2019 Western Big Game Hunting Application Deadlines
It's already that time of year again... application season!
2019 dates and deadlines
In the table below you will find the tentative 2019 state application deadlines, application strategy article release dates and tentative draw result dates. These dates will be modified as each state releases more information. Currently, they are based on previous years' deadlines by looking at what day of the week they are typically released or even the exact calendar date they tend to follow.
If you're new to goHUNT, we release state-by-state INSIDER Application Strategy Articles three to four weeks before each state deadline. We feel this is the perfect length of time for you to check out the new for 2019 regulations, unit boundary changes, herd dieoff information, and tag allocation changes before you try to draw your dream tag. Keep in mind, that you can always research for your upcoming season by utilizing our Filtering 2.0 tools well before we release each state's application strategy article. The 2019 Draw Odds update will be made available the first part of January 2019.
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 article.
Note on draw result dates
Waiting on draw results can seem to take forever! And we understand that. Currently, the draw result dates are each based on when the 2018 results were released. As application season starts cranking up, I'll run through each state and provide either a concrete result date that we receive from the state or a result date based on the yearly trend of the states. Each year we get questions on why our draw result release dates don't exactly match up with what you might find in the regulations. But... our results dates listed are actually more accurate based on how some states release their draw odds early every year. 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 once regulations start to pour in, we will list both the state claimed draw result date, and the actual result date from the year before.
Also, tentative application deadlines are used until each state release their 2019 regulations. So for example, in 2019, Arizona's application deadline will be February 12 because their application deadline is always the second Tuesday in February. Nevada is typically the third Monday in April, etc.
2019 Application Strategy article publish date, state application deadlines and draw results | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
State | Species | Strategy article released | State application deadlines (bold are state approved dates) | State draw result dates |
Idaho | Deer & Elk OTC* | NA | See below table | NA |
South Dakota | Deer Preference Points | NA | December 15 | NA |
Alaska | All species | NA | December 17 | 2019 draw result release date: Feb. 15 See 2019 results here |
South Dakota | Deer (archery), Youth | NA | January 1 | NA |
Wyoming | Nonresident elk | Jan. 8 | January 31 | 2019 draw result release date: Feb. 21 @ 10:00am MST See 2019 results here |
Arizona | Elk, antelope | Elk - Jan. 19 Antelope - Jan. 22 | January 15 (paper) February 12 (online) | 2019 CC hit date: March 1 2019 date: March 8 - (Portal Account results) |
Oregon | Black bear | NA | February 10 | 2019 draw result release date: Feb. 20 |
New Mexico | Black bear | NA | February 13 | -- |
Utah | Black bear | NA | February 25 | 2019 draw result release date: March 6 |
Arizona | CC Update Deadline (elk, antelope) | NA | February 28 | -- |
Wyoming | Moose, sheep, goat, bison | All species - Feb. 11 | February 28 | 2019 date: May 9 @ 9 a.m. PST See your 2019 results here |
Utah | Mule deer, antelope, elk, sheep, moose, mountain goat (all species) | Elk & Antelope - Feb. 18 Deer - Feb. 24 Sheep, Moose, Goat - Feb. 28 | March 7 | 2019 CC hit date: May 10 2019 results date: May 13 - Emails sent |
Nevada | Mule deer guided draw | Feb. 14 | March 11 | 2019 draw result release date: March 28 (results were emailed) |
Montana | Deer, elk | Elk - Feb. 13 Deer - Feb. 20 | March 15 | 2019 draw result release date: April 22 See 2019 results here |
New Mexico | Guided draw (all species) | Feb. 27 | March 20 | 2019 result release date: April 17 See 2019 results here |
New Mexico | All species | Deer/Elk - Mar. 10 Sheep/antelope - Mar. 6 Exotics - Mar. 15 | March 20 | 2019 result release date: April 17 See 2019 results here |
Utah | Bonus Point | NA | March 21 | NA |
North Dakota | Bighorn Sheep, Elk, Moose | NA | March 27 | 2019 result release date (elk & moose: April 18 See 2019 results here |
Colorado | Mule deer, whitetail deer, elk, antelope, bighorn sheep, moose, mountain goat | Deer - Mar. 11 Elk, Antelope - Mar. 20 Sheep, Moose, Goat - Mar. 26 | April 2 | Sheep & goat 2019 result release date: May 3 See 2019 results here Deer, elk, moose, antelope: 2019 result release date: June 5 See 2019 results here |
South Dakota | Special Buck | NA | April 12 | ** |
Kansas | Nonresident deer | Utilize Filtering 2.0 and Draw Odds for hunt research | April 26 | 2019 draw result release date: May 27 See 2019 results here |
Nevada | All species | Deer - April 3 Elk & Antelope - April 7 Sheep, Goat - April 16 | April 29 | 2019 draw result release date: May 24 See 2019 results here |
Idaho | Moose, sheep, goat | April 9 | April 30 | 2019 draw result release date: May 17 See 2019 results here |
Montana | Moose, sheep, goat, bison | April 19 | May 1 | 2019 draw result release date: June 17 See 2019 results here |
Nevada | Bonus Point/App Modify | NA | May 6 | NA |
Oregon | All species | Deer - May 2 Elk, Antelope - May 5 Sheep, Mtn Goat - May 9 | May 15 | 2019 draw result date: June 19 See 2019 results here |
South Dakota | Elk, sheep, goat | NA | May 22 | 2018 date: June 4 |
Washington | All species | Utilize Filtering 2.0 and Draw Odds for hunt research | May 22 | 2019 draw result date: June 13 See 2019 results here |
Wyoming | Resident elk | Jan 8 | May 31 | 2019 draw result date: June 20 See 2019 results here |
Wyoming | Deer, antelope | Deer, Antelope - May 15 | May 31 | 2019 draw result date: June 20 See 2019 results here |
Montana | Antelope, Deer B, Elk B, Antelope B | Antelope - May 9 | June 1 | 2019 archery result date: July 15 See 2019 results here 2019 rifle result date: Aug. 8 See 2019 results here |
California | All species | Elk, Sheep - May 23 Deer, Antelope - May 24 | June 2 | 2019 draw result date: June 11 See 2019 results here |
Iowa | Whitetail | NA | June 2 | 2019 draw result date: June 21 |
Idaho | Deer, elk, antelope | Deer - May 17 Antelope - May 22 Elk - May 22 | June 5 | 2019 draw result date: June 25 See 2019 results here |
North Dakota | Deer | NA | June 5 | 2019 draw result date: June 25 See 2019 results here |
Arizona | Deer, sheep, bison | Deer, Sheep, Bison - May 20 | May 14 (paper) June 11 (online) | 2019 date: July 5 (Portal Account) See 2019 results here |
Kansas | Kansas Elk, Antelope & Resident Deer Application Deadline | Utilize Filtering 2.0 and Draw Odds for hunt research | June 14 | -- |
South Dakota | Deer Muzzleloader, West River, East River, Black Hills Custer State Park, NWR Deer | NA | June 14 - paper June 19 by 8 a.m. CDT online | 2019 draw result date: June 27 See 2019 results here |
Utah | Antlerless | NA | June 20 | July 11, 2019 |
Nevada | Deer 2nd Draw | Mid June | June 24 | 2019 draw result date: July 12 See 2019 results here |
Wyoming | Leftover Deer, Elk, Antelope | June 20 | June 24 - June 28 | 2019 result date: July 11 See 2019 results here |
Montana | Nonresident alternate list | May 15 | June 30 | 2019 result date: July 10 See your number on the list here |
Nevada | Second draw points*** | NA | July 1 | NA |
Idaho | Grizzly bear | Not approved for 2019 | Not approved for 2019 | Not approved for 2019 |
Wyoming | Grizzly bear | Not approved for 2019 | Not approved for 2019 | Not approved for 2019 |
Wyoming | Leftover Deer, Elk, Antelope (first come, first served) | NA | NA | Available after July 15, 2019 |
Utah | Utah leftover general deer, elk and youth | June 12 | NA | Available on July 16, 2019 |
Nevada | First come, first served | NA | NA | Available July 22, 2019 |
Arizona | Leftover mule deer, coues deer, javelina | July 8 | NA | Available July 22, 2019 See article for more info |
North Dakota | Resident only 2nd deer drawing | NA | July 24 | -- |
South Dakota | 2nd draw for East River, West River, Refuge Deer | NA | Paper: July 26 Online: July 31 | -- |
Arizona | First-come-first-served leftover tags available | July 8 | NA | Available July 29 |
Colorado | Leftover deer, elk, antelope | July 31 | NA | Available starting August 6 See article for more info |
North Dakota | Antelope | NA | August 7 | 2019 result date: August 14 |
South Dakota | Antelope - Firearm | NA | August 9 | August 15 |
Montana | Surplus 900-20 antelope, antlerless deer and elk | Aug. 5 | Starting August 12 | NA |
Idaho | 2nd Controlled Draw | Aug. 2 | August 15 | 2019 result date: August 22 See 2019 results here |
Arizona | Spring bison, bear & javelina | NA | October 8: Online ONLY | 2019 date: Oct. 30 (portal account) |
* December 1, 2018 was the first day that nonresidents could start to purchase deer and elk tags (except Sawtooth elk tags).
** Note: I've included some states that we currently don't cover on INSIDER for reference.
*** During Nevada's second draw, you can pick up points only for the species with hunts available in the second draw.
Bonus/preference point only deadlines | ||
---|---|---|
State | Species | State deadline |
South Dakota | Deer | December 15 |
Utah | All Species | March 21 |
Nevada | All Species | April 29* May 6* July 1* |
Kansas | Whitetail | April 26 |
Iowa | Whitetail | June 2 |
Montana | All Species | July 1 to Sept. 30 |
Oregon | All Species | July 1 to Nov. 30 |
Wyoming | Antelope, deer, elk, rocky bighorn, moose | July 1 to Oct. 31 |
* Nevada technically has three periods when you can purchase points; April 29 when the main draw closes, May 6 when the bonus point application/application withdrawal period closes and July 1 when the Second Draw closes. During Nevada's second draw period and July 1 deadline, you can pick up points only for the species with hunts available in the second draw.
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, deadlines and important INSIDER information.
Reviewing Our Old 2018 Application Strategy Articles
One of the best ways to always stay up to speed on everything hunting research-based is to gain an understanding of how a state’s draw system works through our Application Strategy Articles that are available from January through June. 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'll quickly realize we do things a little differently. These application strategy articles are focused on helping you to 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 for finding the best unit that meets your individual needs.
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 2018 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 2.0 and Draw Odds. Both are always available for you to start your 2019 western hunting research right now.
Filtering 2.0
As of April of 2019, we now cover 12 western states on INSIDER (Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming, and Washington). The Filtering 2.0 tool is an industry first that provides you with the ability to search for hunt choices that meet your personal hunting criteria. You can filter by state, species, season, weapon type, public land percentage, trophy potential, draw odds, dates of availability, harvest success, number of bucks and bulls taken in each unit, and even male:female ratios. In addition, you can search for over-the-counter only options to extend your season. Filtering 2.0 is revolutionary in helping you to take hundreds of unit choices in a state and quickly narrow it down to only a few. Think of the time and money this can save you each year!
Draw Odds

A blurred out sample of the Draw Odds view on INSIDER.
We have been busy the past several months testing our 2019 Draw Odds and we expect them to go live around the beginning of January. We will not only have updated odds available, but you'll also be able to see year-over-year draw odd trends to help track draw trends and points creep.
Best of luck in the 2019 draws! And as always, feel free to reach out to us at any time if you have questions.
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