txhunter58
Long Time Member
- Messages
- 8,744
I have 3 PP and prob won’t buy another.
Well, you aren't wrong (but still not quite right). I for one will no longer apply for NR mule deer in UT. If I draw the bison tag, at the new high dollar price, that's all I'll want to pay to hunt in Utah (with its failing deer management). So, no "big talk" from me. Just one less NR deer applicant.If they was upping the prices to way over what the other states are doing you guys might have a point, but they are coming up to inline with what the other states are selling tags for, or still cheaper. This isnt going to have a large effect on tag sales at all. In fact if there is a dip its going to be because of the virus not the price increase.
I also bet most of you that say you wont be applying again still do.
Bunch of big talk.
If they was upping the prices to way over what the other states are doing you guys might have a point, but they are coming up to inline with what the other states are selling tags for, or still cheaper. This isnt going to have a large effect on tag sales at all. In fact if there is a dip its going to be because of the virus not the price increase.
I also bet most of you that say you wont be applying again still do.
Bunch of big talk.
Well said. Its not the price of the tag alone that dictates NR applicants choice of states to hunt. With Utah's failing deer management, they can't compete with other states, even if they price the tags the same. Back fire's a comin'. I'll just get my popcorn now...I have a bunch of limited entry deer points. I have 8 general season deer points also. Once those are gone I will be done with Utah. I hold no grudges, the lemon won’t be worth the squeeze any more for me. Not enough tags to draw and price/quality on general season deer doesn’t match up. Not complaining, just better bank for the buck in other states.
Rich
Everyone keeps saying how bad Colorado deer hunting sucks. What quality are you talking about? Feel free to PM me your answer.You can't charge Colorado prices when you don't have Colorado quality. Those prices for the general deer hunt are ridiculous for a non-resident.
You can't charge Colorado prices when you don't have Colorado quality. Those prices for the general deer hunt are ridiculous for a non-resident.
LOL, Colorado deer hunting is on a nose dive of a decline, Pretty soon with the current management program they have Utah will be looking pretty dang good.Everyone keeps saying how bad Colorado deer hunting sucks. What quality are you talking about? Feel free to on me your answer.
Everyone keeps saying how bad Colorado deer hunting sucks. What quality are you talking about? Feel free to on me your answer.
I dont have a problem with the increase on LE and OIL, and honestly they could probably raise them more. But really there arent many of those tags for nonresidents so not sure how much of a funding difference it makes. I think General tags going up is going to hurt Utah in the long run, as that impacts families and groups, eventually it will impact hunter recruitment.
This was worse than your first post.
Like I said. Welcome to the real world. The great thing about this is hunters have increased their weight in wildlife decisions in your state even more. The more money our industry brings to the table the more say we get on management of the animals and the less say the antis get.
Unless the Covid-19 issues remain long term, Utah isn't likely to be hurt in the long run. This isn't the first time that nonresidents have had a big fee increase in hunting licenses and permits. The last time it happened was in 2005 and the stats show that the number of nonresident licenses and tags went down for a few years, but rebounded quite well and is now 3.6 times the number that it was in 2004 before the increase. (Of course it fluctuated over the years.) I think we'll do just fine because many nonresidents have family connections in Utah and the hunts are part of those connections.
Year-----NR lic & tags
2004----13,025
2005----11,636
2006----12,402
2007----10,573
2008----13,221
----------------
2019----44,425
2020----47,775
If they was upping the prices to way over what the other states are doing you guys might have a point, but they are coming up to inline with what the other states are selling tags for, or still cheaper. This isnt going to have a large effect on tag sales at all. In fact if there is a dip its going to be because of the virus not the price increase.
I also bet most of you that say you wont be applying again still do.
Bunch of big talk.
People keep saying "hunting" is getting so expensive or that "hunting" is a rich man's game. "Hunting" is not getting expensive, NON-RESIDENT hunting is expensive. There is a difference. People keep acting like this is a big change, but non-resident hunting in general is the big change. It's only over the last 30 years that people have started going out of state to hunt in such great numbers. Ask grandpa about hunting 5 different states and he will laugh at you. They couldn't afford that back then. Maybe 2 if you lived close to the border, or grandpa was really hardcore, but almost nobody was hunting a bunch of states, and I will again reiterate, it was NOT cheap back then either. It might be more dollars today, but if you factor inflation there really isn't much difference.
The way I see it, this is getting back to the tradition of hunting where you live. If you don't have the hunting that you want where you live, then change where you live. Or learn how to make good enough money to hunt as a non-resident and stop whining. Just like anything else in life, you get to make the call on what is truly important to you.
And if the tags truly aren't worth the price they are charging, then they will come down. If the economy continues to suck and nobody is buying tags, the prices will come down. Non-resident tag prices have always fluctuated with the economy. Not that long ago Idaho was giving discounts on tags because they weren't selling. Now the demand is up and no discounts. I hate to agree with Tri, but that's how it has always been and always will be. That's life.
The biggest thing is non-resident hunting was never cheap and it won't ever be cheap. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Pretty sneaky to wait until after applications so you NR guys couldn't burn points this year.
Sure be nice if the mtn state's could get together a compact to hold prices for NR from other mtn states.
That “same page” you speak of should be defined as ripping off the hunters.Every state around us Utahans have a $3-400 deer tag and elk wow ranged from $700-$1300
OIL species or trophy species are all $2,200 bucks. I don’t see the injustice?
looks like Utah is getting on the same page.
500$ for a chance at a 2pt.... I'll pass
That “same page” you speak of should be defined as ripping off the hunters.
Just Auction them all off till there’s nothing
$70000+ truck
$50000+ camp trailer
$20000+ side × side
$2000 gun
$2000 scope
$2700 sporting scope
$2000+ Binoculars
$1000+ worth of designer camouflage
Out of State License fees thats a problem!
Every state around us Utahans have a $3-400 deer tag and elk wow ranged from $700-$1300
OIL species or trophy species are all $2,200 bucks. I don’t see the injustice?
looks like Utah is getting on the same page.
All of those states are far better deer hunting than Utah. Heck, even Idaho.
Meaning value for your dollar.Far better deer hunting? Meaning what?
Elk which one of these states have you hunted??
Meaning value for your dollar.
. Thanks for that. Valuable insight that was much needed.As a non resident of Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona and Montana I hunt exactly none of them. Why? Because to ME it is not worth it.
Please feel free to make your own decisions. I'm not feeling sorry for you.
NR may have never been “cheap”, but it has has been “reasonable” and not so expensive that the common man couldn’t go hunt in at least one other state if he wanted to. The prices today are pushing, if not beyond that limit. The question is how much is too much?
For a resident that wants less NR hunters, it is pretty simple: limit our numbers. But limiting us with price is not cool in my book. Why does it keep happening? Because your game dept needs our money and “everyone is doing it”
You missed the whole point. The "common man" has never been an out of state hunter. The "common man" stays home and hunts his own state. It's been that way for a long time. There have been plenty of times in the past that out of state hunting was out of reach for most hunters. Out of state hunting is and always has been a "rich" man's game.
Now, saying that, if it's a priority, out of state hunting is just as affordable as any other pursuit you could spend your time and money on. I still think the "common man" can afford these prices just fine. Somehow I was able to hunt a few different states while paying for college, supporting a family, and never taking on any debt. I have a hard time believing that if it is a priority to you, that you can't afford it.
If the quality isn't worth the money to you, well that's a different story all together. That's good ol capitalism and there are a lot of other states to look at. Ironically, I don't think any of them are cheaper? Maybe a little? If so it isn't by much. I don't know anybody who hunts all 50 states and that just comes down to the fact that for different reasons, most states aren't worth your time. There will be plenty of people who still think Utah is worth it (Me for one) and will continue to pay. And I drive a 20 year old truck and shoot a 20 year old rifle for reference. I can't think of many people who are a whole lot more "common" than me.
It's all cyclic. Look at inflation and price of tags together. For the last while inflation has outpaced the tag prices and they have been relatively cheap. Every time you have a price raise the price exceeds the rate of inflation for a small period and the tags might seem expensive. Within a few years inflation catches up and the tags will start feeling relatively cheap again. That's what happens when you don't change your prices for 15 years.
That could be combated by just raising prices every year with inflation, but raising prices involves legislators and I think most fish and game departments have realized it's best to keep those guys out as much as possible.
Buzz,Care to explain why Colorado has no spring bear season? No trapping?
Why you cant use hounds to run lions in Oregon?
No lion hunting at all in CA?
Do I need to go on?
All those states get nearly all their wildlife and fisheries management money from hunters and fishermen.
Seems to me the influence of who pays the bills there didn't really seem to matter.
You're overplaying the importance of where the funding comes from.
Depends on what you are trying to hunt in the States.Sad when I can fly to Newfoundland, hunt moose and ship meat home cheaper than I can drive to a state in the US.