I have to wonder, is it the actuall cost of the tag that has people taking a second or third look at hunting out of state, or is it the total cost these days of hunting out of state?
Seriously, look at the ridiculous raise in the cost of fuel, airline tickets, food, motels, and now the hunting license. It occured to me that it may be the total hit to the pocket book that really has people upset and not just the raise in non res hunting fee's.
Because i have several non resident friends, i have an idea of how much the total cost of them coming here to hunt costs. After talking with them, it wasn't neccessarily the raise in the license fee's but a raise in the cost of everything that kept them from putting in for the draw. A couple of them are some that waited and bought the tags after the draw results were announced because they didn't want to chance the draw, not draw and lose even the small fee for drawing. This way they were gauranteed to get the tags they wanted.
I do agree that the fee's are to high, and to me it feels like like the heritage that we all love is becoming a sport that only the well to do will be able to participate in.