Wyoming License increase for 2018

[mixedbag]

^^^So your saying you can't wait to buy a $1300 tag this year
I agree that both R and NR tags should increase SLIGHTLY every 3-5 years.If they did that,no one would really be crying right now.But to whack a NR $200 more for a special license fee is a little tough for a working man with family.You can talk about campers and 4wheelers,but those have a resale value.You can't really compare the 2.On top of that 90% of the campers and 4 wheelers are residents.I have a grandson now on top of my younger kids still living at home.The special tag fee will be a 1x and done deal for me just so I get the most out of my points.After that,I'll buy points for me and my youngest son so we can have a fun elk,antelope and deer hunt before he heads off to college.I did this with my oldest son so he could see why I enjoy western hunting.Now he has to decide if it's worth it to him to keep going

 

[BuzzH]

I just got back from 12 days of gen elk hunting in several different units,,tag soup,,just gotta bitch cuzz now im 0-2 on Wyoming elk,,they are $1200+ richer and im not,,at least I didn't burn up any amo,,not a single shot fired.

Did you leave your truck with your eyes open? I cant imagine hunting 12 days in a general unit and coming home empty handed. I hunted half that and could have shot elk every day. My 74 year old hunting partner and I both shot elk the last day of the season, I shot a bull and he got a cow.

 

[Topgun 30-06]

Did you leave your truck with your eyes open? I cant imagine hunting 12 days in a general unit and coming home empty handed. I hunted half that and could have shot elk every day. My 74 year old hunting partner and I both shot elk the last day of the season, I shot a bull and he got a cow.

Some seem to be able to gripe a lot better than they can hunt. With the elk population booming everywhere out there I can't imagine having a tag and not being able to fill it with at least a cow on the last day or two of almost a two week hunt. IMHO the hunting experience is a lot more than just filling a tag and if a tag is filled it's just icing on the cake, but I guess that's the difference in the way a lot of us old timers were taught what hunting is all about and for me filling a tag is the last thing on my mind while I'm in the field having fun!

 

[WapitiBob]

Partner and I will be sending them over $1700 next year and happy to do it.

 

[JM77]

I just got back from 12 days of gen elk hunting in several different units,,tag soup,,just gotta bitch cuzz now im 0-2 on Wyoming elk,,they are $1200+ richer and im not,,at least I didn't burn up any amo,,not a single shot fired.

Father and son success in popular general Wyoming elk area 2017. This is not a wilderness hunt, but walking from 4wd roads each day.

 

[VikingsGuy]

Partner and I will be sending them over $1700 next year and happy to do it.

Setting aside my broader concern (but very much related) of pricing out average Americans, my personal challenge is the buddy factor (who happen to be your 'average Americans'). I have been lucky and blessed enough in life to be able to afford the ever escalating prices, but the buddies I live to hunt with have had different fortunes -- they get priced out by these changes and then I have a bunch of bad options; drop out, hunt alone or find sneaky ways to subsidize their involvement (I was already getting a new tent anyway, or don't worry I got the gas, I don't remember how much I spent on groceries we can square up next year, etc.) without making it tough for proud men to enjoy the experience. The latter is the usual path, but the bigger the $$ the harder this gets to pull off. And the, "they just have to prioritize" is a BS response if you don't know their circumstances.

 

[mixedbag]

Those pics look just like a spot I hunt down below Laramie.Haven't been there in a few years.But honestly,being a resident that's hunted there 20-30 years is definitely going to help in seeing elk daily compared to a guy coming from 1k miles away.Im definitely not filling a $1300 tag with a cow

 

[3855WIN]

Partner and I will be sending them over $1700 next year and happy to do it.

Since you’re so happy to do it, why don’t you send $3,000? Tell Game and fish to put it to good use.

 

[Topgun 30-06]

That is one heck of a great bull the boy got Jeff---Congrats to him and Pop!

 

[WapitiBob]

Since you’re so happy to do it, why don’t you send $3,000? Tell Game and fish to put it to good use.

Two Elk and at least four Antelope tags is enough, although, Whitetail Deer has piqued my interest. The Dept has put every dime I've sent them over the last 12 years to good use, they don't need my input.

 

[3855WIN]

Two Elk and at least four Antelope tags is enough, although, Whitetail Deer has piqued my interest. The Dept has put every dime I've sent them over the last 12 years to good use, they don't need my input.

Sounds good. I think we’re trying for deer this year. Good luck and maybe we’ll see you on the mountain.

 

[Walkathon]

It's expensive, but every time I've hunted Wyoming, I've hunted either public land, or walk in access land, and I've been really happy with the amount and quality of animals I've seen. At least Wyoming is managing their game populations with the money they receive.

 

[dan.kirkpatrick]

ive been hunting elk for many years,fairly successfully with all weapon types .dont tell me how to hunt.and yes,i did hike my ass off even at 7 deg above 0 and knee deep snow.had no luck in unit 83,81,89 was a nut house jammed with people,90 was crowded but not as bad,92 seemed a bit better than 90,,,was willing to take a cow on the last several days,but all I did was run into people.just not a good experience this time.If I can find elk in Oregon,i should be able to find em in Wyoming,,just not this time,or the last time in 2014.seen plenty of nice moose though.

 

[Topgun 30-06]

Again another comment by a rich person... Or of course cutting corners elsewhere to hunt in WY and I'm OK with you being able to cut corners, but the regular person who would love to hunt out west is now again being pushed out of the picture. People for some reason don't seem to get this from the original post. It's not the point of "it's been years" since an increase...it's the point of holy hell, it's an almost 50% increase at once. It's all good though, we get that hunting out west is slowly becoming a rich persons passtime

Not rich by any means! I don't smoke, drink, and very seldom go out and spend a ton of money on a fancy meal like many do every month. I cut grass and blow snow in my spare time and that gives me enough cash to buy a tag or two in Wyoming and pay for part of the gas to get there and back. Since the kids have been long gone (in their 50s now) and I can control my expenses I'm lucky to be able to go out west every Fall for a month or two. I can see younger guys with a growing family having to scrimp and save to even go once every few years, but it was that way for me back years ago too. It's not like Wyoming is the only state socking it to NRs because every state is that way now in case some haven't looked into the tag prices everywhere, with some states even requiring a NR to buy a license just to apply for a tag that has little chance of being drawn. It's just the way it is and is probably not going to get any better in the near future.

 

[BuzzH]

ive been hunting elk for many years,fairly successfully with all weapon types .dont tell me how to hunt.and yes,i did hike my ass off even at 7 deg above 0 and knee deep snow.had no luck in unit 83,81,89 was a nut house jammed with people,90 was crowded but not as bad,92 seemed a bit better than 90,,,was willing to take a cow on the last several days,but all I did was run into people.just not a good experience this time.If I can find elk in Oregon,i should be able to find em in Wyoming,,just not this time,or the last time in 2014.seen plenty of nice moose though.

Beings how you know it all...strange you came home empty 2 years in Wyoming. Apparently Oregon and Wyoming elk aren't that similar.

Even with other hunters, just don't see spending 12 days hunting and never getting one...seems about impossible really.

 

[vanish]

BuzzH and dan.k - this petty business isn't helping the thread.