How to use the Maps
The Basic Idea of the Maps
We have analyed each state's hunting statistics and rated each hunting area using a 'Hot Spots' 'Cold Spots' coloring scheme. The area color is a rating for
trophy potential, and the hunting area marker color is a rating for hunter success. Red is a hot spot, which represents very high trophy potential or a success rate
of 75% or above. The colors then cool off as trophy potential / hunter success decreases (Red to Orange to Yellow to Green to Blue). Look for the hot spots!
If you are looking for a mature animal or a record book animal, compare the statistics for the hunt areas colored in orange or red. If you are looking to just
harvest an animal, you will want to mainly consider the color of the placemark icon. 
Look for
red, orange, or maybe even yellow areas for higher hunter success rates.
Basic Functions of the Maps
- Use your mouse's scroll wheel to zoom in and out on the map.
- Left Click on the placemark icons or hold the 'Ctrl' key and select the colored
hunt area to view the statistics tables. You may also select your unit # from the menu on the left side of the screen.
- To close the window with the statistics tables, simply click anywhere on the map or select the close 'X' in the upper right corner of the info window.
- Turn the legend icons off by unchecking the box in the 'Places' menu on the left side of the screen. You may also turn off any hunt areas or
harvest stats icons in the same manner. If you are uninterested in any areas, simply turn them off in the 'Places' menu.
For more in-depth information about the functions of google earth Check out the following links;
How to use the Harvest, Draw, & Population Statistics
The hunting statistics maintained by each state’s fish & game department can be very useful in revealing important
information about hunting big game animals. By using a combination of harvest data, draw data, and population data,
each hunter can determine if an area is suitable to meet their individual hunting goals.
The whole idea behind KMLers' maps is to allow hunters that are looking into new hunting areas to be able to quickly
narrow their search to a few areas that have the best potential for meeting their hunting goals. The hunter will then be able to
easily compare these areas by looking at the most useful
statistics right on the map. To accomplish this, the areas are color coded for hunters to be able to quickly and easily
determine which areas have the highest trophy potential and the highest hunter success. The areas have been ranked
from very high, to high, to medium, to low based on the actual numbers provided by the state fish and game department.
Next, these numbers were crunched and attached to the maps in tabular form, which allows for easy comparison of the most
useful statistics.
Why you should use the statistics
By comparing hunting areas using trophy potential, harvest, draw odds, and population data, one can accurately
determine which hunting area can best meet their hunting goals. The applicant has to decide if they are willing
to wait 10 years to be able to have the chance at a record book big game animal, or if they are willing to settle
for a 2 year wait for an area that may be more difficult to hunt or may yield a smaller animal.
For example, when the average harvest rates for elk are anywhere from 10-20%, an area that consistently reports
a 50% or higher hunter harvest is definitely an area to look at hunting. Further research into this area may reveal
that the population in that area is high, hunter pressure is low, or there is some combination of geographical features
that allow hunters to be more successful at harvesting animals. More than likely, it is some combination of each,
and more often than not, a limited draw is set up to limit the number of hunters in that area. And quite possibly, the area
comprises of a lot of private ground where the animals are pressured a lot less, resulting in higher harvest success rates.
Average Hunter Days - This can be a very useful statistic if you are planning an out of state hunt. Have you ever
asked yourself, "How many days should I plan to hunt?" This can be a tough question, but not if you have access to this
statistic. For example, say an area shows the average hunter days to be 6. You should plan on hunting at least this many
days to achieve that area's hunter success rate. Say the success rate is 20% and you really want to harvest an animal this
year. Then I would typically double the average hunter days and plan on hunting that many days, in our example, I would plan
on hunting 12 days. My reasoning for this is that there were guys that hunted 2 or 3 days that didn't get anything and guys
who hit it hard all season, maybe hunting 12-20 days. There was also that guy who thought it would be cool to go hunting,
only went out one morning, and was disappointed when he didn't see anything. Between those groups, the average came out to
be 6 days, and the guys that brought the success rate to 20% are the guys who were out there hitting it hard for over 6 days.
Trophy Potential Statistics
Some states provide trophy potential data in the form of % of animals taken with a certain # of points, some provide
data in the form of male to female ratios, and some states have neither of these data sets. By looking at the % of
mature animals taken (bull elk would be 6+pts, deer would be 4+pts) or % of males to females, a hunter can compare the
trophy potential of different areas within a state. For example, an area with 50% of the bulls taken with 6+pts has
more potential for a hunter to take a mature animal than an area with 20% of the bulls taken with 6+pts.
Another statistic used to differentiate the best trophy units was # of B&C trophy animals taken the past 5-7 years. This
data was obtained from the B&C Trophy Database Search,
where it is easy to compare the top trophy producing areas in any state for any big game animal.
Remember, a trophy animal is in the eye of the beholder. KMLers considers a trophy animal to be any mature male. However,
much consideration is given to # of B&C record book animals, also.
Finding the best draw odds
In today’s complicated drawing systems, the best way to gauge the chance of drawing a tag is to look at the ratio of
successful first choice applicants to the number of first choice applicants in that unit (or hunt #). By using the same
method across the board, you can compare odds for different units (or hunt #’s) and determine which unit makes the
most sense for you. Obviously, you are looking for the best draw odds, but you must also look at other factors that can
affect your hunt, such as public access, harvest success, trophy potential, and animal numbers. As you begin to
sacrifice on any one of these factors, your chances to draw can get higher and higher as the area becomes less desirable
by most hunters standards.
Keep in mind that by applying for bonus points, preference points, or second or third choices, your actual odds of drawing
may be different than the number indicated in the data set.
Warnings About Statistics
The harvest and population statistics are just that, statistics. This means that a sample of hunters were contacted
for the survey, and from the data gathered from a small percentage of the hunters. The state was able to use statistical
analysis to determine the numbers that we see on the state website. There is some amount of error associated with this
type of data gathering, but the numbers are typically accurate to +/- 10%. However, some states now have mandatory hunter
surveys that allow their data to be more accurate, or even right on.
Be wary of draw odds that seem to good to be true . . . they probably are. Game Management Units that have little or no
public access can have higher draw odds because only a few hunters have the right to gain access to where the animals are (on
private land). These are the only hunters applying for these areas because everyone else knows there is nowhere to legally
hunt in that particular area. This doesn't mean you can't do your research on where the animals are and make a few phone calls
to landowners asking permission to hunt.
Be sure there is public access or get permission to hunt on private land BEFORE applying for any
tags. One way to easily do this on our maps in Google Earth is to turn on the 'Parks and Recreation Areas' Layer to reveal National
Forests and other public recreation areas.
Be wary of areas that have harvest statistics that differ greatly from surrounding areas. Again, an abundance of private
land may have a factor in this. Less pressure = higher harvest success.
Animal Population data may come from certain times of the year, and may vary greatly from actual numbers during the hunting
season. For example, many Elk and Mule Deer migrate great distances from their winter to summer ranges. A lot of the population
data are taken from animals on their winter range. This could mean low numbers in some areas that actually have good numbers in the
fall during the season.
Typically though, units are large enough to compensate for this; meaning when the animals migrate, they migrate within the same unit. Just be aware
that if there is a high mountain unit that has low population data, this doesn't mean it isn't a great area during an early season archery
hunt.