I do understand some points here. Non-residents feeling like they are getting ripped off. At those prices I'd say they have a point. Residents should be allowed to hunt their state without the extra money for the tag. But if everyone hunted Montana at a cheap price then the time it would take to get a tag would be so much that you'd hunt Montana 4X in a lifetime and the quality of the hunting wouldn't be any better. Colorado is heading down the same road. Higher prices and less Quality. Hunting Elk is starting to be a investment in both time and money and it's not really fair to those people that just like hunting elk and not having to kill a monster bull.
The reality of it all is every state is heading to the draw and the number of tags vs the number of hunters is going to get very tight. Trophy hunters don't care it's worth their time to invest in a chance of getting a big bull. The average joe is the one going to be shut out of this game. They are using the quality trophy ploy to raise fees and try to cut down the amount of people in the field. The rich man's scenario of Elk hunting has arrived.
I just like having a chance to go see what's out there every year. I'm not happy about any of it.