My consistency in applying for premium hunts paid off for me in Iowa with this 199-pound, 11-point whitetail.

The difference between bonus and preference points is significant. In the preference-point system, applicants with the most points are guaranteed to draw tags, while those with fewer points are guaranteed not to draw. So it’s critical to acquire preference points each year so you eventually will rise to the top to guarantee yourself a tag. The number of preference points required to draw can vary greatly. In Colorado, Iowa, and Kansas, two or three points will guarantee you a deer tag. In Colorado, you’ll need 15 or more preference points to draw some premier elk units.

Bonus points simply give you additional chances in the tag lottery. That is, the more years you apply and fail to draw, the more times your name goes into the hat the next year. This system never guarantees that you will draw a tag, but it never guarantees you will fail to draw, either. Every year, people with no bonus points draw premium tags, while others with a dozen or more points fail to draw. Still, the more points you have, the better your odds. So it pays to acquire as many bonus points as possible. Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and Montana are states that award bonus points.

New Mexico and Idaho have no point systems, and everyone has an equal chance of drawing every year. Idaho restricts the number of species a person can apply for, so the odds of drawing in Idaho for rare species like sheep, moose, and goats are better than average compared to other states.

TO DEMONSTRATE THE value of applying consistently, I’ll relate one of my first limited-entry hunts, in the whitetail Mecca of Iowa. On a summer scouting trip, my dad and I had got permission to hunt a farm and located a likely stand site where the corner of an 80-acre woodlot came within 50 yards of an old service road. A small farmstead lay to the west of this corner, and hundreds of acres of harvested crop fields spread to the east. The corner seemed an obvious bottleneck, although I questioned whether a mature buck would cross the scant cover into our timber during daylight hours. Later that summer, my dad placed a stand in that corner. It would be huntable with a northeast wind.

On the blustery morning of November 3, I arrived at the property too late to hunt a favorite feeding area stand, which left Dad’s corner stand as my only option. The windy conditions would not promote deer movement, and this was an unproven stand site. I was skeptical, but had no choice.

At first shooting light, I was strapped into the tree, facing into the harsh wind. After about 10 minutes, I surveyed the open fields and fenceline and turned my back into the wind and thought of what a long day this could turn out to be.

Minutes later, through the rhythmic howling of the wind, there was a thrashing noise from the crossing area. I turned and was shocked to see a 250-pound whitetail moving double-time across the service road, through the ditch, and toward my shooting lane. I grabbed my bow, snapped the release onto the string, and as he paused quartering away at 13 yards, I sent a scalpel-sharp Muzzy through his vitals.