saddens me for my soon to be born grandson. Will he be able to knock a door, throw some hay or mend a fence in exchange for hunting rights? It is looking doubtful. Whether it be rich residents or non-residents buying up and locking down that land, or leasing, or outfitters, or ______ (fill in the blank), the averageresident is the one who suffers in the long run.
I think every state should take care of their own residents. I have no problem with a state that reserves a max of 10% of all tags to NR hunters. If I want to hunt there bad enough I’ll take my chances or move there to improve my chances.
My rant is over. I’m headed to do a workout in preparation for my NR elk hunt this fall in one of the few states with over the counter opportunities. I’m sure that too will soon end. The glory days of hunting in the US might just be in the rear view mirror.