Hunting Licenses. How much is too much?

[DuckHunt]

I live about a 22 rifle shot from the WV/VA state line. Since 2004 I have spent most of my time in the woods in Virginia. The license structure just nickle and dimes you to death. My fees go something like this: State Hunting ($86), Bear/Deer/Turkey ($66), Archery ($31), Crossbow ($31), Muzzleloader ($31) and Bonus Deer ($31). That is $276 and all I was really after was deer. If I wanted to hunt waterfowl I would need to add $25 pushing the total to $301 per season.

Right now Virginia has a proposal in the works to raise all license fees. This is for residents and non-residents. Of course, they stick it to non-residents hardest just like they always do. The new proposed no-greater than rates for non-residents would be State Hunting ($135), Bear/Deer/Turkey ($115), Archery ($80), Crossbow ($80), Muzzleloader ($80) and Bonus Deer ($80). So my license fees would jump from $276 to $570 or to $595 if I wanted to hunt waterfowl as well.

I guess one way or another my days of hunting in Virginia were going to come to an end. Between CWD making it difficult to bring deer out of the state to the cost of licenses, it has become way too expensive to hunt there any longer.

How much do you pay for licenses to hunt? I can hunt/fish/trap in WV for $35, but not with a crossbow.

DuckHunt

[chessy]

first off thank you for posting this . i hunt va as well.. first i would buy a life time licence for 500 bucks then 115 every year for deer hunting .. its still cheap to hunt va .. ontario deer 33 turkey 25 per bird times 2 then small game as well

[frisky]

Wisconsin Resident
Deer Gun $24.00
Deer Bow $24.00
I only hunt deer so...........

[Horizontal Hunter]

Connecticut found out how much is too much in 2009. In the fall of 2009 they doubled all of the licenses and permits and people stopped buying licenses. Just before the fishing season opened up they had to significantly reduce the cost of the licenses because the license sales were way down. I attached a link which shows you what the high prices were and what they are reduced to. It was cheaper to pay a poaching fine than it was to buy the license in some cases.

http://www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?a=26 ... v_GID=1511

Even after the reduction if I want to hunt as a non resident with a gun the license is $91.00 and doesn't come with tags for two rifle/shotgun tags it is an additional $68.00, for muzzleloader you can get two more tags for another $68.00. That is like $80 a tag to hunt a couple of weeks. Too rich for my blood.

I still hunt the archery season though which s $135.00 for six tags and runs from September 15th thru January 31st. Two of those tags are only good for the January season which is a special deer management season on private land in southern Connecticut

Bob

[Woody Williams]

Illinois..

By the tIme I buy my NR hunting license, habitat stamp, archery tags (2), and gun tags 92) I am OUT $700.

Offsetting that is bought a lifetime license (all hunting licenses and tags) in Indiana back in 1987 for $375. It has more than paid for itself many times over..

Indiana's NR deer tags are $150 each.

[masboy]

i live in pa . but hunt maryland only live 3 miles from maryland . non- resident licence 130 for regular 25 muzzel loader stamp and 25 for archery stamp.10 or 15 for goose.25 for bonus stamps.but you can shoot two bucks in each season and if you buy bonus stamp you can use in any season and allowed 10 doe.dont hunt pa because your only allowed one buck per season.my sons hunt pa too.

[cevans]

I bought my lifetime license in Indiana when they first came out, for 200.00. Now Indiana has done away with lifetime hunting and fishing license. Even if you pay the 24.00 per deer for deer its costing a person 125.00 to 200 if he were to buy all the tags available, then still have to buy small game license, bird stamp, waterfowl stamp and salmon stamp plus fishing license. It all adds up.

[cevans]

I think it was 2000, bow license nationwide decreased in sales for the first time ever. We are not producing as many hunters and the anti's are growing in strenth cause they teach the kids in school their ways. If its to change, hunters and fishermen, need to wise up and do the same as them. Teach the kids our ways or someday, it will all be their way.

[Horizontal Hunter]

I'm happy to pay for my resident license. The combined fishing and hunting license includes two bucks if you use a shotgun and cost less than $50.00 but add $5.00 each for an Archery and ML stamp and $5.00 each for bear, turkey, and antlerless deer. Not sure what the non-resident pays cause who in their right mind would come to Taxachusetts from another state. Years ago if you did not book a hotel room months in advance you could not hunt the Berkshires. These day there are more empty rooms than there are deer.

The fish & wildlife people do buy alot of land which means places to hunt in a state full of non hunting land owners. My biggest gripe is that most of the money taken in goes to the general fund and gets spent on non-wildlife related things like roads, bridges ect. we have become just another source of income in a state that does not know how to spend or save their money.

Next year we will begin paying $10.00 for a salt water license as well. If the money goes to rebuilding fish stocks than fine but I'm betting it doesn't. I think the salt water licensing is federally mandated up and down the coast and we know how well the feds handle money. who would have thought...

This state is down 50% in the number of hunting licenses sold. Kids don't hunt and older hunters can't find places to hunt. Personally I think crossbow inclusion would increase numbers a bit and bring in more revenue but I can't see that happening here. Hunting has become a dirty word......

I agree. Our license is a bargain. Just don't tell anyone on the hill.

Bob

[MADMAX2]

Here is the cost for me in Ontario small game must have to get any other license 3 yr: $78.00=$26.00 yr
Turkey spring $24.50
Turkey fall $24.50
Deer $39.75
Moose $46.50
Bear $39.75
If I want to get my migratory bird licence that is another government license from the federal not provincial.

[Tired Rooster]

Here in Alabama an annual hunting license costs us $24.00.
This is for ALL game...Deer, Turkey and ALL small game. We are a very pro hunting state and are very fortunate that the vast majority of Alabamians are pro hunting. It's just kinda ingrained in our culture here. In this day that we live....we do not take it for granite either.

[Tenn. Equinox]

Duck Hunt, I read Virginia is considering doing away with the combo deer, turkey, bear license this year and selling each one separate. Maybe if you just deerhunt and don't hunt turkey or bear , that part might be cheaper
I'm from Tennesse and hunt Virginia. Five years ago , I paid out the $500.00 for the nonresident Va. license. I'm 2 miles from Va. line too. All I hunt for is deer.
They are trying to pass the hunting on Sunday law again too.

[bob1961]

my PA lic cost me 85.90 this past hunting year, that includes this....

gen hunting lic 20.70
archery stamp 16.70
muzzleloader stamp 11.70
bear lic 16.70
doe tags 6.70 each i get 3 a year for 85.90 total....

two deer i got this year gave me 63 pounds of meat from them....

$85.90 / 63 = $1.36 a pound for my venison, that is including 16.70 for my bear lic....without that my venison cost is $1.10 a pound .........bob

....

[knobby]

I live in Ohio....hunt Ohio and WV every year. My dads side of the family is from WV and we hunt with family on family farms.

If it were not for seeing family and hunting with family they probably would have already priced me out of the game.

My relatives that live there think we are CRAZY for shelling out the money. They tell us all the time to not buy licenses LOL. They certainly wouldn't care....but they're not the ones getting in trouble either if we got caught.

Like some others have said they nickel and dime you to death and you need like 6-8 different licenses to go hunt deer and turkey. They just increased them all by $10-20 each and this might just be the year I call it quits in WV. With fuel costs and license increases I just might be better off spending that money on my house.

All that said.....WV's fees are nowhere NEAR some of the other states....and this is just my opinion lol....but you guys that shell out $5-6-700 are NUTS ! lol

[j.krug]

Here is the cost for me in Ontario small game must have to get any other license 3 yr: $78.00=$26.00 yr
Turkey spring $24.50
Turkey fall $24.50
Deer $39.75
Moose $46.50
Bear $39.75
If I want to get my migratory bird licence that is another government license from the federal not provincial.

I live in Ontario as well so same for me.
Interesting to see what others pay in the province or state.
Some are paying a pretty penny for their licences!