Hunting License Price Increases

[SuperDUECE22]

For $400 NR sportsman’s license…


2 bears
2 bucks
10 does
2 turkeys
Unlimited small game
Unlimited hogs
Fishing license

Preference points are FREE (even if you don’t have a license…)

I hate to break it to you all but the western states are absolutely ripping everyone the eff off and have been for years.

View attachment 803705

Was this a large increase for RESIDENTS?

OP didn't ask what license in your state cost, he asked if : Any other states increasing license costs for residents?

 

[Huntindog45]

funny i have no problem with the cost going up. everything has gone up and I still believe most F&G departments are understaffed, underpaid and work pretty damn hard for us. Shit I went out to dinner the other night, two people, couple cocktails blah blah blah.. $165. For the price of my tags and licenses I get a year of chasing stuff through the woods, the marshes, the creeks, rivers and the ocean. I will gladly pay my license fees for that.

 

[MNGrouser]

Minnesota just had a decrease...of sorts. For as long as I can remember we had a separate "Early Season Goose" license plus the normal small game license and state & Federal stamps. This year when I went to buy my license I was informed they did away with the additional early season license. You could hunt early and regular goose season on the same license. I had to double check the regulation book. I didn't want to rely on the word of the kid working at the sport's shop. The kid was correct. The MN DNR gave up the opportunity to soak me for an additional tag. I'd never heard of them doing such a thing before.

 

[sodaksooner]

Did'nt Oklahoma have a hugh increase? $209 plus $501? deer. That's a expensive whitetail.

You get 6 deer for that price, 2 bucks, 4 does.

 

[Macintosh]

OP didn't ask what license in your state cost, he asked if : Any other states increasing license costs for residents?

yes. Our F&W department makes a budget proposal to the legislature every year. As some part of this process they also submit a proposal for license fee increases for both residents and non-residents. They have generally been fairly good at making smaller increases more frequently, but for sure the cost to do the same thing increases every year like clockwork, so the funding to do this has to come from somewhere. I just checked, in my state in 2015 a Resident combo hunting/fishing license was $40. 2016 and 2017 it was $41. 2018 it went up to $42. In 2019 it went up to $47, I believe with the plan to let it sit for a few years. It is still at $47 as of 2025 pricelist. I'd rather have smaller more frequent increases, but I anticipate within a year or two it goes up to $55 or so (roughly $1 per year increase), which would be a roughly 17% increase. Our license automatically comes with both a general season buck tag and a bear tag. Archery, muzzleloader, turkey, waterfowl stamp, and draw tags also usually have a similar % increase along with those.

I am totally fine with this.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

In Ca. there are generally small annual cost increase. When I first started hunting here in 1972, I think I paid around $15 for an annual license, now many year later the cost is just under $62. A pig tag is now $27, with that you can take as many pigs as you want. Considering it use to be about $20 per tag, $27 is quite a deal. the pigs have become a real problem in Central Ca. Other than pigs I don't hunt Ca any longer.

 

[Weldor]

You get 6 deer for that price, 2 bucks, 4 does.

You make it sound easy, LOL. (humor)

 

[sodaksooner]

You make it sound easy, LOL. (humor)

Depends on where you hunt! That said, I paid close to $600 in general hunting and tags for one deer in CO last year. OK is a bargain....lol. Im an OK resident so with general and 6 tags its only like $90 total, but that also includes fishing.

 

[Yoder]

I think it's ironic that guys complaining about a small increase in the cost of a license buy a new $1500 bow every year. That new carbon bow is .01 ounces lighter than last year. I know that's not all of you but it's some of you.