surplus big game license

PlainsHunter

Active Member
Feb 29, 2012
430
33
Central MN
Bought a deer combo (non Res license) this morning. 1,635 Deer Combo's available as of this morning. Was going to try to hunt Wyoming, but the season in the area I was looking at was only 9 days long and I wasn't sure I'd be able to make the dates work.

Montana still has Elk Combo and Big Game Combo licenses leftover as well.
 

25contender

Veteran member
Mar 20, 2013
1,638
90
Here are the numbers as of this morning. Someone said they got a email before the deadline saying sales were up 20% from last year. Looks about the same or worse than the last few years.

NONRES COMBO COUNTDOWN
Big Game Combos: 1,696
Elk Combos: 2,086
Deer Combos: 1,635
 

PlainsHunter

Active Member
Feb 29, 2012
430
33
Central MN
Amazing how Montana has turned a once sought after tag into a basically OTC hunt with tags available even during the season.
It's expensive for sure compared to WY (standard draw). I think they eventually sold out last year but I'm not sure since I didn't buy a tag or hunt Montana
 

NDHunter

Veteran member
Feb 25, 2011
1,166
25
North Dakota
It's expensive for sure compared to WY (standard draw). I think they eventually sold out last year but I'm not sure since I didn't buy a tag or hunt Montana
I kept track of how fast they were selling out and they sold out of deer tags around September 6. At that time, there were still close to 1,500 combo tags available. Just so dang expensive! With that said, I applied this year during the regular application period.
 

okielite

Banned
Jul 30, 2014
401
0
NW Nebraska
From what I have read a NR can buy a combo and return the elk portion. From my understanding people do this to apply for "special draw" units. But that may have changed as I know there was discussion about ending that loophole or putting a penalty on the return.

Another factor that takes some tags away is the come home to hunt program. That one still puzzles me. I keep hoping Wyoming will do the same but I doubt it would ever happen. Something like that could only be dreamed up in Montana.
 

NDHunter

Veteran member
Feb 25, 2011
1,166
25
North Dakota
From what I have read a NR can buy a combo and return the elk portion. From my understanding people do this to apply for "special draw" units. But that may have changed as I know there was discussion about ending that loophole or putting a penalty on the return.
Yes you can return the deer portion of the combo tag and return the elk tag to gain a point. You only get about $300 back though, so it basically costs you about $100 to get that elk point. You can also turn both tags back in but your refund will be about $200 less than what you paid to apply...Pricey bonus points for a state in which you can hunt 10's of millions of acres of public land with the general tag.