UPDATED--Myths and Inaccuracies Related to Quota Hunts

QuotaLady

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Jun 19, 2008
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569
Location
Nashville,TN
  • If you miss putting in one year, your priority points are not affected. You won't gain that year, but you won't lose any either.
  • One quota hunt doesn't affect the other. If you are drawn for a Spring Turkey hunt, it will not influence your priority status or bearing on whether you will be drawn for a WMA hunt.
  • If you are drawn for ANY hunt choice, your priority point status will reset to zero for the following year and you will not gain a point for that year. Example: if you put President's Island for your first hunt choice and Oak Ridge for your second hunt choice and you have 5 priority points, your points were used to award you your second hunt choice and your priority points balance for the next year will be zero.
  • Your priority is YOURS; the only time party priority is considered is during the drawing. Priority points are rounded to the nearest number. If you have 2 points and your buddy has 0, you are going in the 1-point priority point category.
  • Regardless of the mistake made on an application you can correct it...UNTIL the deadline passes! You can review your application on the website https://quotahunt.gooutdoorstennessee.com/Hunts/CustomerLookup.aspx
  • There are NO priority point systems for the Elk, Youth Elk and Season Long WMA Waterfowl quota hunts.
  • TWRA's quota hunt program does not have a "buy a point" feature, BUT new for 2021, you have the ability to submit a "Points Only" application. This option is available for individual applications only and not an option for party applications. The application period for a point only application is the same as the regular drawing application.
  • Number of drawings and number of hunt choices are two completely different things. You may choose 1 drawing and enter up to 15 hunt choices on your application. You may also choose 2 drawings and enter only 2 hunt choices.
  • If you are hunting in a party, the first one in your party will "create a new party" and therefore be the party leader. The party leader chooses the number of drawings and the hunt choices and whether to allow lower priority members to join the party. The party leader can add members to their party during the creation of his/her application. Members must submit their TWRA ID number and their last name to the party leader for this option. The other option to join the party is for the party leader to give you his/her 6-digit party number and you log in and apply to join the party. The party number links the leader with the member so that if the leader is drawn, all the members are drawn.
  • Your application is NOT complete and I have NO record of it, until you get a confirmation number. When applications are accepted into the quota hunt system, it sends the confirmation number back to notify the user that their application is complete and in the system.
  • You will get a new party number every year. They do not carry over from one year to another.
  • You DO NOT have to apply with the same folks every year. You can apply alone one year, in a party of 10 the next and a party of 5 the year after that. It will not affect your priority status. The exception being if you allow lower priority members to join your party.
  • Obtaining leftover permits does NOT affect your priority point status. Those permits are allocated after the drawing.
  • How applicants are selected: The drawing program sorts applications by priority from greatest to least. A random number is assigned to each party leader (EXCEPT for WATERFOWL, see bottom for those drawing specifics). The drawing program runs through the applicants from smallest number to largest. The hunt choices are considered in the order that they are put on the application. If there is quota available for the first hunt choice, the application (regardless of whether it's an individual or party application) is awarded that hunt and the drawing program moves on to the next applicant. If the first hunt choice has no quota available, the drawing program then examines the second choice, and continues in the order choices are submitted, until it comes to a hunt choice with quota available or runs out of choices. If the application runs out of choices before a choice with quota available is found, the application is marked as unsuccessful and the drawing program moves to the next applicant.
  • The quota is reduced by the number of applicants in the party when a hunt choice is awarded. Example: is the quota is 50 and the application awarded to that hunt has a party leader and 4 members, the quota available for that hunt is reduced to 45.
  • The draw system is designed to overfill the quota in the case where there is only one quota remaining and the application selected is a party application. For example, there is one quota left for a hunt and the application selected has a leader and 4 members. The party will be successful and the system will overfill the hunt by 4.
HUNT SPECIFIC INFORMATION

ELK

If you are successfully drawn for an Elk hunt, you are prohibited from being successfully drawn again for 10 years.

Sandhill Crane
You are required to pass a Sandhill Crane identification test every year.

WATERFOWL
  • All applicants (Individuals, Party Leaders and Party Members) are assigned a random number during the initial phase of the drawing. If you have a party of 8, your party will have 8 chances of being drawn.
  • Each individual is required to submit an NOI to retain their permit award.
  • Each individual is required to submit a Post Season Survey
 
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TNGunsmoke

Well-Known Member
2-Step Enabled
Joined
Sep 7, 2011
Messages
6,763
Location
Jackson,TN
Maybe you can clarify what went on with the Season Long Duck Blind drawing.

The website says is:
"If the applicant's first choice is available, it is awarded. The program then moves on to the next applicant's first choice. If the applicant's first choice is not available, the program moves to that applicant's second choice, either awarding that choice if available (and moving on to the next applicant), or if not available, the program moves to the third choice, etc."

But it has been widely said online that that is not the way the draw actually worked, that instead it worked as follows:

If we were selected and our first pick was not available we would be awarded our next highest preference. You were just skipped after your first pick was selected until everyone's 1st pick was gone, then it went through everyone's 2nd pick and so on and so on and so on.

I'm not making any accusations, and if it did indeed go the second way, I know it's too late to do anything about it. I'm just curious as to which way it actually worked, and if the widely discussed second method, then it should be corrected before the next draw period for the 3/4/7 day hunts.
 

arickettsjr

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 5, 2021
Messages
88
Location
Maryville
@QuotaLady

Can you clarify this? Why the need for numbers of they are already sorted in order of priority? Is this for point holders at the same level?

"How applicants are selected: The drawing program sorts applications by priority from greatest to least. A random number is assigned to each party leader (EXCEPT for WATERFOWL, see bottom for those drawing specifics). The drawing program runs through the applicants from smallest number to largest."
 

megalomaniac

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2005
Messages
14,602
Location
Mississippi
What percent of the elk hints are allocated for non-residents? To my knowledge, a nonresident has never been drawn for any elk hunt in any unit with any weapon.
 

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