Thanks a lot OK

Oklahoma is really sticking it to us non residents for deer starting this year!!
Deer license going up to $501 plus a annual hunting license for another $209.
We were just paying $300
Ouch!

Gary in MD said:

Oklahoma is really sticking it to us non residents for deer starting this year!!
Deer license going up to $501 plus a annual hunting license for another $209.
We were just paying $300
Ouch!

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I think Africa would be cheaper in the long run. lol

You are definitely right there!
I'm in the process of booking that now

Gary in MD said:

You are definitely right there!
I'm in the process of booking that now

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Just wondering if you saw Ron Spomer video about booking a hunt in Africa ? Sound like a fun place. Sure wish they would have spoke about cost though.

Hunters here in Okla have been pretty mad for years about how cheap it was for out of state hunters to come here then paid a whole lot more when they hunted out of state.You can thank guides for a lot of the problem especially Western part of the state.Guides would lease up land because they knew they would make a lot of money with lots of hunters coming here due to price of tags and licenses.Lot of hunters here pushed to change the cost according to what state visiting hunters were from and charge them whatever their state charged visiting hunters.Comes down to what is it worth to you.

ALL ABOUT THE ALMIGHTY DOLLAR.
Didn't Democrats just takeover Ok.
Look what they did in Co.

It started getting really bad about 15 years ago. It was cheaper for Texans to lease land and buy out of state tags than it was to get on a waiting list for a lease in Texas. I'm a born and raised Okie, lived there for 60 years and the last 5 in Texas. I grew up hunting northwest Oklahoma and permission was usually a door knock and handshake away. I thought paying to hunt was something reserved for an exotic adventure to Alaska or Africa. Leasing became a reality in the early 2000's if you wanted to hunt. I had my last lease in western Oklahoma in 2014. We paid $4/acre for 640 acres of primo land on the Cimarron River, which I thought was outrageous. The place was thick with deer and it all came down to how patient you were willing to be to kill a really nice deer. A family inheritance squabble in 2015 put an end to the lease for a couple of years and when it opened back up, it went to $10/acre, with multiple groups wanting to lease it. That renewed my resolve to continue to save my money for a piece of land of my own to hunt on. A couple of TV hunting shows highlighted the "big deer" opportunities and lease prices skyrocketed putting them out of reach for working people. Lots of guys like myself spoke up at ODWC meetings trying to get them to level the playing field and help resident hunters compete in the marketplace. Looks like they are still working toward that goal.

Terry Lightle said:

Hunters here in Okla have been pretty mad for years about how cheap it was for out of state hunters to come here then paid a whole lot more when they hunted out of state.You can thank guides for a lot of the problem especially Western part of the state.Guides would lease up land because they knew they would make a lot of money with lots of hunters coming here due to price of tags and licenses.Lot of hunters here pushed to change the cost according to what state visiting hunters were from and charge them whatever their state charged visiting hunters.Comes down to what is it worth to you.

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If Oklahoma resident hunters want non resident hunters to pay what other states charge NR, how did they come up with the cost of $710 for deer hunting? I know of 3 states that are known for good bucks and they are all under $400. I hunted Colorado for elk and it was about $800! lol
I understand that residents don't like outfitters leasing up all the property but I guarantee this will not help you but it will make the state agency more money.

"I understand that residents don't like outfitters leasing up all the property but I guarantee this will not help you but it will make the state agency more money."

Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation is one of the top states for spending license/fee money on acquiring additional public hunting lands. I'm sure part of the reason for the increase in out of state costs is due to the skyrocketing cost of land. I've hunted some of those lands and will say they are quality tracts. Those close to OKC and Tulsa see quite a bit of pressure but there are some diamonds in the rough with opportunities to take some very nice deer if you are willing to get away from the crowds.

The resident hunters did not set the price,my guess was wildlife commission started the ball rolling.I know it went through state lawmakers because seen on news where governor signed it last week.Wildlife dept. here does buy lots of ground with license money to make more land available for the average working man hunter.

1moredeer said:

"I understand that residents don't like outfitters leasing up all the property but I guarantee this will not help you but it will make the state agency more money."

Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation is one of the top states for spending license/fee money on acquiring additional public hunting lands. I'm sure part of the reason for the increase in out of state costs is due to the skyrocketing cost of land. I've hunted some of those lands and will say they are quality tracts. Those close to OKC and Tulsa see quite a bit of pressure but there are some diamonds in the rough with opportunities to take some very nice deer if you are willing to get away from the crowds.

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I guess it will help you.
It doesn't really matter to me either way since I had no plans on hunting Oklahoma and can't see driving through other great deer hunting states that charge less to get there.
It is a good thing they are using the funds responsibly to buy property.

I didn't mean to upset the OK guys, I get what you are saying.
I've been enjoying hunting there for about a half dozen years and really like it. It's just a surprise that the license cost has doubled.

There is no way I would pay over $700 for a NR deer license. Deer are plentiful all over the country and I never heard of NR fees that high for deer. It actually sounds like a good way to discourage out-of-state hunters who normally spend big money on supplies, hotels, restaurants, etc when they are away hunting. Whenever possible, we set aside a few days for sightseeing when we're away from home hunting. Hunters definitely boost local economies during the hunting seasons. Charging exorbitant fees to hunt common game animals sounds counterproductive to me.

But ....... each state is free to determine what is in their own best interest. I've only hunted pigs in Ok but I sue won't be back to hunt deer.

Terry Lightle said:

Hunters here in Okla have been pretty mad for years about how cheap it was for out of state hunters to come here then paid a whole lot more when they hunted out of state.You can thank guides for a lot of the problem especially Western part of the state.Guides would lease up land because they knew they would make a lot of money with lots of hunters coming here due to price of tags and licenses.Lot of hunters here pushed to change the cost according to what state visiting hunters were from and charge them whatever their state charged visiting hunters.Comes down to what is it worth to you.

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You got that right, big money guys like Dr.'s and lawyers coming across the border and offering crazy prices to lease up huge areas plus our cheap fees really hurt hunters that were local.