2018 western hunting application deadlines

We are already halfway through December and that means application season is right around the corner.

Dates and Deadlines

Below is the tentative 2018 state application deadlines, application strategy article release dates and tentative draw result dates. These dates will be modified as each state releases more information. As of right now, they are based on previous years' deadlines by looking at what day of the week they are typically released or the even the exact calendar date they tend to follow.

We release INSIDER Application Strategy articles three to four weeks before the state deadlines. This gives you plenty of time to check out the new regulations, unit boundary changes, herd dieoff information and tag allocation changes before you try to draw your dream tag. The 2018 Draw Odds update will be made available the first part of January 2018. Another benefit to our online presence is you will have access to the latest and best information possible to help you prepare for hunts (we don't have to rush to publish tentative application information to meet print deadlines). Also, once an application strategy article is released, INSIDERs will be able to click on the date of release in the table below to view the entire application strategy. In the meantime, you can always access Filtering and Draw Odds to start your research ahead of when we publish each state's application strategy article.

Note: A lot of the draw result dates listed below are different than the typical ones the state publishes in their regulation booklets. The dates below are updated when the state released the deadline for 2018 and/or the exact day they released them in years past to give you a general guideline of when to expect the results. Most states go on a typical trend in releasing draw results and a lot of times they release them well before their listed date. That is why we list both the state claimed result date, and the actual result date.

* December 1, 2017 was the first-day nonresidents can start to purchase deer and elk tags (except Sawtooth elk tags).

You can also see all of the important western hunting deadlines on our INSIDER Basecamp page. That is sort of like your INSIDER "homepage." You can find a quick link to Basecamp in the upper right-hand corner of the screen if you click on the INSIDER button. We keep that page updated with all the latest dates and deadlines.

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Reviewing Our Old 2017 Application Strategy Articles

The best way to gain an understanding of how a state’s draw system works is to pay close attention to our Application Strategy Articles that are available from January through May. These articles are strategically released to coincide with upcoming hunt application deadlines across the states that we cover.

If you’re unfamiliar with our Application Strategy articles, you will quickly realize we do things a little differently. These application strategy articles are focused on how you can gain an edge on trophy units as well as over-the-counter units and they provide important tables, charts, and graphics to help you understand key information.

Another great tactic this time of year is to review our old Application Strategy articles. This can be especially useful if you're thinking about applying in a new state. All of the links to the old 2017 Application Strategy articles can be found below.

Application season can be very overwhelming and we try to keep it simple with an easy to follow schedule of article release dates. Some of the Application Strategy articles are released within a small window, but that is done to ensure we are providing the best possible information to our users. Different states release their regulations and herd information at tight windows to the application deadline. So we strive to release these articles with all the information possible. One of the best supplements to our Application Strategy articles is Filtering and Draw Odds. Both are always available for you to start your 2018 research.

Filtering 2.0

Filtering 2.0 tools example. You can learn more about Filtering 2.0 here.

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We now cover nine western states on INSIDER (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming). The Filtering tool is an industry first that provides you with the ability to search for hunt choices that meet your criteria. You can filter by state, species, season, weapon type, trophy potential, draw odds, dates of availability, harvest success and male:female ratios. In addition, you can search for over-the-counter only options if desired. This is revolutionary in helping you to take literally thousands of unit choices and quickly narrow it down to only a few. Think of the time and money this potentially saves you each year!

Draw Odds

A blurred out sample of Draw Odds on INSIDER.

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We are actively testing our 2018 Draw Odds and we expect them to go live around January 1. We will not only have updated odds available, but you'll also be able to see year-over-year draw odd trends.

Best of luck in the 2018 draws. Feel free to reach out to us at any time if you have questions.

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