Originally Posted by
salukipv1
IMO we need some legislation or something limiting non-res tags at 10x resident fees, and 5x is much more like it, when talking trophy animals, ie bull elk, buck deer. I'd love to see "once-in-a-lifetime" tags made the same price as well. Like NM sheep 3 grand when a resident probably pays not even $100.
MT should just make sure all non-res get tags, then whatever is left offer them to residents at $19...talk about more money for the state!
I see MT has once again required a non-res to draw a general tag in order to apply for a special limited draw tag, when many non-res like me want a limited entry or nothing at all! ie if I draw a general tag and not the limited I'll be returning it for a refund of 80% which amounts to something like a $200 pref.point.
So this year I'm really debating even applying for a tag in MT, I may just to send them the message along with others. Or I'll be hoping I don't draw the general tag so I can save $200 for the pref.point.
Give it a rest dude. Your legal challenge idea has already been tried and beaten down. The state of Montana has every right to charge you what they want, because it's a luxury commodity that you certainly don't need to survive. No court is going to care that you have to pay a little more, anymore than they care that heating bills are going to go up if oil prices keep climbing. If you can't afford it then it sucks to be you, but that's the way it works. If Disney World wants to jack up their prices and you can't afford it, bummer but you have no legal recourse in the matter just because you don't like it. In a free market economy your feelings are irrelevant.
Now here's what I think is "unfair" with non-resident hunting. I'm really tired of non-residents from states with absolute crap hunting (like Illinois) crying about the opportunities they have to hunt in states with great hunting (like Montana). I'd like to see reciprocity where non-residents are only allowed to hunt the species (or comparable species) that their state offers. That, unlike price caps, is absolutely legal and actually already occurs with Montana trapping licenses. If your state doesn't allow Montanans to trap as non-residents, then you aren't allowed to trap as a non-resident in Montana.
FYI for anyone that thinks they're getting ripped off compared to resident prices you should check the Alaska hunting regs. That'll really chap your backside. As an Alaska resident I can hunt moose, caribou, dall sheep, mountain goat, black bear, interior/northern grizzly, Sitka blacktail deer, wolf, muskox (registration permit), bison (drawing permit), elk, wolverine, and small game and the sum for all of those tags is...$0. Yep, I just buy a $25 hunting license and all of the aforementioned can be hunted without paying another dime in tag fees. A non-resident would have to pay $4,465 for just one of each of those (I can get multiple caribou, black bear, deer, wolf, and in some units grizzly). That's a multiplier of 179 fold!!!