Wyoming License Fee's Going Up!

[Founder]

Wyoming fee's are going up! It's getting costly to go hunt. The special deer will end up in the $700.00 range. Special elk, near $1300.00. What do you think?

Here are the fee increases that passed.

http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2017/Engross/HB0288.pdf

I think I'm going to have to work more or charge more if I want to hunt. Geeesh!

Brian Latturner
MonsterMuleys.com
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[faultcurrent]

Still a pretty good deal.

 

[mtncowboy]

I can't believe the NR Buffalo price jump! That's crazy.

 

[rmanwill]

Looks like if I ever draw my Moose in Wyoming, it just cost me an additional $540. I guess if you want to play, you need to pay

 

[ss13]

>Still a pretty good deal.

Buffalo costing over $4000, seems like a good deal to me....... Not!

Even talking elk, deer, or antelope, after you add up the cost of yearly points and the kill tag, the cost is ridiculous.

Running the fish and game department off the backs of non residents is getting old. Fee increases for residents of something like $2 a tag, when non residents go up $50 to $100.

I'll catch crap but I don't care, the price increases a cross the west (not just wyoming) are crazy. Price enought people out and who will fund fish and game?

 

[YZF_88]

LAST EDITED ON Mar-02-17 AT 12:01PM (MST)[p]$480 to $576 for elk. Damn wish point creep wouldn't have kicked my ass this year.

 

[WapitiBob]

LAST EDITED ON Mar-02-17 AT 01:09PM (MST)[p]This increase doesn't fund the Game Dept, they're pulling 5-6 million from gen funds that were marked for the dept so this Bill results in a wash at best and more likely a net loss.
With an increase in fees.

 

[jm77]

>LAST EDITED ON Mar-02-17
>AT 12:01?PM (MST)
>
>$480 to $576 for elk. Damn
>wish point creep wouldn't have
>kicked my ass this year.
>

That's the increase for the "special" priced tag.

 

[Wapitiwilly]

Pay to play...no surprise to me?

 

[midwesthunter]

Well I bet the NR buffalo odds get better now. Was going to start applying but not now.

 

[huntin50]

Non Res archery 28 to 70. Guess I'm not going to buy that for 2-3 days prior to rifle hunt.

Deer 310 to 372 62 dollar increase
Elk 575 to 690 115 dollar increase
Moose 1400 to 1980 580 increase
Lopes 270 to 324 54 dollar increase

Getting to be very pricey.

 

[Deerlove]

If I would of known this I would of gone special on elk.

 

[COSA]

Also looks like preference points may go up. $75 for deer, elk & antelope. $150 for sheep moose. Already dropped out of the sheep & moose when they went from $7 to $100.

 

[Triple_BB]

Long overdue on this price increase. Looks like it puts some of the increases in line with what other western states are charging. Think I've been paying over 2 grand each to apply for moose, sheep and mtn goat in Colorado...

 

[Zeke]

>Also looks like preference points may
>go up. $75 for deer,
>elk & antelope. $150 for
>sheep moose. Already dropped out
>of the sheep & moose
>when they went from $7
>to $100.


I'm glad I didn't drop out of moose and sheep since I've now been rewarded with both tags the last couple years!

This increase will sting but it's far from the end of the world. I don't like it but I doubt the plan is to gouge us any more than we can stand. They'll always have folks who will play and pay. That's the way it works.

Zeke

 

[mulecreek]

>Buffalo costing over $4000, seems like
>a good deal to me.......
>Not!

>I'll catch crap but I don't
>care, the price increases a
>cross the west (not just
>wyoming) are crazy. Price
>enought people out and who
>will fund fish and game?
>
Just having the opportunity to hunt wild bison is awesome. It would be a deal at twice the price.

I am confident they will sell every deer, elk, antelope, moose, bison, sheep and mnt goat tag available. Wyoming is the best deal around given the quality, opportunity, access and even price.

 

[COSA]

The math didn't make sense to me since I started applying a few years after preference points started. $200 a year was too much to swallow for the slim odds in the 25% random pool.

 

[schoolhousegrizz]

Will the prices go up for this coming draw? I am thinking I will draw antelope.

 

[Togwotee]

Bring it on. the reason guys like Buzz can't cut the NR quota is because we pay through the nose. so I'll pay it.

WY has been very good to me a few bucks isn't going to change my plans.

















Stay Thirsty My Friends

 

[Buckjunkie]

Each time a state raises the price to play it makes me think about burning my points and going somewhere else. Honestly though, Wyoming will be one of the last to go. I love hunting there!

Beautiful country, less hunters and still the wildest place in the lower 48.

 

[TOPGUN]

>Will the prices go up for
>this coming draw? I am
>thinking I will draw antelope.
>


Increase will be effective for the 2018 seasons!

 

[elks96]

Just kind of sucks for all of us wrapped in points. Having my wife and children to pay for means that next year when we go to draw it will be pricey. Oh well what can I do? Maybe just save my money and go hunt another state like NM?

 

[ridgerunner]

Ouch, no good for sure. It's sure to impact the draws this year as guys look to cash in at the cheaper rates. The cost per point is getting a little out of hand though.

 

[Togwotee]

Not cheap for sure. but WY is still probably the best bang for your buck as far as cost vs draw odds.

Montana is worst in my opinion. it's now expensive to apply and even though I have max points for sheep,moose and goat odds are I'll never draw. I've already drawn my sheep, moose and a top quality deer, elk and pronghorn tag in WY.




















Stay Thirsty My Friends

 

[LKHTR]

If you take the special fee out of the mix, the tag fees are pretty much in line with the rest of the western states. Buying the extra point or so with the Special option to get drawn a year or two sooner is what pushes the price up.

 

[Horniac]

>
>
>
>
>Not cheap for sure. but
>WY is still probably the
>best bang for your buck
>as far as cost vs
>draw odds.
>
>Montana is worst in my opinion.
> it's now expensive to
>apply and even though I
>have max points for sheep,moose
>and goat odds are I'll
>never draw. I've already
>drawn my sheep, moose and
>a top quality deer, elk
>and pronghorn tag in WY.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>Stay Thirsty My Friends

I'm almost in the same boat as Togwotee having drawn out my WY antelope, moose, and sheep though still having max points for elk and deer. Max points for sheep, moose, and mountain goat too in Montana with lottery odds of drawing one of those tags. About one more point fee increase in MT away from deciding on whether to continue buying points for a lottery tag there.

While tag, license, and point fee increases are pretty much a given for all the western states, the increase from $100 to $150 for a WY moose and sheep preference point is pretty steep considering the astronomical odds of drawing a random tag and the sad realization that any NR with less than 15 or so points is pretty much going to have to wait 20 years to clear out the preference point pools above them just to have a shot at a preference point tag. Add another 6 or 7 years to the wait for each point less than that a NR has - assuming they don't cut the NR quota in half like what was being proposed a couple of years. Unless you actually put your money in and apply for a NR random tag and get lucky and draw it, they change the drawing rules (i.e. AZ), double the NR tag quotas, or they miraculously increase our life expectancy by a hundred years, any NR with less than 10 points and older than 30 is basically throwing their money away on a preference point. At some point, preference point fees will be at a tipping point where the odds and wait time don't justify the expense, and I think WY is getting pretty close to that for a few people as to sheep and moose. I could see preference point and tag fees being raised multiple times in the next 5 to 10 years as has been the trend in WY and almost every western state I have been applying in.

I don't pretend to know the answer as demand far exceeds supply for these awesome WY tags and hunt opportunities, but wow is it ever getting expensive!

Horniac

 

[WiBuckslayer523]

If your like me and love to hunt Wyoming you will pay it! Whats another $50! We piss more than that away stopping in Deadwood on the way out! LOL

 

[sticksender]

If the PP fees go to the max allowed in the bill, non-refundable fees for a NR to apply for the 7 big game species goes to 580.00 per year. Over 30 years, that's 17000.00+ (in today's dollars) in app fees alone. Not counting license fees. I'll probably stay in, because I'm in too deep to quit now. But it's certainly worth considering whether there's a better way to use that much money!

 

[TOPGUN]

Amazing that people are bitching about these increases when the last license fee increases was TEN years ago. Many people go out for one or two meals and pay more for them than the increase that will happen! If they raised them a little each year they would still be at the new level or higher than not having raised them in ten years. Everything you can name has gone way up in the last ten years and this had to happen sooner or later. Other than Bison and a couple other fees IMHO the increases are justified and way overdue.

 

[schoolhousegrizz]

Thanks Topgun!

 

[lostinOregon]

A couple thoughts. I can pay the increase in fees at this point in my life and will continue to pay to play. When I was 20 to 30, raising kids and just getting started in life this would have priced me out of the market. I think all hunters should be worried about the pricing of hunters out of a reasonable market.

Second, the increase that they are requesting is an result of what is called a fund swap in the legislature. It is a common tactic to back out an amount of money that is general fund and spend it somewhere else in a state budget. This money raised will just replace what is taken and spent somewhere else. It will not go to increasing the budget of the F&W. It will be a status quo swap of cash that results in higher fees for non residents. It will also not fix the budget woes of this agency.

Every two years the state fish and wildlife agencies budgets roll up and the cost to maintain the same level of service increases. I have seen as much as 11 percent increases due to health care and other factors. What you are seeing in some states is a bunch of additional hunts every year to cover the cost of the roll up costs. I see this every year in Oregon and believe that is why tag numbers don't decrease even in a bad winter.

Rich

 

[gundog2]

I applied for WY moose (unit 26) with 17 preference points, hoping to draw before price increases.

 

[WapitiBob]

Wish I had the money NR have pissed away on Sheep and Moose apps, with no chance of drawing in their lifetime.

 

[bugleb]

There is one good way to solve all the non-resident problems with Wyoming including high costs, point creep, limited area to hunt in, etc, etc. Just move to Wyoming and become a resident. Then you can get dirt cheap tags every year and not be limited to one region.

If that is not practical, just have one or two of your kids move up there. I now have two sons, two daughters-in-law and seven grandkids that are Wyoming residents. The first grandkid will be old enough to hunt this year and another one next year.

I have passed up some mighty fine bucks on opening days in past years in Wyoming so I could keep on hunting. We used to call it a "tag crisis" when everyone had used up their tags, but that will be a lot less of a problem now. At my age of almost 68, I have killed my share of big bucks and I don't care much about killing deer or elk anymore, so it is just great to be able to tag along with the kids and grandkids and help them get theirs.

I have hunted Region G five years straight now, with no end in sight, with only one tag of my own in that time.

 

[letmgetbig]

No end in sight? All good things come to an end. And WY's good old days are in the rear view mirror. If you think the Non-res tag increase isn't setting up a change for residents. Think again.

 

[eelgrass]

Not a deal breaker, except the increase for Bison tags. I'm still going to wait until they offer a bounty on wolves to offset the price increases.

 

[Togwotee]

Bob I agree with you. I got in early enough I drew both my moose and sheep tags but now I'm out for good.



Only a fool would start over or get in the game today the odds just don't warrant the expense. this is the downside for the state to charge so much for points, they really get their hooks in the players but they lose a lot of players in the process.











Stay Thirsty My Friends

 

[N_Corey]

I don't think the tag fee's are necessarily out of line with most other states however if they increase the price to strictly purchase a point they would be placing themselves near the head of the pack for most expensive state to play the points game in.

 

[faultcurrent]

>Wish I had the money NR
>have pissed away on Sheep
>and Moose apps, with no
>chance of drawing in their
>lifetime.


Theres always a chance of drawing a random tag...

 

[dillon]

I became a Wyoming resident today (March 7th). That was a very long year. However, it was worth it. I will be applying for my Wyoming hunts this weekend.

I have family that wants to hunt in Wyoming, but they probably won't come hunt with me because of the cost increases. That is life.

Personally, I apply for Utah elk ($800) and mountain goats ($1,500+) every year without giving it much thought. Priorities!

I guess it just depends on the individual.

Dillon
www.dillonhoyt.com

 

[N_Corey]

That Utah elk tag only costs $42.50 each year to put in for though and less than that really if you're splitting the license cost with other species.

 

[dz]

Dillon you need to keep an eye on your inbox as you should have about 50 PM's coming asking you to sponsor them as NR to hunt in the Wilderness. I'm jealous, as I almost got there a few years ago when my company had a severance.

DZ