Rich Landers: Only a lucky few get into big game

‘Tis the season of special big-game hunting permit lottery drawings – an anxious few weeks in which thousands of sportsmen are reminded that life is not fair.

Any licensed hunter in Washington can buy a tag and hunt species such as deer and elk. But the choicest hunting seasons and big-game units are rationed to the relatively few lucky winners in the special drawings.

These state-operated lotteries essentially are the only option for obtaining permits to hunt species such as moose, bighorn sheep and mountain goat (with the exception of state-authorized auctions and raffles).

The odds are stiff: Only one in every 16 people applying in the special permit drawings for a Washington moose tag will get to hunt this fall.

Special hunts are “special” precisely because everybody cannot participate. They offer the chance for hunting in areas with less competition, with options for bigger bucks and bulls or, for the meat-hunter, the chance to take an antlerless animal.

The drawings are to hunters what the NBA draft is to hoop fans. The results weigh heavily upon our plans, hopes and interest in the upcoming season.

And more often than not, the results leave us low.

Most hunters remember the old days in which every hunter had a single paper application for a particular species and they all went into a drum that was spun to mix the cards before they were hand drawn.

Some hunters seemed to get their names selected ever year while others would go luckless for 20 years.

Getting the property tax bill in the mail was just practice for all the groaning and moaning that went on when the drawing results were delivered.

The computer age and bonus point systems were supposed to bring relief – a joke to anybody who’s tried upgrading to a new Microsoft operating system.

Washington big-game hunt applicants learned last week that software issues fouled up the drawing for a small but unknown number of applicants.

A seven-hour system failure on June 15 erased the applications of anyone filing that day. Agency officials say they tried to contact everyone involved, but there’s no guarantee everyone got the word before the July 1 application deadline.

Two weeks ago, nearing time for the drawing, the company providing the online licensing service for the state was about six months behind schedule in getting the system ready.

“We were testing the system and working out problems right up to the last day,” said Dave Ware, Department of Fish and Wildlife big-game manager.

One of the final tests, which showed problems in computing bonus points, went through the system as though it were the official drawing, he said.

“Results were posted on our Web site and hunters started checking them. We had to roll back, fix the problem and do the actual drawing. Most of our complaints are coming from hunters who saw they were drawn for a permit in the test but didn’t get one in the official drawing.”

Outdoor Central is the company that provides the licensing service for Washington and 12 other states, including Idaho and Oregon.

“They’re good, but apparently they were overextended,” Ware said.

Frank Hawley, who oversees the department’s computerized licensing, said the contract gives the company 5.3 percent of the recreation revenue generated by the system, or roughly $1.5 million a year.

“We’re holding a portion of the payment because of the system being incomplete,” he said.

Meantime, hunters who might have been fouled by the system don’t have too many options now that the drawing is complete. They can get a refund on their $5 application fee and in some cases they can appeal for an extra bonus point.

If you’re young, no problem. If you’re an old-timer looking at the sunset of your hunting years, losing a drawing year is a stab in the heart.

By the way, Washington is one of many states using a “weighted” point system, which is considered to be more effective in making sure that luckless hunters eventually get a permit.

Every time an applicant is unsuccessful, he earns another bonus point to improve his odds for drawing a tag the next year. If you have been unsuccessful for three years, you will have three bonus points in next year’s drawing. In the weighted system, the points are squared to determine the number of times your application goes into the electronic drawing bin: Three points squared equals nine times your name goes in the hopper.

If you’re successful in the drawing, your points for that species go to zero for the next year.

Here are a few ways to improve your odds of getting a tag:

“Apply for hunts that generate fewer applications to improve your odds.

“Buy raffle tickets. Increase your chances with every ticket you purchase in raffles for coveted elk, deer, moose, bighorn sheep, mountain goat and turkey.

“Turn in a poacher. Hunters who provide evidence leading to a conviction can earn up to 10 bonus points as a reward.

“Never miss a year. Hunters who know they won’t be able to hunt in a given season can earn a point without risking the chance of drawing a tag and losing all of their accrued points. Instead of specifying a hunt number in the online application, scroll down to the “999” select points option. You pay the $5 application fee and get a bonus point without entering the drawing.

“Buddy up. A hunter with few bonus points can tap the bonus points of a generous friend by applying for a party permit. If you have one point for elk and your generous friend has nine points, the computer adds them together, divides by the number of hunters and, yahoo … you suddenly have five bonus points working for your application.

Of course, your buddy lost four points in the process, but that’s why he’s a good friend.

Maybe he’ll do the camp cooking, too.