How many big game tags is too many?

[KHNC]

I get 12 deer tags per year….no more than 2 can be bucks. I could kill 12 if I wanted to, but I average 1 deer per year. I try to have a western hunt lined up at least every other year, which is for 1 game animal.

Guys who are retired with deep pockets, sponsored influencer types, working blue or white collar guys, all have different situations. I don’t think there is a right or wrong # of tags. The scientists set the limits so if that guy wasn’t killing the bull someone else would be. As long as the meat is not wasted I don’t see an issue other than envy.

Ahh, a Georgia resident im betting !

 

[Hnthrdr]

I live and hunt in NC/SC. My NC lifetime license gets me 4 buck tags , 2 doe tags, bear tag and 2 turkey tags a year. I dont fill all of them anymore. My SC license gets me 5 buck tags, 8 doe tags and 3 turkey tags. This year I also had a Wyoming Type 9 bull tag and I still have a reduced price cow tag and a Whitetail Buck tag for November when I go back out. I will probably kill at least 3 bucks and 4 does in SC and maybe 1 buck and 1 doe in NC. I use 6-7 deer per year easy and give my brother at least 2. Havent killed an elk, due to my own dumb chit, since 2019. I need to shoot a cow in Wyoming to get some elk meat! Then I will probably pass on more of the whitetail does.

Self regulation is a powerful tool, I tend to do it on a lesser scale where I get really picky if I fill a bull tag early in the year those younger/smaller bucks get a free pass come November

 

[Hnthrdr]

I get 12 deer tags per year….no more than 2 can be bucks. I could kill 12 if I wanted to, but I average 1 deer per year. I try to have a western hunt lined up at least every other year, which is for 1 game animal.

Guys who are retired with deep pockets, sponsored influencer types, working blue or white collar guys, all have different situations. I don’t think there is a right or wrong # of tags. The scientists set the limits so if that guy wasn’t killing the bull someone else would be. As long as the meat is not wasted I don’t see an issue other than envy.

I agree with what you are saying, scientists set it up so if you can buy them buy them. Does seem that if envy is on one side selfishness is on the other. If one person is hoarding opportunities is that just making the line longer for everyone else? I see tags as a resource so it pains me to even have this little thought experiment. Since when it comes to money my family worked for I hate how much we have to give up in taxes, but some could say it’s for the common good… still hate it

 

[Hnthrdr]

All in my home state. I have a unique work schedule that allows me 2 weeks off/2 weeks on so I have lots of time to hunt and fish.

Jay

Nice, I work a weird schedule as well so I used to have loads of time for hunting and fishing… now a little less since I’m daddy day care on my days off but the little gal and I will be big enough to join on more adventures soon

 

[Drenalin]

There may be a need for a limit on total number of tags per person on some species. But since that would presumably be managed by government, and in this case many state governments would have to work together, I'm confident it would become a complete and total clusterfrick. So I couldn't get behind across the board compulsory moderation.

Self regulation is an entirely valid discussion. Obviously it wouldn't be 100% participation, but if it were 20% participation that would be a benefit to the resource.

 

[Augie]

Personal opinion, you should be limited to one nonresident tag per species. So if you live in Montana you could hunt everything as per normal but could only get one nonresident elk tag somewhere, one nonresident deer tag, etc. When tags are so hard to come by in the west right now it's confusing to me when I somehow see someone in the hunting industry have 4 different non resident elk tags meanwhile people have a hard time drawing one tag.

 

[Hnthrdr]

Personal opinion, you should be limited to one nonresident tag per species. So if you live in Montana you could hunt everything as per normal but could only get one nonresident elk tag somewhere, one nonresident deer tag, etc. When tags are so hard to come by in the west right now it's confusing to me when I somehow see someone in the hunting industry have 4 different non resident elk tags meanwhile people have a hard time drawing one tag.

Yep, makes sense to me. This is where I was having some of that confusion as well

 

[Jethro]

Well I personally don't want regulation to try to limit number of tags over numerous individual states. If tags are so hard to get but some people are getting numerous tags....then others should figure out how they are getting so many and get them for themselves.

 

[Jimmy]

When I see guys that hunt many tags every year and are donating the meat to local places because they could never eat that much meat before the next year they get a bunch more tags it makes me smh a little bit.

I must admit, if I missed out on a local tag and found out it went to a guy from out of state who had 6 other tags I wouldn't be real happy about that.

 

[Pony Soldier]

I ran into a gent one year who had drawn a moose and cow elk tag along with his bull tag and deer tag.

I hunted every day and saw two bull moose in 5 weeks. The last day I ran into him on the last day. He had hunted for five weeks for that bull moose and had yet to see one. Likewise he never got to hunt anything else and finished the season with nothing.

Lots of choices doesn't give you lots of success. I quit applying for extra tags beyond cow tags 25 years ago.i would rather have dinner than a set of horns. Guess I am just failure at this game.

 

[Hnthrdr]

I ran into a gent one year who had drawn a moose and cow elk tag along with his bull tag and deer tag.

I hunted every day and saw two bull moose in 5 weeks. The last day I ran into him on the last day. He had hunted for five weeks for that bull moose and had yet to see one. Likewise he never got to hunt anything else and finished the season with nothing.

Lots of choices doesn't give you lots of success. I quit applying for extra tags beyond cow tags 25 years ago.i would rather have dinner than a set of horns. Guess I am just failure at this game.

This is true, lots of tags doesn’t translate to filling them all

 

[wind gypsy]

I dont like the idea of restricting people. If a guy draws 2 single digit odds tags in 2 different states it's kind of shitty to tell him to turn one in and take a financial hit. I really dont see a way that it would ever be enforceable due to how different every state is so the discussion is all theoretical.

There's obviously the cam hanes and aron snyder's of the world going around killing everything but I dont think there are that many people out there really getting that many tags in a bunch of states. To be clear, killing magnitudes more animals than a guy and his family can eat in a year is a bad look IMO, i just think such people are a drop in the bucket.

 

[Dos Perros]

Cam and Snyder are swiping credit cards, they aren't drawing tags. Different pools. But you knew that already.

If you're killing so much that you're donating meat, maybe time for some introspection.

 

[SWOHTR]

If you're killing so much that you're donating meat, maybe time for some introspection.

If I had to state my position simply, it would be exactly how you said. I am generally against over-regulation as it limits opportunities and possibly valid needs of other people. The detractor to this philosophy is potentially excessive taking by individual/s. The means for managing this is generally self-control and limitation.

 

[The_Jim]

I’ve found that any more than 1-2 tags that involve a trip is all I want. Any more than that actually ends up being stressful at this point in my life. Also have 4 kids 11 and under right now so I suppose that could change in 10 or 15 years.

Local hunting is different. I like having couple tags that I can hunt from my house. Archery deer in Nebraska goes from September-December so there’sa lots of after work and weekend opportunities that don’t take as much time investment.

 

[Hnthrdr]

I dont like the idea of restricting people. If a guy draws 2 single digit odds tags in 2 different states it's kind of shitty to tell him to turn one in and take a financial hit. I really dont see a way that it would ever be enforceable due to how different every state is so the discussion is all theoretical.

There's obviously the cam hanes and aron snyder's of the world going around killing everything but I dont think there are that many people out there really getting that many tags in a bunch of states. To be clear, killing magnitudes more animals than a guy and his family can eat in a year is a bad look IMO, i just think such people are a drop in the bucket.

I don’t think anyone would expect you to pay for the tags and then eat it. To be fair I think this becoming more and more common…. Not just a couple of Insta guys or famous hunters

 

[wind gypsy]

I don’t think anyone would expect you to pay for the tags and then eat it. To be fair I think this becoming more and more common…. Not just a couple of Insta guys or famous hunters

I wasn't referring to the tag fees but all the sunk costs to apply that you aint getting back. Good luck getting reimbursed for your NR small game license in AZ, NV, CO. WY is going to take BS credit card fees regardless. I'm pretty sure a guy is losing his preference/bonus points in numerous states if he returns a tag. Losing a bunch of years and money in applications wasted. Returning a MT Combo tag costs a guy what, $350 + $100 per preference point (probably at least 2 these days), so $550+ cost to return tags.

 

[Banded_spooney]

Well I have already ate an elk tag, a blacktail tag and a whitetail tag. I'm three days away from eating my first mule deer tag of the year and just a guess I'll eat my bear tag like I always do.

Hopefully, Colorado will treat me better in November. Having lots of tags doesn't stop me from being a shitty hunter. Thank god I can start shooting ducks next weekend. I'm at least only slightly below average at that.

 

[Wrench]

I will share a valuable piece of information....

Comparison is the thief of joy.

 

[Dos Perros]

What @Wrench is trying to say is, when you draw zero tags, and BRO bros each drew 4 tags, ignore them. Only then can you be happy about your zero tags.