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A Preview of My 2010 Lineup

January 27, 2010.

Coming off a relatively slow/unsuccessful 2009 hunting season, I had some grandiose aspirations for a big 2010. As it turns out, my wife and I are hoping to build a new house in the next year or so. The time and expenses associated with this, especially in this economy, are going to require me to be much more conservative with my 2010 schedule than I otherwise would have been.

The key for my 2010 planning is going to be "value" — hunts that offer adventure and the chance for a nice set of horns, but cost relatively little for what they offer.

These hunts offer that high-value proposition, and should be pretty easy for me to draw (some of them are sure things to draw):

  • Colorado limited-draw spring turkey - Time to cash in my preference points for a nice leisurely spring hunt in prime public-land turkey country.
  • Montana antelope - No species offers better value and greater fun than antelope. I figure there's a 75% chance I can draw a buck tag; if I do, I'll pick up a couple doe tags too.
  • South Dakota Black Hills whitetail - Not likely to produce big deer, but pretty country and a fun public-land hunt.
  • Dakotas mule deer on an Indian Reservation to-be-named - This one's a little more of an unknown quantity, but I think I might be on to something here.
  • Nebraska whitetails - No place in the western US offers better value than Nebraska.

I'll definitely put in for a few other high-quality limited draw hunts that I may or may not get. Tags that I stand a modest chance of getting include:

  • WY mule deer (25% draw odds)
  • CO muzzleloader elk (20% draw odds)
  • Wyoming Red Desert antelope (15% draw odds)
  • New Mexico oryx (15% draw odds)

My easy-to-draw hunts should add up to a pretty decent season in and of themselves. If I can get a little lucky and tack on some long-shot hunts too, I should have a pretty solid season -- all without breaking the bank.

And in the meantime, I'll still be building preference points for times when I'm spread less thin. Maybe 2011 will be that big year that I've been waiting for...

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