Originally Posted by
South33
The "hunting experience" im talking about isn't determined on how little or how much something costs (the fact I pay resident fees means absolutely nothing); I just payed more than I would care to admit for an Alaskan Moose hunt last fall & had the time of my life & I left with more memories than I could have ever hoped for. I also payed $10.00 for a turkey tag this spring & shot a beautiful tom opening morning & I had the time of my life doing so. My point is the prices are what they are if you want to hunt in MT, AK, CO etc. you are going to have to pay the fees & if going into the hunt with the right attitude you very rarely leave disappointed. So either pay the price & enjoy being out there or don't. But whining about something you can't change is a waste of time...
-South
The fact you pay resident fees means absolutely nothing to the experience, but it certainly has relevance to the question I asked.
Certainly price doesn't affect the "experience". But how many will continue to be able to afford it at that price, that is my question. I am not whining, just asked a simple question: Will there be buyers remorse? In your mind, when does it stop being whining and become a legitimate question? Would it be legit if you raised the price to $10,000 per tag? Well, for many nonrsidents, raising it to over $900 has the same affect as that price, they can no longer afford it. So enjoy the incredental move toward having more nonrsident hunters driving $50,000 pickups and monster ATVs
There is certainly a line states will cross at some point where price starts to affect applicants. It already has in Montana. Yes, you sold all your tags (this year) but applicants were WAY down. I will bet you a 6 pack that they will drop again next year.
Colorado is currently setting up a "summit" to determine why they have lost 10s of thousands of nonresident elk hunters. I can tell them: Certainly there are many reasons, but one of the biggest is that when they raised the price to over $500, they crossed a threshold where hunters can't afford to go every year.
If I were a resident, I would probably be worried too (Montana or Colorado). If nonresident hunters drop and therefore money coming in to the state drops, they will be raising my tag prices........... Othewise, why complain? Less nonresidents in the woods means more game for me.