non resident hunting

[white eagle]

I don't know if it me or what but I was looking into hunting in another state, Wyoming
and it seems real confusing.I would like to hunt moose or deer or even elk. Why do they make it that way?

[44man]

You need to be a lawyer to read the junk. Then apply and might never get a license.
I ran into it with gun season in PA when I wanted a doe permit. Not to be. Hunt clubs bought them all and tossed them. Nothing to see 80 does walk by without a single horn in the mess. Hunters wanted a deer behind every tree but never understood why they were all females. A buck was never to be found.
Laws are made from those that don't hunt, politicians with input from residents that don't like outsiders. It can happen in any state. Out west it is worse. It comes down to greed and money. Hunters out there fear you will shoot something and you need to pay an outfitter $50,000 for an animal.
Drive west to hunt public lands that you can't reach unless you pay a farmer hundreds to cross to public. Pockets surrounded by private.
Know what they say about beating a dead horse?

[runfiverun]

Wyoming and Utah are both draw states.
as a non resident in Wyoming you have to apply for the unit you want and wait for the results.
Utah is the same way for residents and non residents.
some hunts are draw hunts in Idaho too and can be once in a lifetime such as a moose tag.
you can get around much of it by hiring an outfitter and purchasing one of his allotted tags, your pretty much just paying him for his time to hang around and watch the animals until you get there.

[.455 Webley]

I can only speak for Colorado where i have hunted a couple times. As confusing as the system they have is, they make a great effort to help you sort it out. I called and had a nice older lady practically hold my hand and walk me through the process. They also have some great web based resources that break it down well. Give them a call and i am sure they will help you out.

[white eagle]

I have hunted in the western states on different occasions
Idaho,Montana and South Dakota but it just seems to be getting
more difficult to read through the regulations and such.I know some game
is on a higher priority and requires more time to get a tag but I wish
it was easier to get to the tags.

[44man]

I have the devil here in WV as a resident. I need no license at my age and hunt my own property mostly anyway. it says we have early, buck and many doe seasons along with ML. With a doe tag we can shoot a doe in buck season and after a buck, you MUST shoot a doe before another buck.
Then it says no more then 3 does or 3 bucks a season. But if you shoot a doe in early, you can shoot 2 bucks since the requirement was met. How does that compute? It clearly states you can't shoot a second buck without a doe in between.
I can tell you is is not easy without a bank of lawyers.
Archery is any age any sex and so is ML. But a total is imposed so if you have 3 does, you cant shoot more with a bow or ML. After 3 bucks and does, you are done for the year.
You can shoot two deer a day but after a buck, you have to shoot a doe before another buck but if you shot one in early it does not apply. If you can follow the laws you are a genius.

[MT Chambers]

In my prairie home in Canada, non-residents must use the services of a licensed outfitter, they provide tags, for a PRICE of course......Only birds and varmints can be hunted without an outfitter.

[dk17hmr]

It's going to take 15-20 years of points for a non resident to draw a moose tag in Wyoming. Deer, elk, and antelope will take 3-14 points depending on where in the state you want to hunt. There are over the counter tags, but not many and the tagss are usually in area's with little public land.

Colorado is probably a better bet for elk on an over the counter or with minimal points.

I have read that 50% of the game and fish budget comes from non resident hunters in the west. So they want to sell you tags but there are steps to get there. They generally have the games best interest in mind and set tag quotas based on science. Only a percentage of those tags go to non residents.

[GooseGestapo]

It's getting almost as bad in the eastern states. A non-resident license in Alabama is $300. I can get a cow elk in Wyoming for less!

With gas going for 1/2, 3yrs ago, I may get a late season Colorado cow elk tag and take a road trip to Glennwood Springs, Co.

[44man]

Long, long ago I would drive to MI to archery hunt, cost was $15 for a non res. But to go back in gun season we had to buy a small game tag too. Why would I need a SG license? A PA license was $25 for all hunting.
Now a Non res license is based on what adjoining states charge, as one goes up so will your state.
It is like all other business. Lose customers and raise prices to keep the flow of money until you lose it all.
The money for the economy is more then a license, it is motels, restaurants, stores and whole towns that depend on hunters or fishermen. To price a hunter out harms the poor folks.
Control of herds should be under the game departments, not some jerk at a desk in the state looking for money.
I have heard if you apply in some states and send money, if you don't pull a tag they don't refund your money. I don't know how true that is.
Then famous gun and archery writers never seem to be turned down and some hunt free to advertise. They get free guns and ammo to boot.
It is a business after all. Like your doctor that sucks money from drug companies to feed you drugs.

[quilbilly]

Hunting and fishing (especially if commercial fisheries are involved) seasons are set politically in most western states. They are set by government bureaucrats after all and not by biologists. If you are from more than one state away from your non-resident application and not using an outfitter, a lot of research over more than one year is involved. It helps if you actually know someone in the state. Our castboolit community is small and asking here can often help. I live in Washington State but have helped a number of people who drew Nevada tags because I have spent much of my life prowling around Nevada with sage oil apparently in my veins. I have only applied for a Nevada deer tag once, got it, and got my B&C because I had rock hounded and fished for trout in the place I liked. Also, if your bucket list includes a Wyoming hunt, buy the state Delorme Gazetteer for Wyoming!!