Eric Pawlak has spent the past 12 years advising hunters on license drawing procedures.
Who is Safari Club International? “We are a collection of dreamers and dreams,” said SCI President Craig Kauffman as the 49th Hunter’s Convention opened. Sporting men and women walked isle after isle of outdoor adventure to meet those who bring dreams to reality. Eric Pawlak is one of those dream makers on a regular basis, advising hunters on selecting the best hunts, outfitters, and coordinating Cabela’s Trophy Application and Guide Service (TAGS) Program.
Cabela’s TAGS Program will apply you to multiple license pools for that hunt of a lifetime.
“I manage the TAGS Program where we apply people for limited draw tags and handle everything from game management unit selection to completing the application,” said Pawlak. “The biggest advantage, we float the tag money so if a state requires you to apply with a full license up front, we float that on the client’s behalf.
“I’m a consultant for outdoor adventures. People call in for recommendations on outfitters such as big game, fishing, world wide wing shooting or international hunting. We vet those outfitters and then make recommendations. When you are walking around a big show like the Safari Club International, its hard to walk up to a booth and pick a guide who will meet your hunting needs. We have done the vetting — I think this outfitter will best meet your goals. There are six of us in the office and we handle north American big game, fishing, world wide wing shooting, and international. A high percentage of the outfitters we recommend have been vetted by one of our team.”
Many hunters don’t realize the advantage of drawing tags on public land in the West. Pawlak spoke to that specifically:
Once you darw a limited draw license you can hire a guide or hunt on your own.
“Eastern hunters equate public land with the pumpkin army and our job is to keep you away from that. You can go to an over-the-counter area in Colorado, get a license at Walmart and hunt where access is unlimited. Obviously, that won’t come with a high quality experience so people use the TAG service to to draw into limited areas like the Unit 9 & 10 in Arizona or the Arizona strip. These are world class areas that these states limit entry to. In the sheep hunting world, a rocky mountain big horn will cost $25-35,000 and a desert sheep hunt will set you back about $65,000. Most guys are trying to draw into those areas in the 48, in Arizona, Montana, Nevada, and other states. If you draw those tags you can hire an outfitter for $6-7,000 or do it on your own. I can go through that cost saving scenario on most species. If you are looking for big elk, big deer, the draw is the way to go for high quality at a reasonable price.”
