How long may I have to wait as a non resident for enough preference points to get a Moose tag in Maine. I am very interested in this hunt. Thank You.

As a non-resident applying for a Maine moose permit your odds are actually better than a resident. You can purchase as many picks as you want. As a resident I have been applying for 20 years and have not been drawn but have guided for non residents who were drawn first try. There are also 5 permits sold by sealed bid auction which the lowest is usually aroun $5000.00 and the highest around $10,000. So I guess it all depends on how much money you are willing to spend; it always comes back to the money.

Gents, be advised the MAine Wildlife is nolonger sending your applications out if you applied the previous year. You must go online and apply. When you put your name and birthdate in your nameshould pop up with your previous preference points.

I don't want to rain on your parade, but you could easily apply in Maine every year for the rest of your life and never draw...

Maine preference points don't guarantee an eventual draw...They just give you another chance or two in the hat, increasing your odds slightly...

So your odds might go from 1 in 200 to 1 in 198, or something similar...

I applied for over 20 years and finally quit applying..

By all means apply in Maine..You may get lucky, and you certainly can't win if you don't play.. Maine has some nice bulls and real high success rates IF you draw...Just don't hold your breath waiting to draw..

However, if you REALLY want to go moose hunting, save your $$ and hunt someplace that has OTC tags, like Alaska or Newfoundland..

Good luck.... Moose hunting is a real adventure...

Thank you all for your responses. After this input and more, everything I have heard here seems right on the money. Its a big raffle and money talks a bit too. Thats our world I guess. Thank you for your time...

bears den,

I have good or bad news for you depending on how you look at it. There are separate pools for residents and non-residents with the former getting most of the permits. The fact that a non-resident can purchase many more chances than a resident has no bearing on the odds of a resident getting picked. All it is is an attempt by the state to squeeze a few extra bucks from non-residents. By the way, Pygmy is right, buying extra preference points won't appreciably change your chances of winning unless.

A non-residents chances are better than a resident's. I understand the are certain numbers of permits set aside for each group but if a non res wants to pay the money they can increase their odds and it is simple math that if you buy two chances you have twice the odds than if you buy one chance and so on. If a non wants to buy 50 chances their odds are alot better that a resident who can only buy six chances.

That's not comparing apples to apples. There are 3000 or so permits for residents given out each year. There are 10% or about 300 non resident permitsgiven each year. It stands to reason that there are more non residents applying for permits due to the fact that there are only so many "hunting" residents. I have heard that Larry Wieshuhn and others pay residents that don't hunt to apply and put them as alternate or subpermittees. If they win they sell the license to them. I am sure there's probably something below board but how are they going to prove it.

Granted it's pretty $h1tty odds, but what the hell, its close enough to make it worthwhile. Hopefully I'll get picked some day.

I have also heard stories about the tree company officials getting moose permits every year even though you arent supposed to get one but every three years.

I know the odds stink that is for sure. I have never gotten one but, I will keep applying.. I also think this year our odds maybe slightly better because of the no mail-outs. Some folks do not have computers so they will have a harder time entering in it. But all in all it's like finding a needle in a haystack and if you are lucky enough you will hunt them.. Good luck to all that may have or are about to apply..