Last thing was axis deer buck in Texas on the morning of the eclipse. I've yet to eat it. Before that, bull elk from Montana rifle hunt.
I live in NV where it's really hard to draw tags, so I apply for 7 Western states. Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Wyoming, Montana, New Mexico, Colorado.
Tips:
Montana has a 60% chance at 0 points. The big game combo tag is amazing, either sex deer, and elk, archery and/or rifle. My wife and I have been getting this tag every year for the past 3 years.
I've built a spreadsheet tracking all deadlines for all 7 states and staggered them in a way that allows me to apply for each one in the most optimal way possible. This allows me to get at least one tag for elk per year.
If you're new, get cow elk tags. They're very easy to get in Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho. They're fun hunts because they take place in the same units as the primo bull tags, cheaper, and the 1:5 bull to cow ratio in most units means you have a really high chance to fill your freezer every year.
I haven't had to buy meat in 3 years. Freezer is always packed with elk, deer, rabbit (from my farm).
I use e-scouting, a combination of Google earth, Gaia gps, forums, and all trails, to get a really good plan on where I'm gonna hunt. I can get a tag anywhere and find all the hot spots this way, secret honey holes no longer exist.
