What’s your tag tab?

I just hunt here in Montana. Deer, elk, antelope, bear, wolf, and apply for permits. I get most of them half price this year since I'm now 62. So less than $100. However, since I spend basically 3 months hunting most days, the tags are just a tiny part of the total expense. I spend more on gas in one day.
 
You guys make me feel cheap. I've got $6.00 tied up in a hunting and fishing license and $32.00 tied up in four tag applications. I will pay a total of $54.50 for one deer and one elk tag with an unlikely possibility of up to another $83.00 for an additional two deer and one elk tag. Then the $10 for the upland bird certification and I'm done. That tallies up to a minimum of $102.50 and a maximum of $185.50.

There is a possibility of a turkey tag or two and maybe a bear and cougar tag but probably not this year.
Not cheap, just not interested in traveling out of state. We all come at it differently.
 
Didn't put in for out of states hunts this year. So im only at like $800 for NM will pry get alot of that back. Will jus buy a point in Wyoming for mule deer again.
 
X 2 for me right now applying for my 16 year old son as well. It has actually gotten a little less capital intensive as many states have switched to where you only pay if you draw the tag now.

When all the smoke cleared in 2022 I ended up paying $37,070.30 with $34,762.00 of that being refundable and $2,308.30 of that being nonrefundable licenses and fees (almost $500 of that being Wyoming credit card fees).

The end result was that my son drew his second choice New Mexico mule deer tag so that was $355 out of the $34,762 that was not refunded.

The most that ended up out of pocket at one time was $32,494.00 which includes the expensive Wyoming tags and all the New Mexico tags. The New Mexico tags are only out for just over a month before being refunded, but Wyoming likes to hold onto your money for nearly 5 months for their elk tag.

Those numbers don't include anything for our home state of Texas because we both have lifetime licenses here.

2023 is going to be a bit more than 2022 was.
 
X 2 for me right now applying for my 16 year old son as well. It has actually gotten a little less capital intensive as many states have switched to where you only pay if you draw the tag now.

When all the smoke cleared in 2022 I ended up paying $37,070.30 with $34,762.00 of that being refundable and $2,308.30 of that being nonrefundable licenses and fees (almost $500 of that being Wyoming credit card fees).

The end result was that my son drew his second choice New Mexico mule deer tag so that was $355 out of the $34,762 that was not refunded.

The most that ended up out of pocket at one time was $32,494.00 which includes the expensive Wyoming tags and all the New Mexico tags. The New Mexico tags are only out for just over a month before being refunded, but Wyoming likes to hold onto your money for nearly 5 months for their elk tag.

Those numbers don't include anything for our home state of Texas because we both have lifetime licenses here.

2023 is going to be a bit more than 2022 was.
That's fkn awesome!

I'm at 5k this year and it's only my first year venturing out
 
X 2 for me right now applying for my 16 year old son as well. It has actually gotten a little less capital intensive as many states have switched to where you only pay if you draw the tag now.

When all the smoke cleared in 2022 I ended up paying $37,070.30 with $34,762.00 of that being refundable and $2,308.30 of that being nonrefundable licenses and fees (almost $500 of that being Wyoming credit card fees).

The end result was that my son drew his second choice New Mexico mule deer tag so that was $355 out of the $34,762 that was not refunded.

The most that ended up out of pocket at one time was $32,494.00 which includes the expensive Wyoming tags and all the New Mexico tags. The New Mexico tags are only out for just over a month before being refunded, but Wyoming likes to hold onto your money for nearly 5 months for their elk tag.

Those numbers don't include anything for our home state of Texas because we both have lifetime licenses here.

2023 is going to be a bit more than 2022 was.
Wow, sure out of my league. No out of state this year, two hundred bucks - tops.
 
My strategy is to mostly limit my applications to tags where I have a good chance to draw. That way I can book travel and vacation early and be reasonably confident of drawing a tag that works. Last minute travel is expensive.

The non-refundable costs for me are not only the usual Fish and Game application license & application fees but also cost to covert $NZ - $US and back again, along with any exchange rate loses (or occasionally gains).

I did apply for ID mountain goats a couple of years but stopped that after it cost me something like $US300 to just apply.
 
I'm not too high up there with $55 for 2 bucks, 4 does, and two turkeys. Add all the waterfowl stuff and brings it up to ~$100

My 9 year old has it made. He gets the same amount of tags as me plus a bear tag for $0
 
(almost $500 of that being Wyoming credit card fees).
I was happy to see 90/10 in WY so that I could stop paying those silly credit card fees.

Seems like a lot of money to give a credit card company for a minuscule chance at 1 random ram tag.

Hopefully you’re going after the preference tags.

My one man non-refundable total is probably just under $2000 (zero tags themselves). I avoid Idaho and now avoid WY trophy species also. Both because those agencies cut in credit card companies in the game. I’d rather an influencer have that money than a bank.
 
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We gave up illinois this year because it was just costing us too much money every year for both of us to hunt there. The hunting was good but it simply was not worth the 1800$ tag costs/year to hunt there.
Wait. How does it cost so much to hunt white tails in the Midwest? Was that a typo?
 
X 2 for me right now applying for my 16 year old son as well. It has actually gotten a little less capital intensive as many states have switched to where you only pay if you draw the tag now.

When all the smoke cleared in 2022 I ended up paying $37,070.30 with $34,762.00 of that being refundable and $2,308.30 of that being nonrefundable licenses and fees (almost $500 of that being Wyoming credit card fees).

The end result was that my son drew his second choice New Mexico mule deer tag so that was $355 out of the $34,762 that was not refunded.

The most that ended up out of pocket at one time was $32,494.00 which includes the expensive Wyoming tags and all the New Mexico tags. The New Mexico tags are only out for just over a month before being refunded, but Wyoming likes to hold onto your money for nearly 5 months for their elk tag.

Those numbers don't include anything for our home state of Texas because we both have lifetime licenses here.

2023 is going to be a bit more than 2022 was.
How @npaden probably feels when he sees the rest of our totals; that’s impressive man

 
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