Hi Folks,
Just wanted to give everyone that has helped me an update. I have sheep and some goat and elk applications in all the states except for California. Instead of applying for just 1 NR tag in Ca I'm going to buy an extra Raffle ticket for the Grand Slam Raffle. I feel a lot better sending my money to Grand Slam Club/Ovis instead of California Division Of Wildlife.
Couple things I've learned that might help someone as I've been helped here.
#1 Join Carter's!!! I was going to try to do this without joining and was spending so much time trying to figure out how to apply, where to appy and when to apply that I finally threw in the towel and joined and then kicked myself for not joining earlier!!!! Folks, to people (like me!) that are not familiar with the draw process and have no "Western" hunting experience, Carter's is perfect. They tell you where to apply, when and how. I'm not sure where I'd be if I didn't join but I have applications in all the sheep states because I did (if that makes sense).
#2 Apply in as many states as you can afford. I was going to apply in only the states that didn't require purchasing a NR hunting license but changed my mind and went ahead and applied (except Ca.)to increase my chances.
#3 Get preference points whenever possible. I was going to try the "lottery" way and not accumulate points as it can get expensive, but I decided to since I'm going to try to keep doing this until I draw a tag.
#4 Ask questions. I was trying to figure this out on my own and kept hitting my head against the wall! I started asking questions here and have always got straight answers that I'm sure will help my chances of drawing a tag.
#5 Start a filing system. I quickly became overwhelmed with regulations and application forms. I got a notebook with pocket dividers and a calendar. I have a separate divider for each state, this is where I keep all the receipts, licenses, ticket stubs, etc. I also have listed what animals I applied for. ( I applied for Ibex in NM ! Can you believe it?) On the calendar I mark when the application is due and try to have the application sent in or done on-line 2 weeks before it's due.
#6 Buy wife flowers! I had to buy my wife some flowers because she has been behind me 100% throughout this process! She's been very understanding regarding the checks going out and the credit card bills coming in, I'm truly blessed my friends!
Hope this helps and if anyone has any other helpful hints please share them!!! Thanks and have a great day!!! Joe

Looks like you've got a good handle on things, now keep it up year after year and someday you will be as lucky as RamDreamer!

1 suggestion though: Make sure you have a good credit card that gives you rewards such as airline miles or something. I personally have the Cabelas card and get a lot of free gear each year thanks to all the applications I use it for.

I am glad you are getting in your applications. I am also a member of Carters to help me pick what units to put in for.

Yesterday my grand slam ticket order form went in the mail.

Looking for number 1 -
Too bad you think that joining Carter's Huntin Fool Magazine is your ticket. I've subscribed, off and on, to it for years and the more I see and do research the less likely one is to draw a tag if they follow Carter's advice. In fact, just in the last two month's Garth Carter advised his members to apply for sheep or goat or moose in Idaho before April 30th because idaho was to start a prefernece point program this year for non residents. That turned out to be wrong advice and Carter himself and his staff knew of this prior to April 30th and did not advise their members of such! I even called the Idaho Game and Fish Dept and they confirmed they were not implementing a preference point program this year and went even further and stated to me on the Phone: "Of all the magazines out there giving advice Carter and The Huntin Fool probably know the least". Virtually all of the information he dishes out monthly can be found on respective state game and fish web sites, ie, harvest stats, changes, application deadlines, costs, etc. If you follow his advice you are less likely to draw the permit because his subscribers apply as he advises and thus the odds of drawing go down. Just check the application trends for non resident mule deer applicants in Nevada and you will see such. As one notable booking agent in California once said to me about Garth Carter and his Huntin Fool magazine: "He is running a booking agency without the liability" That is why he calls himself a hunting consultant as opposed to hunting booking agency. And his spoiled kid Jason, uses it to promote himself as a hunting guide in Nevada and Utah. In fact, when the non resident lawsuit was overidden last year by the Reid Amendment effectively negating the gains Montoya vs Arizona reaped for non resident hunting, Garth Carter did not even report on such in his magazine. Do yourself a favor and subscribe to The Hunting Report Newsletter. It costs half as much, is much more unbiased , and has much more timely information.

#1,
I am on a similar plan and it has worked well for me. In my fourth year of applying for sheep tags, I drew 42-2 in Idaho which is a California Bighorn tag. I have only good things to say about the Carters and the service they provide. Good luck with the draws.

Warren - as you should know - Idaho is different. Since they do not offer bonus or preference points and the applicant must pay the unrefundable license fee just to apply, it keeps the pool of prospective applicants lower than any other state in the west. Therefore your odds of drawing are better than say Colorado or Montana. To Give Carters credit for drawing a 42-2 tag shows how off base you are. All that data is available IN ADVANCE OF THE DRAW, via the Idaho web site AND they send it out to prospective non resident applicants in paper form as well. As I said before, you just got lucky in a state that has the best draw odds. Look at the draw or applicant trends in other western states and if you do the research you will find odds of drawing (statistically) go down if you follow Carter's advice. In fact this year, and you can check the Nevada non res guided results, Carter himself listed the top 5 Nevada non res mule draw units, and low and behold there is his name on the ANevada web site as an unsuccesfull non res for an area that he did not even recommmend his subscribers to apply for! Carter is a sham!

Sometimes it is useful to see what everyone else will apply for, so that you can avoid those units.

Warren,
and you do not need to apply to Carter's huntin Fool magazine to see what others apply for.
as i said before, you can get all of that info prior to the draw deadlines from each state's respective web site!

Rambopup4, Thanks for your comments, I wasn't aware Hunting Report reported on trophy units, I thought it was more for reports on outfitters, I'll have to look into that further.
I do think Carter's helped me with applying. I liked the way they explained the different processes for each state. Also I didn't have to spend/waste a lot of time going to different states websites. I have a 5 year old little girl and much prefer to spend time with her rather than figure out what units to apply for.
I also like the helpful hints that Carter's supplies, yes these can all be found on the different states websites but again you have to spend the time to figure it all out.
This was my first year for applying for sheep tags and I applied to every state with a sheep tag except California and didn't make one mistake on the applications. Could I have done this without Carter's, of course but it was a lot easier following their advice.
Last thing I'll say about Carter's is that I really like their stories. The annual dues is worth it just for the stories. I really enjoy reading other hunter's stories and not someone being paid to write a story and endorse a product. Just hunters like you and me. Good luck on the draws.
Joe