I was applying for antelope with 1 pp and cow elk with 4pp and mule deer no points. When the total at check out was $1212. I thought enough is enough so I never pulled the trigger. This don't mean I won't buy an archery elk tag for my home unit but I may not do that either. I wanted a cow tag and I have to buy an either sex tag to be able to hunt. Odds are low for success so I will have have about three thousand in a cow elk success going by averages. All my hunting except bear has been DIY. I could pay for a guided bear hunt for what a cow elk cost. Not bitter, I have had a good long hunting career, it just cost too much to be the fun it once was.
Could not pull the trigger on the high cost of tags
- Thread starter xtreme
- Start date
WapitiBob
Veteran member
CrossCreeks
Veteran member
I feel your pain, I sometimes wonder if escalating prices of big games tags are more of threat to the sport than the Anti- hunter groups. My up front cost for New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming was over $ 4000.00 granted I will get 90 % of it back because I will not draw the tags but I had to do some shuffling to get it done. It is great to have the opportunity but sometimes you have to weigh the cost. I see myself scaling down on the number of tags I will be putting in for in the next few years. The only bright spot is that I do have a bank of preference points !
RICMIC
Veteran member
I got a bunch of old Huntin Fool magazines from a friend. You'll really get an idea of the big $ hunts as compared to the DIY approach that Eastman's promotes. It looks like you can hunt anywhere you want for any species you want if you have the bucks. I've chosen to not play the point game in any state that requires a non-refundable hunting license. Private land with guranteed tags..OOF DAH!!!
The costs are getting steep for me too. Mainly due to I have three hunters in my family now not just myself. I think I'll choke when I start to apply outta state for all three of us. Prob gonna stick to our home state for now.
You ae not required to apply in multiple states for multiple amimals every year, you apply because you want to so it's a choice and yes it is expensive. To complain about the cost of your choices seems kind of silly because they are not forced choices. Perhaps you could make non resident applications in only one state.
brushcreek
Active Member
swampokie
Veteran member
It is amazing that Colorado charges what they do for ultra low success rates on over the counter and even more amazing that Thousands upon thousands are happy to pay it every year.
laxwyo
Very Active Member
You should feel lucky that you have the opportunity to hunt in multiple states. Never even considered hunting out of state until I found out the wife's family has Colorado plains property.
Lol
Lol
In God We Trust
Very Active Member
As long as resident tags stay reasonable then hunting will be just fine regarding tag prices. States will continue to raise non resident tags until people quit buying them. Being a non resident hunter has become expensive but it is a luxury to do so. Each hunter needs to look at prices in other states and decide for themselves if it is worth the rising costs. I do agree it is getting up there.
2rocky
Active Member
- Sep 10, 2012
- 290
- 0
It all comes down to priorities. There are a number of things I sacrifice to hunt out of state every year. One of them is the local 8 week long deer season, and the deer club membership.
I applaud you for determining just how much is too much for you. I think we have been fed the "Apply everywhere at all costs" mentality. We all have to find our Tipping point. I think many of us are so invested in preference points, we keep chasing the dream units and premium tags.
I applaud you for determining just how much is too much for you. I think we have been fed the "Apply everywhere at all costs" mentality. We all have to find our Tipping point. I think many of us are so invested in preference points, we keep chasing the dream units and premium tags.
CrossCreeks
Veteran member
My wife does not hunt and kids are grown so it's just my money for my tags that I am fronting up but I honestly have not given much thought to you guys who have wives and children who you are applying for tags, I can really feel your pain. I am sure am not trying to speak for others but I think I lot of us want a premium tag and want to hunt other states with our family members who hunt. I do think there are times when we reach a point where we have to say due to financial, time obligations, family obligations, health reasons or other things that we are going to scale back or go another route at least that's kind of my point. Everyone who does it has there own reasons for putting in for several tags in different states or choosing not to do it ! It great to have that choice. Just my 2 cents.
lostinOregon
Member
It really should concern every hunter when the common man gets priced out of hunting. I understand priorities and that argument, but look at a bigger picture. Most western states have increased the burden on the NR hunter by adding fees, points and additional extra costs over pacing inflation by a wide margin. Once participation decreases, cost will continue to increase and we all lose in the end. Everyone will have a breaking point when it comes to cost, just because it is not yet at your breaking point yet is not a reason to dismiss a valid point.
Rich
Rich
Colorado Cowboy
Super Moderator
I am planning to hunt mostly in my home state of Colorado. I have max deer points in Wyoming and as soon as I can draw the unit I want to hunt in, I'll not apply for any more there. I'll keep hunting Wyoming for antelope. The way things are now, I can draw a decent elk & deer tag every year here and get an antelope every 3 to 5 years. Moose & sheep are a crap shoot. I do hunt Texas for hogs & turkey. In the next 5 years I am planning on hunting Canada and/or Alaska.
coastalarms
Active Member
It doesn't seem like anything is inexpensive anymore. I about had a heart attack last year when I thought there might be a new truck in my future.........yeah.....that ain't happening!
In state tags have gone up, ammo prices are stupid high. I remember as a kid salmon fishing with my dad. He approached it almost like a business. He would hold up a salmon and say "you know how much this cost us!"......yeah.... I don't do that. Hunting may be pricey, but there are a lot of other recreational/leisure pursuits that cost a whole hell of a lot more. I have a friend who is into R/C aircraft. He has jets that wouldn't fit in the bed of the truck, he has a trailer for them......that's a pricey one!
In state tags have gone up, ammo prices are stupid high. I remember as a kid salmon fishing with my dad. He approached it almost like a business. He would hold up a salmon and say "you know how much this cost us!"......yeah.... I don't do that. Hunting may be pricey, but there are a lot of other recreational/leisure pursuits that cost a whole hell of a lot more. I have a friend who is into R/C aircraft. He has jets that wouldn't fit in the bed of the truck, he has a trailer for them......that's a pricey one!
dan maule
Veteran member
I have been taking hunting trips to the west since 1995 and have been hunting Wyoming mostly for mule deer since 2001. If my memory is correct in 2001 a NR deer tag cost about $150 and today it is $326. During this same time period gas prices have increased approximately 300% (not counting the recent drop). The reality is these states have something of value and they know it, it is simply supply and demand. The increase cost of not only the tags but everything else involve with making the trip have caused me to go from taking a trip every year to every other year it sucks. I hate it but if I am honest to myself I can't blame the states for increasing their revenue from nonresidents instead of residents. The fact remains that the vast majority of the tags that these states have to offer continue to sell regardless of the price they attach to them. When I was growing up the majority of hunters hunted mainly around their home state and occasionally took a trip out west now it seems more and more people don't do any hunting other than one or two weeks that they take their guided hunt. I don't know where it will end but I hope it does not get to the point that I can no longer afford to make it happen or worse that my kids will not get a chance to experience taking their children for a hunt in the mountains. I always laugh when some guy at work tells me that for the price that I am paying for a NR tag I could buy a lot of beef, as though filling your freezer from the super market is as rewarding stalking a critter in the big horns.
Colorado Cowboy
Super Moderator
I pulled the trigger today and bought a new truck (used...new to me). I bought a 2012 Ford F350 crew cab, long bed , 4x4, diesel with only 27,000 miles on it. Less than 1/2 the price of a new one. Traded in my old 1999 F350.
I just couldn't justify spending $60+ thou for a new truck. I can afford it, but being retired, I can't replace the ,$$$ I would spend. Used one in great shape makes lots more sense!!
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Dark Mavis
Active Member
My Visa card is smoking right now, guys I feel your pain when it comes to application fees. I can sit in a deer stand here in LA and kill all the backstrap I need for the whole year. But, that doesn't provide the challenge that I get while chasing critters in the Rocky Mountains. Us nonresidents are hooked on that Rocky Mountain high and every game and fish department out there knows it. I'm gonna keep sending my cash west as long as my knees say that I can, and they are going to laugh all the way to the bank.
PS: congrats on the new FORD colorado cowboy!
PS: congrats on the new FORD colorado cowboy!