Missouri is changing the way it runs its annual drawing for managed deer hunts to give preference to applicants whose names are not drawn.

Between July 1 and Aug. 15 each year, the Conservation Department takes applications for drawings to determine who will be allowed to take part in more than 80 special hunts.

The events, which take place from September though January, include archery, crossbow, muzzleloader and modern-firearm deer hunts. Some hunts help managers of state parks and other areas achieve deer-management goals. Some allow managers to allocate limited hunting opportunities while ensuring safety.

In the past, every applicant had the same chance of being drawn every year he or she applied. This was fair in the sense that everyone had the same chance of being drawn. However, it was unfair in the sense that hunters who were able to hunt one year had the same chance the next year as hunters who never had been drawn.

“Quite a few people told us they wanted a system that gave an advantage to hunters who were not drawn,” state official Bill Heatherly said.

Under the new Weighted Random Drawing System, applicants will receive one preference point for the year of the drawing and one preference point for each year they apply and are not drawn.

Hunters who are not drawn this year will have two preference points if they apply again in 2008. If they are unsuccessful again next year, they will have three preference points when they apply in 2009.

Points remain valid even if hunters do not apply in some years. However, hunters who are drawn lose any accumulated preference points and start the next year with one point.

While the new system multiplies unsuccessful applicants’ chances of success, the system is still random, so every hunter has a chance of being drawn each year he or she applies.

“Your buddy could get drawn two or three years in a row while you aren’t,” Heatherly said. “It’s still the luck of the draw.”