Hunter 5325, You are correct, there are many opportunities to hunt out west for much less. I could have purchased an over the counter Elk tag for $501 and hunted elk for a fraction of the price. However, the Mule Deer tags for this area take an average of 7 years to draw. I didn't want to wait 7 years. I was hunting a combination of private land, BLM, and Federal Land. I was also supporting the Rocky Mountain Elk foundation through the hunt. In the end, I had a great time and saw more game than I ever expected. Of course I would have liked to catch the 4x4 (first photo) on the land I had permission to hunt. When I took the photo, I was standing next to a fence that ended the property I had permission to hunt and the deer had just crossed onto private propety.