Tag...You're It!

[roy reali]

What is the big game tag situation like in your state? I realize I could "Google" all fifty states and browse fifty sets of game regulations, but that would be boring and time consuming. This is quicker.

I want to know how easy it is to get big game tags in your neck of the woods. Are they over-the-counter or does your state have a draw system? If you state allots tags by a draw, what are the odds of getting one? Then, what are the odds of actually filling the tag?

Nevada's big game tags are all on a draw system. I am on my fourth year hunting here. I have applied for deer and antelope tags every year. On deer I am batting five hundred, two tags for antlerless deer. The first tag did not result in harvesting a deer, the second did. For antelope, I am doing worse then the Carolina Panthers. They have won one game, I haven't won an antelope tag at all.

So, what is the tag situation in your state?

[Kreyzhorse]

Whitetail in most of the state of Kentucky is open. If you want a tag, you buy a tag. In some parts of the state there are restrictions, I believe anyway, on bucks and or does. That however is the exception. I live in the northern part of the state and my tag covers one buck and one doe. I can also buy unlimited does tags as well. We've got a huge whitetail population up here.

Not every one knows this, but Kentucky also has the largest herd of Elk east of the Mississippi. Those tags are done in a simple lottery. You apply and either get drawn or not. There is no points system or any thing else involved which I've got to be honest sucks since I've applied every year since the lottery opened.

[roy reali]

There is no points system or any thing else involved which I've got to be honest sucks since I've applied every year since the lottery opened.

The Silver State does have a point sysem. I guess it is suppose to increase your odds of getting lucky. I know of folks here that never get drawn. Last year, a coworker drew a tag for every species he aplied for: deer, antelope, elk, and bighorn. If elephant tags were available, he probably would have got one of those.

[rantingredneck]

Here they are over the counter.

Not really tags anymore either as they do not have to be affixed to the animal. It's now referred to as a "Big Game Harvest Report Card". When you kill the animal you punch out a hole beside the type of animal killed and then call in to a 1-800 number or log onto the internet and register the kill. You get a harvest ID number to validate your tag. Or you can go to a check in station and check it in in person.

On that card you get six deer (two hunter's choice and four antlerless in the central, western, and northwestern regions, four hunter's choice and two antlerless in the eastern region).

You get 2 turkeys
You get 1 bear
You get 2 boar

We have such a deer problem here that you can go back after your sixth deer and purchase additional report cards for antlerless deer. 2 per card. I think additional cards cost 10.00 each now.

That's with our deer season (in most of the state) running from mid September (bow) to January 1. They also introduced Sunday archery hunting this year to expand opportunity. There are also programs for farmers and landowners to get nuisance/damage permits to kill deer on their property.

Life's pretty good for a deer hunter in this state.

[roy reali]

Life's pretty good for a deer hunter in this state.

But it probably sucks for the deer.

[rantingredneck]

Not really. Our herd is estimated at 1.1 million head.

They can blend into the crowd

[Deerhunter]

In PA you get an antlered tag with you general hunting license. You also get two turkey tags. You can buy a bear tag over the counter. Anlterless tags are sold on a first come first serve basis based on Wildlife Management Unit (WMU). The WMU that I hunt (5C) is real easy to get one or more as they sold 120000 this year. You mail in and get one then after that sale they have a seond sale then all that are left are over the counter at the court house. They extended our season (South Eastern corner of the state) a few years ago. Archery comes in in Mid September (antlerless only) then goes to regular archery in October. Then we basially go through, muzzle loader, shotgun/gun season, back to late archery and flintlock, until end of January. Some of that is antlerless only. During the late archery season you can shoot shotguns for anltlerless.


In Virginia you buy your hunting license ($18) and your big game license ($18) and that gives you a bear tag, 3 turkey tags, 3 either sex deer tags and 3 antlerless only tags (yes 6 deer tags). If you shoot all those deer you can go back and get as many antlerless tags as you want (bunches of 6 for $18).

In VA they also have a long season in the Northern part of the state with the Urban Archery season. Finding a place to hunt is tough but you can hunt deer (antlerless only) Starting 4 September until 26 March. The other regular deer hunting seasons (regualr archery, muzzle loader, and gun) fall in the middle of those dates, they are just the "bookends" of the deer season.

[hooligan1]

A resident any-deer tag in Mo. is 17.00.
A resident antlerless deer tag is 7.00.
A non-resident any-deer tag is 225.00.
A non-resident antlerless deer tag is 25.00.

Now Mo. has a discounted rate for anyone between the ages of 6-15, years old.
A resident any-deer tag for someone between the ages of 6-15 is 8.50.
The antlerless tage for them is 3.50.
A non-resident any-deer tag for this age group is 8.50.
The price for the antlerless tage for a non-resident youth is 3.50.

The non-resident price for an archery tag is 225.00.
The same for a managed-hunt.

The Missouri deer herd is big and healthy statewide as far as numbers of the herd, I'm still hunting for the info, and the harvest numbers are'nt usually tallied til around Feb. I believe.

And PS you can shoot Feral hogs All Day Long!!!!!! There are some totals in but all the season isn't finished. But they are showing 200,000 and climbing, deer harvest numbers won't be official until January.

[Art Eatman]

Basically, Texas is OTC except for antelope. Antelope are by permits which are issued to landowners based on census; the landowner sets his fees to hunt on his land.

[Doyle]

Fl and GA both have non-controlled over-the-counter licenses. Hunts on some public areas are quota controlled with the drawings well before season starts. There are no tags at all for FL. In GA, they don't use tags but each deer hunter is required to record their kills on a card that comes with the license.

[seansean1444]

here in ny you can walk right in to any wallmart or dicks and say i want a huting liscense and all tags and they print it out for you. for everything including fishing it comes to 120 bucks for me (being 16) not sure about adult prices. the tags include

1buck tag for shotgun season
1 deer tag either sex for bow season
1 deer tag either sex for muzzelloader season
2 doe tag at 10 bucks each but that is random(i always draw 2) for any season
2 spring turkey tags tom only
2 fall turkey tags either sex
and 1 black bear tag for free suprisingly


also this year only we have a army depot (seneca army depot) that has white deer fenced in that for 10 days 40 hunters a day could hunt white deer. story has it that when they fenced in the large area there were some albino deer and eventually they all became albino or white. even driving by you can sometimes catch a glimse of them

[hogdogs]

In Fla, we can take 2 per day, everyday of season... Possession limit of four deer but meat is not considered a deer so you can as much processed meat at home as you want...

Brent

[roy reali]

so you can as much processed meat at home as you want...

I guess you hunters in Florida don't go hungry.

[Brian Pfleuger]

NY state has over the counter deer and bear permits. In fact, you buy big game you get both without asking. In addition, there are over the counter bow/muzzleloader permits. One antlerless, one either sex. Doe tags are a "semi" lottery. Some areas have so many available that getting the max of two is all but guaranteed. Other areas have so few that getting one is a snow ball's chance. Some areas have so many permits, or so few hunters, that there are extra permits available after the normal deadline.

[Hawg]

35.00 will get you legal for archery, primitive weapons(which is a joke), gun and gun with dogs. No tags or draws but there are draws on WMA lands. Bag limits are one buck per day not to exceed three per year. Antler restrictions on two, either 10 inch inside spread or 13 inch main beam. One doe per day not to exceed five per year.

[Cowboy_mo]

Hooligan's fees are correct on Missouri. The Missouri deer herd had been great but I'm afraid we have headed down a wrong road.

Most of the state is under a 4pt on 1 side antler restriction which has placed a much bigger burden on the does. There are current year harvest numbers available on the MO conservation website by county. If you check the numbers, most counties have been harvesting well over 50% anterless deer with most of these being does. We also have an extra 10 day anterless season statewide and in many counties you can kill as many does as you can afford $7 tags for.

This is the first year since I began huntinging deer some 40 years ago that I have gone without even seeing a deer.

So I just caution those states with very liberal harvests of does to beware.....

P.S. Conservation calls this 'herd management', I think it is more of a herd depopulation particularly in urban areas.

[hooligan1]

Cowboy you are right, the herds in populated cities are strong and will remain high because of firearm laws in the metro's. But in Kansas City they are letting Archers take more deer in and around the city..But they still can't fix the problem you are talking about until we reach a happy medium as far as that four point restriction. Heck I'd bet if there was a primitive arms season in these metros it would help And bring in added revenue!

[Hawg]

We had a four points restriction(2x2) until this year. I'm just wondering how we're supposed to get deer to stand still while we measure racks.

[Doyle]

I guess you hunters in Florida don't go hungry

Deer hunter success ratio in FL is actually pretty low. Hunting down here is pretty hard. Shooting areas are usually thick with poor visibility and our deer tend to be way more wary than the deer in some other parts of the country. The slightest bit of pressure and they tend to go nocturnal.

[Gbro]

Deer,
1 Antler 3" inches except for the zone 3 restriction of 4 point
Antlerless by drawing in some areas
Archery is unrestricted.
Some areas like down by the metro there is no limit, but by my hunting shack its restricted to 1 deer and only antlerless by permit, except youth do not need to apply.
Moose,
By drawing and there are points and it is a once in a lifetime deal.
213 permits given out in 30 zones all in the N E part of state.
Elk,
11 permits issued this fall.

Bear,
By permit in quota areas and OTC in no-quota areas, but lots of bear to hunt and not enough hunters.
And these figures do not include Reservation hunting.

[bamaranger]

Season comes in (bow) mid Oct. Gun season opens mid November, just prior Thanksgiving. There is a week of muzzleloader prior the opening of gun season.

Gun bow and muzzle loader are all then legal from 21Nov till the season close on 31 Jan. Counting the early bow only season, it's well over 100 days. Limit is two deer a day, only one of which may be antlered. Buck limit is 3 per year, of which #3 must be a racked deer having 4 pts or better to a side. The previous two can be any pt count buck. There is no annual limit on does, just the daily two deer a day. It is darn near deer hunter heaven, and for a bowhunter (like me) it may be.

There is no tag system in the sense that a tag is attached to the animal. The license has a section that is to be completed by the hunter when the buck is killed. This area must be "filled in" if you are checked by a WCO w/ the animal in your possession. (say if you get observed and stopped enroute your home after the kill w/ the carcass in the truck). No paper work at all is required for a doe kill. Incredibly, there is nothing turned into the state by individual hunters. Mgmt decesions are based on the kills from the assorted WMA throughout the state, who check the deer from their respective WMA's on their scheduled hunts through out the season.

It is a marginal system at best, but better than 5 or so years ago, when there was no buck limit or antler restriction at all. Incredible.

Now understand this is for the north zone of the state, may area. The south zone may be a bit different, but not by much.

[hooligan1]

Hawg man, that's what kids are for take em huntin and show em how to measure properly whilest we drink our coffee from the stand and watch,( I really am trying hard NOT to picture that!!!) hehe, BTW Missouri's 4 point antler restriction is four point 1 inch or longer on one side including main-beam.

[kaylorinhi]

The only thing I have to add to the prior NC Stats is that I am in Currituck area and our first issue of tags is:
2 antlered,
2 Hunters choice,
2 Non-Antlered(doe or botton buck)

and yes we get all the non-antlered we want after the first card is filled!

[jhgreasemonkey]

Washington state for modern firearm hunters is like this.
Over the counter:
1 antlered deer tag
1 antlered elk tag
2 black bear tags
1 cougar tag (I think they might allow an additional 2nd tag now)

There are drawings for 1 doe or 1 cow elk tag as well as 1 extra antlered deer. Plus drawings for hunting private land.

Basicaly it's not uncommon to spend rifle season hunting deer and not get anything. Public land is over hunted and access has gone down hill. They have outlawed hunting with dogs or bait so bear and cougar success rate is very low. Regardless of what the department of fish and wildlife says, the deer population has gone way down. Ask any hunter here that has spent years in the woods hunting them. Put it this way, my partner and I have hunted one of the higher success rate game management units in the state, and hunted it hard during modern firearm season for 7 years and we have only pulled out 2 bucks. It's a 3 point or better area (at least 3 points on one side). We know many other hunters that have had worse luck. There are a lot of disgruntled hunters here. I know a bunch of guys that have started buying out of state tags in Idaho and Montana because they hate hunting in Wa.

[davlandrum]

Oregon:

(warning, I am not a lawyer, nor did I stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night, so my understanding of the Oregon regs may or may not correspond to reality)

Antelope: Draw only (I have been wasting money trying to draw one forever)

Bear - Fall, over the counter. Spring - draw system. Pretty easy draw.

Turkey - over the counter

Cougar - over the counter

Now to the fun...

Deer (limit one):
Bow - over the counter, except for a few units that are draw only
Muzzleloader - heck if I know, think it is draw only
Rifle - West side (blacktail) mostly over the counter, East side (Mule Deer) draw only
Extra doe tag - draw only

Elk (limit one):
Bow - same as deer, but more draw only units
Muzzleloader - again - heck if I know
Rifle - (this is iffy at best, as I have only rifle hunted elk once) 1st season draw only, 2nd season over the counter (????)

There are way too many variations by unit/by species to all of this for this to be comprehensive.