RE: Illinois closer to $504.25 NR deer license total
 

Guys,

Theres some ammendments that where put in on this bill. Im not postive on the details but theres still going to be a cap and the price will not be 500 dollars. I will try to get the info on here tommorow.


Don

RE: Illinois closer to $504.25 NR deer license total
 

Hey Don, I heard it would only delay the inevitable a season or two, while still raising it half way there this year. I guess trying to soften the blow.

t roy, If you believe the majority of Illinois nonresident hunters pay $1,500 for outfitters or leases you would be wrong. They are the only ones you hear about but that does not mean they are the majority. That is just publicity. Even the outfitters only expect 4-5,000 of the NR tags to go in the initial NR guided draw if that happens. The rest 10,000+, would go in the regular draw.

RE: Illinois closer to $504.25 NR deer license total
 

I've been watching the Illinois situation almost daily and this was a complete blindside!

Any time a law gets run through this quickly by total surprise usually means there is considerable but dubious power behind it. Cant quite figure out what special interest is behind this other than a 4 million dollar windfall for IDNR. [:'(][:'(][:'(]

We can only hope that the resident voters (outfitters, landowners, motels, archery shops, restaurants, campgrounds, small town merchants, etc) who will be hurt by this will make themselves heard

RE: Illinois closer to $504.25 NR deer license total
 

BT,

I think they are honestly overestimating the demand. There really are plenty of other quality areas to hunt whitetails in other states. This year I am talking with a lot of guys that have no choice because their leases are signed. Many would not renew their leases at $500. For those of us that hunt public many would change plans for 2005.

I would not doubt IL is looking at Iowa legislation that will increase the price in the $425 range. Looks like their new plan will be to match that for the next 2 years before dropping the full hammer.

RE: Illinois closer to $504.25 NR deer license total
 

only time will tell. like i said most out of staters are paying bigger money for their outfitter or their lease.

how come no ones complaining about Iowa's plans for higher tag fees?

RE: Illinois closer to $504.25 NR deer license total
 

I don't think even $500 tags will make any difference here. I'm in the so called "Golden Triangle". To be honest I doubt $1000 tags would do any good here.[:'(] Soon it's going to be hunters with money who will be the only hunters who can afford to hunt here. It's almost there now.[:@]

RE: Illinois closer to $504.25 NR deer license total
 

t roy, I'm not happy about Iowa either. But their increase would not be as high.....$425. And that bill has not passed their senate. I don't know what I'd do if they go over the current $300. Ha, You know all this has already affected my hunting. I used to apply for Iowa, Kansas & Illinois and draw two of these per year @ $150/each. When all this BS started a couple years ago I had to quit that. I was priced out at $300. Now with these $425 and $500 tags I can't even justify one. I am manicuring my 25 acres of private land here in Indiana better these days with the anticipation that is where I'll be hunting more. I will be set for this year in Iowa at $300, but I don't know about next year.

I think way too many people think that $500 & $1,000 tags prices are fair, as they are basing their judgement on the relatively small contingent of NR visiting the golden triangle. That is one small part of the state, and outfitted nonresidents are clearly in the minority when considering the entire state. It sucks we are all getting cast into the same pot with the rich folks that frequent there.

We have gone to one buck only here in Indiana for 3 years now. I hope they see the crap that is going on elsewhere, and manage our state for quality so I won't have to go anywhere else. The more states that adopt it, the more the supply will increase, and thus demand drop. Penna. and Missouri jumped on board. I hope we are next.

Anyway, it's time for me to stay home and start looking for some of these one buck residuals! Soon it will only be the wealthy that hunt out of state.

RE: Illinois closer to $504.25 NR deer license total
 

I'm just curious, are doe tags also that darn high? You may remember that CO. raised the price for elk to $450, from $250, in one year and that fall they didn't have near enough cow's shot, so the next year they lowered the cow tags back down to $250. Man, I can't imagine paying $500 for a whitetail tag! I payed $450 for a moose tag. Let's see, I got 640# of meat from my moose, heck, a whitetail on the hoof doesn't even weigh that!

RE: Illinois closer to $504.25 NR deer license total
 

Doe Tags are $25 a pop. You still have to pay all the other stuff like NR hunting licsense and Habitat stamp and the rest but if a either sex permit is going to run you 504.25 with 425 of that being the either sex tag my poor math skills tell me that you can nock $400 of the 504.25 if you just want to shoot a doe which would leave you at $104.25 for all the nec. permits to to shoot a doe, or if you already had all those other permits you would just be looking at another $25..

As far as the rest of the State and NR's impact.. The Outfitting business is alive and well in the next of the woods too. It will probably grow state wide as well with unlimited NR tags being offered. Probably not explosive but a pretty steady growth. This is of course assuming that the buck population stays healthy and not out of balance with the doe herd.

RE: Illinois closer to $504.25 NR deer license total
 

That will be interesting to see. I don't think it will but I am just speculating. I know myself and several others that I have talked to won't be going anymore if they raise the tag prices that high but we don't have the money that a lot of guys do. It will definitely knock a lot of the middle class hunters out of the loop.

That's one of the ironies of IL, Pike Co. inparticular, is that the buck to doe ratio is way out of wack and they appear to be overpopulated yet they still grow some great bucks. I think the predominant reason for that is the habitat and I am sure the genetics play a role in it as well.