Non resident costs

[Friends call me Pac]

I've been in invited to hunt with TG members in other states and have been checking the cost for a non resident hunting license.  For the most part all I can say is egads!!

Ohio was about the same as Arkansas and TN was looking good until I started seeing all the other things I think you have to buy.

Guess I'm not going anywhere anytime soon unless someone can point me in the right direction.  Any suggestions?

[hvyhitter]

its just the way it is......pay up or stay home. I usually hunt MD,OH, and PA and have several hundred invested in tags alone....this year add 350 for montana...but I hunt in different places with different people so its much worth it.

[vtmtnman]

It's pretty insanely out of control if you ask me.You can archery only hunt in VT for 75 dollars.Others states you can't even touch that price.Those of us that make less than peanuts are the worst hit.But that's life.I'm headed to OH this year.Gotta pay to play.

[Eugene Slagle]

Tis why I've been hunting at home more instead of going else where, too much money for me right now.

[excelpoint]

I know it just cost me $549 for a non res either sex Elk tag for Colorado plus another $380 for a bear tag. Will be worth it what ever happens when I come over from Australia in a couple weeks and trust me, earning peanuts over here is the same as in the US

[leatherneck]

Even resident licenses in Ohio are out of control. I really love my WVa lifetime license.

[lpcjon2]

I can tell you NJ has some ridiculous license fees for residents. And what a non-resident would pay is extremely high for a chance to not see anything.     In some states maybe it's cheaper use a buddies address and get a resident drivers license and then get a resident license.

[Mechslasher]

i think s.c. out of state is $175, the fine for hunting without a license is $180.  just looking at the math...

[jhg]

High fees?

I would not complain about the cost of a hunting tag.

Try golf if you want to compare the cost of hunting vs another sport. Greens fees will stand you up for sure. Or down hill sking. Most tickets for a day start around 60 dollars. For one day!

Costs for resident tags (for the most part anyway) are a long way from being outrageous. And why wouldn't a state charge a premium for non-residents to access their game resource. Try out of state tuition for your kids if you want to really know what expensive can be... :0)


The glass is half full...

Joshua

[ChuckC]

Non resident costs ARE outrageous, especially for those states out west that have a TON of public land where the majority of the hunting takes place.  It is a total rip off and abuse of their power.  Taxation without representation at its finest.  But we want to go hunting and take it.

Wyoming, as an example, receives more than half of their funding for their DNR (whatever they call it) from non-resident funds.  That is from their web site information.
ChuckC

[rascal]

Iowa tags are off the charts for white tailed deer, somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 bucks!  You also stand a chance of seeing a magnificent mature white tailed buck.  Im gonna guess though that if you are hunting out of state, with the exception of living close to your states border and hunting the neighboring state, the cost of non resident tags probably isnt the only big hit to your hunting budget.  Take a look at guided hunts for almost any critter and out of state do it yourself hunts suddenly start looking pretty smart even with the cost of non resident tags.

[Steve H.]

Mazzoura is pretty cheap for NR. Alaska is way below average.

[Paul/KS]

Kansas is pretty high.

If Missouri is the "Show Me" state then Kansass is the "Give Me" state...  

[John3]

Kansas is worth every penny.. I paid $630 the year I didn't draw and $330.00 when I did..  Yes you could have a 200" deer walk under you any day!  I didn't see any that big but for sure 170"+ deer...

You get ONE turn in life.. Spend the money and go enjoy it!

I leave tomorrow for South Dakota. I have three Antelope tags and paid $245.00.. A value everyday.


John III

[Hill Hunter]

anyone who thinks Ohio is high just does not get out enough.

[RC]

And to think I get mad when the wind is wrong and I have to walk the extra 200 yards to the "other" stand behind the house...RC

[jhg]

Originally posted by ChuckC:
Non resident costs ARE outrageous, especially for those states out west that have a TON of public land where the majority of the hunting takes place.  It is a total rip off and abuse of their power. ...
ChuckC

From the perspective of someone comes from Maine and now lives "out west" I can tell you that all that public land you think is out here just teaming with game waiting for more hunters to ease their pain is quite the misconception. I know for sure you won't pay to hunt on private land, where the odds are improved, (places I can't access either), so how is it that you should hunt in my neighborhood for near what we as residents pay? After all, we are the ones who are left with the place after you go back home when the vacation is over.
 
We have to save up preference points ourselves for the better units and maybe a couple times in a long life get to hunt them. Its a reality that the resource is heavily sought after already and that trend is only going to increase.
 Things that are of value usually are limited in number and therefore have some kind of worth placed upon them. And out of state tags reflect that premium.
Funny no one gripes about the cost of hunting tags in the District of Columbia. But wait a minute- theres nothing of value to hunt there....

Joshua

[ChuckC]

All that public land is just that. . .   public.  federal land in most cases.  and that's right..  I get it for a week or two and you get it all year long.  

You get to hunt all the game on it cause you can afford the tags, plus, you have a much better opportunity to even GET the tags in the first place.  I have no problem with limits..  residents should get first dibs.  

But the "its the only game in town so lets get their money while we can" mentality is plainly seen.

I sure don't see folks out there complaining when I belly up to the cash register and pay for my rent, my food, my gas, and everything else that about 25% of the folks out there count on each year.

If nobody from out of state showed up out there for a year or two how many of those businesses would still be there ?

Joshua. .  you talk about 60 dollar a day lift tickets. .   if I buy a bear tag and an elk tag in Colorado and I hunt for a week, that is over 100 dollars a day !  
ChuckC

[Bowwild]

I think hunting licenses are of the best buys in the outdoor world.  In most states you can buy a resident hunting license for the price of three, broadhead-tipped arrows.

A hundred years of sportsmen and women buying these licenses have secured very strong wildlife populations of all kinds -- hunted and non-hunted. With the science-based wildlife management and enforcement we have today it wouldn't take long to take huge strides backwards.

The NR license permit is daunting until I put it in perspective.  I'll spend $150 on a deer permit in Indiana again this year for the privilege to hunt in Hoosier-land.  I'll spend, I hope, about 9 days hunting in Indiana on three trips. I'll drive 750 miles (at least).  The gas will cost me nearly $150.00.  I won't have lodging costs and I don't count meals because I'd spend that at home.

I was going to hunt Roosevelt Elk in Oregon this year. I would have had about $2,000 in fuel, lodging, and the permit.  The permit would have been about $640 of this amount.  Had I flown it would have cost about the same because of extra and overweight luggage to bring the beast's steaks and rack home.

The license fee is the only part of my hunting that is a bargain.  I own only one bow that cost less than a western NR license.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I may be biased and am certainly blessed with lots of inside knowledge about fees and their value -- I'm a retired wildlife biologist who worked in IN, KS, MO, and KY.  But, I was a hunter before and after this career.

[Bowwild]

Whoops...."without the science based wildlife management...we'd take huge strides backwards".  Sheesh, when these brain cells die they take some of my words with em.