Yes, you can hunt out West (4 Planning Tips)

You will most likely need to apply and draw tags, which can be a tedious and intimidating process. The tag application process is the mountain that blocks the western aspirations of many eastern hunters. Good news, the process doesn’t have to be so difficult, and you don’t have to go it alone!!

Here are some tips we’ve learned from our experience with Western hunting and the application process:

1. Define your goals and budget

Before diving into the application process, set your hunting goals and your budget.

If you are after trophy animals on a draw tag, it may take years of applying and building points before drawing anything. Some premium tags require applying for 20 years before having a chance to draw.

If you don’t have 20 years to wait, or you want to start having adventures now, you’re not out of luck. While the quality may not be as high as tougher-to-draw units, and hunting pressure will be a factor, there are tags available that you have high odds of drawing the first year.

Drew’s approach is a combination of high-quality, tough-to-draw tags, coupled with much easier draws and general tags. This allows for the opportunity to start Western hunting now, while working towards more aspirational and high-quality hunts once you’ve built up years of experience. The animals below were taken in general or easy-to-draw units on DIY hunts.

The decision to go with a DIY hunt or an outfitter will depend on your goals and budget. There are pros and cons to both, and many factors to consider. If you think the outfitter route is for you, check out Worldwide Trophy Adventures to help you book your hunt (more on WTA below).

2. Research and cyber-scout

Determining where to hunt may be even more intimidating than the application process. (And if you aren’t interested in potentially multiple years of learning an area before having success, skip down below to the “cheat code” section.)

Species, state, unit, trailhead…the West is vast, and you will potentially narrow your hunt plan to a single trailhead. This can be extremely difficult if you don’t have any local information to go off of.

If you’re going the DIY route, start with a tool like GoHunt or Eastmans. With these tools you can research every species by state, unit, draw odds, harvest success, trophy potential, and more. This will help you put your application strategy together.

Once you draw your tag, it’s time to start poring over maps to find the huntable land and specific areas to focus on.

Spartan Forge is our go-to mapping app, an essential tool for a hunt like this. Spartan Forge also has an AI chatbot called Cyberscout, which is essentially ChatGPT for hunters. You can ask questions about hunting regulations, gear recommendations, animal patterns…it pulls answers from 1000s of vetted sources. This will come in handy as you build your hunt plan. (Use code “seekone” for 20% off Spartan Forge.)

3. Apply on your own or use the “Cheat Code”

If you decide to apply on your own, use the tools mentioned above to find application deadlines for each state and species. Every state’s draw system is a little different, and it can get confusing. Some states have "preference points,” some do not. Some states have limited-entry units and general units, and some only have one type of unit. Some states require you to pay for your tag upfront, and others do not. Some states use unit numbers, and some states use “hunt codes” that you have to look up in the regs. Moral of the story: If you’re applying in multiple states for various species, learning each system will take time.

The “cheat code” we’ve been using for this process is the TAGS service through Worldwide Trophy Adventures. The TAGS service pairs you with a hunting consultant that learns your goals & budget. He then puts an application strategy together for you and even applies for your tags for you. Here’s the big advantage of using TAGS over other tag application services…

Worldwide Trophy Adventures is a hunting consulting group and the largest outfitter broker in the world. They’ve built their strong reputation by working only with top outfitters they personally vet. Their hunt consultants have local, insider knowledge from their outfitters across North America and the globe.

WTA also offers a “Book Now, Pay Later” service, which allows you to finance your big hunting adventures. And if an outfitted hunt is out of reach for you, WTA also offers sweepstakes for epic, once-in-a-lifetime hunts. (Don’t miss your chance to enter to win a hunt for “World Class Nevada Bull Elk” valued at $72,000.)

4. Buddy system

When embarking on an adventure of this magnitude, you’ll want a buddy to go with you.

I mean, who’s going to carry your tent, help spot for you, and pack your animal out? Sure, you could do it on your own, but it’s a lot more efficient and fun to have a buddy along, not to mention safer.

Many states allow you to apply as a party—multiple people apply together and draw together. This prevents you from drawing a tag while your buddy doesn’t and gets stuck on a long hiking trip with you.

While the Western hunting world is daunting and challenging, it can also be extremely rewarding.

Whether it’s a hunt for whitetail, mule deer, elk, antelope, or another species, it will be an experience you won’t soon forget. And there’s a good chance it will become an annual tradition. Good luck in the draw, and we’ll see y’all out there!

- The Seek One Team