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Wyoming Game and Fish Department Big Game Preference Points |
The preference point system is designed to
improve an applicant’s odds of eventually drawing a license in a hard-to-draw
hunt area. Preference points are utilized in conducting the resident and
nonresident moose, resident and nonresident full price bighorn sheep,
nonresident elk, nonresident deer and nonresident antelope drawings.
Seventy-five percent (75%) of available licenses in each hunt area and license
type will be allocated to the preference point drawing. Applicants with the
highest preference point ranking will receive priority in the preference point
drawing. The remaining twenty-five percent (25%) of available licenses will be
allocated in a random drawing regardless of preference points. The random drawing is intended to provide everyone
who applies a chance of drawing a license, regardless of their preference point
total.
All applicants will participate in the preference
point drawing even if they have no preference points. After the preference
point drawing is completed, all unsuccessful applicants will then participate
in the random drawing.
A youth applicant wanting to be awarded
preference points must be at least eleven (11) years old at the time of
submitting an application for a big game limited quota license in the initial
drawing and must be at least twelve (12) years old when in the field hunting.
A youth applicant wanting to purchase preference
points only must be at least eleven (11) years old at the time of submitting a
preference point only application and must be at least twelve (12) years old by
December 31 of that year.
Preference points are assigned to the person’s
sportsperson identification number and are tied to a species, but not to a
specific hunt area. You are allowed to
apply for different hunt areas from one year to the next.
Preference points shall not be restored when an applicant
causes more than one customer record to be generated due to using a different
last name, first name, date of birth or last four of their social security
number. Such circumstances cause
preference points to be accumulated under different sportsperson identification
numbers and ultimately deleted for failure to apply under the same sportsperson
identification number. Exceptions may be
made for a name change because of marriage or divorce.
Any preference points awarded in 2024 will be
available for use in the 2025 initial drawings.
No person may apply for, or be awarded, more than
one (1) preference point per species in the same calendar year.
If you were successful in drawing your first
choice in the initial draw, you are not eligible to purchase a preference point
during the preference point application period.
Please refer to the Department’s website for the
application period to apply online for the purchase of a preference point. There is no application fee to purchase a
preference point only.
If a person fails to either apply for a drawing for
moose or full price bighorn sheep or purchase a preference point during the
preference point application period for two (2) consecutive years, all
accumulated points for that species will be lost.
Moose and Full Price Bighorn Sheep Preference
Points (Residents and Nonresidents)
For moose and full price bighorn sheep, preference
points can be accumulated either by submitting an application for the limited
quota drawings or by purchasing a preference point during the preference point
application period using the online system as per the dates on pages 2-4.
Applicants must elect to be awarded a preference
point when submitting their moose or full price bighorn sheep application. Applicants who are unsuccessful drawing a
moose or full price bighorn sheep license and elected the preference point
option will be awarded the preference point at the conclusion of the draw. Nonresidents will have the applicable moose
($150) and/or full price bighorn sheep ($150) preference point fees deducted
from their license refund. Residents
will receive a full refund of their license fee.
If you do not participate in the limited quota
drawing for moose or full price bighorn sheep or did not elect to be awarded a
preference point if unsuccessful, you may purchase a preference point during
the preference point application period using the online system as per the
dates on pages 2-4. The resident fee to
purchase a moose or full price bighorn sheep preference point is $7. The
nonresident fee to purchase a moose preference point is $150 and the
nonresident fee to purchase a full price bighorn sheep preference point is $150.
A successful applicant for Type 4 moose must wait
five (5) years before they will become eligible to participate in either the
limited quota drawing or purchase preference points.
Full Price Elk, Full Price Deer and Full Price Antelope
Preference Points (Nonresidents Only)
For nonresident full price elk, full price deer
and full price antelope, preference points can be accumulated by purchasing a
preference point during the preference point application period as per the
dates on page 4.
For nonresident full price elk, full price deer
and full price antelope, an individual’s accumulated preference points are only
considered in the initial drawing for the applicant’s first choice in the
preference point drawing.
Drawing a license for your second or third choice
does not cause preference points to be deleted and the applicant will still be
awarded a preference point for the year.
For nonresident full price elk, full price deer
and full price antelope, an applicant will lose all accumulated preference
points if they draw their first choice license in the initial limited quota
drawing or if they fail to purchase a preference point during the appropriate
application period for two (2) consecutive years.
For party applications, all of the applicants’
preference point totals will be averaged to the 4th decimal point to
determine the preference point ranking used in the initial preference point
drawing.
There are no preference points for reduced price
cow/calf or reduced price doe/fawn licenses.
Applicants for reduced price licenses do not lose their preference
points if successful in the reduced price license drawing, nor do they
accumulate preference points if they are unsuccessful drawing these license
types.
Some suggestions when applying for licenses: to maintain your preference points, do not
apply for an easy-to-draw area as your first choice. If you do and are successful, then all of
your accumulated points will be deleted and the odds of drawing a license in a
hard-to-draw area will be diminished for several years until you build up
preference points again. If you desire
to hunt more often without sacrificing your preference points, continue to
apply for your preferred (hard-to-draw) hunt area as a first choice and apply
for easy-to-draw hunt areas as your second choice. By reviewing the random
drawing odds from previous
years, you can find hunt areas with good odds of drawing a license as a second and
possibly a third choice. On the other hand, it is nearly certain you will draw
a license in a hunt area with 100% odds listed for the second choice drawing. However, be advised that drawing odds can and
do change from year to year as applicants shift their preferences for specific
hunt areas. The prior year’s drawing odds are a useful indicator of relative
odds, but provide no absolute guarantees.