At its simplest, point creep occurs when there are more applicants for a given hunt than there are available tags. Straightforward enough, right? While that definition is accurate, there are several caveats that complicate the issue. Rather than getting lost in the mechanics of point creep, my goal here is to offer perspective, specifically on how applicants can think about point creep, continue hunting regularly, and avoid sitting on the sidelines year after year.
Utah’s elk system provides one of the clearest examples of how point creep can accelerate. Over the past decade, Utah has increased non-resident elk permits by roughly twenty percent. During that same period, however, non-resident elk applicants increased by approximately fifty-five percent, more than offsetting the permit gains. Ten years ago, the most difficult-to-draw non-resident rifle elk hunts required 18 to 20 points, while the easiest could be drawn with around 13 points. Fast forward to the 2025 draw where the toughest-to-draw hunts required 27 to 29 points, and the “easy” options exceeded 20 points.
By comparison, Colorado tells a different story. The state issues significantly more non-resident big game permits, and while point creep certainly exists, it has not accelerated at the same pace outside of a small handful of top-tier elk units. Those premium units continue to creep at roughly one point per year, similar to Utah’s best hunts. However, across the majority of Colorado elk units, point creep has been far less severe. In fact, there are still more elk hunts that require 3 points or fewer than hunts that require 4 or more.
These two states serve as a microcosm of what is happening across the West. The key takeaway is that while some states and hunts are experiencing exponential point creep, others continue to offer consistent opportunities to hunt year after year. Unfortunately, for many hunters or applicants, certain premier hunts or even entire states may no longer be worth applying for, depending on financial considerations and tolerance for long odds. That’s simply the reality of public-land hunting in the modern era.
From my current perspective in my hunting career, this shift isn’t entirely negative. When hunters talk about the “good old days,” they often mean a time before draw systems, when game populations were high and most hunters were focused on harvesting the biggest buck or bull because they could hunt every year. My hope is that this era of point creep encourages hunters to place greater value on the experience itself—time afield, camaraderie, and the hunt—rather than solely on trophy size. As someone that has hunted in states that do not have a draw system, I’ve enjoyed easy-to-draw hunts far more than the ones I waited fifteen to twenty years to draw. They allow me to enjoy all the aspects of hunting with friends and family or solo without all the hoopla that surrounds “trophy” hunts.
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