Just for those that are interested, Just to apply for an Iowa bow tag was over $650. Now I understand that I will get the majority of that money back. I didn't apply I just bought a preference point at the cost of $66.57.

Kansas is about $565.

Both of those prices are stupid.

Neither of those states have baiting "privilege" fees, either.

I know, right ------I just had to pay $66 dollars just to get moved up on their list. So for that I get 0. By the time I get to hunt I will have could have spent $3-400. Damn that $15 fee!!!!!!

Preference points. Just a minor inconvenience.

You're correct as always. Now I'll have to figure out how to pay that 4 years worth of inconvenience. And I still don't have anything in Iowa----except my choice to pay it or not.

Damn them Iowa folks, damn them all to hell!!!! I wish they would do away with non resident hunting then I wouldn't have to apply.

I bought that same preference point today for a mere $65. I now have $195 invested in points and I’ll need to invest in another next year before I’ll have enough to draw. I’ll have $265 in just points before I ever get to apply for the $600+ tag. I’ll also pay the state of Illinois $465 + $365 + $50.25 + $5.50 + convenience fees to hunt their state. I’ll gladly pay the $15 fee for the privilege to feed if I choose to do so. I’ve learned hunting can be as expensive as one wants to make it be or pretty cheap if utilizing public land. In my opinion it’s all about personal choices.

I look at preference points as "reservation fees"

I have friends who think preference points are dumb, but they never go to the beach without a reservation......

Now if we could get a really good chance of seeing, and a decent chance of killing a P&Y in just a few days of scouting and hunting, people probably wouldn’t gripe about coming to hunt here. You pay for what you get 99% of the time. That’s OOS hunters gripe I’d bet. Doubling the license cost (they have to pay it due to being caught “over” someone else’s bait pile) but the hunting is still sub-par compared to Midwest states. I know, we got like 6 months (it seems) to hunt, but there’s still that magical 2 weeks where the odds go up and hunting is better......to kill a 110” deer.

If I had my choice and could just drive anywhere at any point in time and go hunt, Alabama wouldn’t get not one red cent from me. I get tired of sitting in a pine thicket watching 50 yards, maybe, in either direction and feeling lucky to see 5 deer. P&Y or B&C is rare unless you hunt in one of the very few spots that they’re somewhat common. I guess what I’m getting at is, we just don’t have the type deer they do, and most hunt now to kill something and measure the bone on its head. That’s not everything to me, but seeing deer and enjoying watching game of all types is. Can’t do that here unless you find a place to lease that people actually care about wildlife and mange for wildlife and not only trees.

I guess to get back to the point you’re trying to make, why charge an extra “tax” to put out bait? If license cost need to be raised then raise them. Don’t put the people that hunt here in a predicament that could cause even more controversy than there already is between hunters. Surely they could see that this could do just that?? I thought license sales were down?? Couldn’t this hinder that even more?

I’m all over the place, probably because I have enjoyed a few margaritas tonight, but this is my thoughts and opinions for the most part.

Valid!!!!

But you don't have to pay a reservation fee just to get to talk to the booking person.

The points don't bother me at all. As Squeaky said, you can spend as much or a little as you want.
I guess my point is, I think hunting in Alabama is pretty easy and inexpensive. The SOA lottery doesn't cost anything to enter. Heck you don't even have to have a license to enter, even non resident. Just have to buy one if you are drawn and choose to hunt. Does the Gator draw cost anything? I cannot remember. I have entered all the gator hunts the past 3 years and haven't even gotten an alternate. I do think you get preference point there???

With my luck I will have to buy 5-6 points in Iowa before I get drawn. The average is 3. But I'm not counting on that for me.

I'm not against the $15 permit at all. I really didn't care one way or the other. It will not change anything I do. I was making the point that I paid $65 for basically nothing. Just moving my name up on a list. I've paid Iowa $125 so far and have never hunted a day.

I think alabama holds exclusive title to that particular embarrassment.

I’ve been applying for sheep tags in 8 draws for the last 13 years.

I really don’t want to know what I’ve spent thus far.

I can swing the $15 baiting fee and I won’t complain.

Good way to look at it.

I feel ya, I have been playing the points game in 6 states for the past 5 yrs. I try not to think about the spending.

Why don't you just hunt alabama or another state. They all have big bucks if you put in the time.

Not compared to Iowa or Kansas. I know people that go to those places for a week each year and almost always come back with a monster. You simply won't do that in Alabama, especially not with a bow. It's just better out there.

I play the game too.

The game wouldn't exist if there wasn't so much demand. In other words, we continually fund it's existence.

Rem is correct. Despite the crazy costs of a license, the chance at a great buck is far greater in Iowa or Kansas than here.

Some of the 3-1/2 YO bucks in Kansas and Iowa that you pass up there would be a buck of a lifetime in Alabama.

Yep. Which is how they get to be 150, 160 or bigger in Kansas and Iowa.

Kansas:
Year before last I had 6 bucks over 150" within 50 yards of me from noon on Friday to noon on Saturday. (No shot on any of them)
Last year I had 4 bucks over 150" and two of them over 170" within 80 yards of me (wounded one) in two days.

Tell me again how it's the same here in Alabama.

"Aw man, it's just the same, you just ain't huntin hard enough, not looking around that next tree!"

Do you guys roll your own or go on fully guided outfitted hunts?

Iowa and Kansas actively manage both their herds and their pressure on them. Yes it cost more to hunt there as an out of state hunter. Say you have $900 tied up in pref points and license fees to hunt IL, IA, or KS versus $300 for an out of state Bama license. For that extra $600 you are virtually guaranteed to at least see a free range 130 class deer and in most cases have the opportunity to harvest a buck that will score between 130 and 160 and if you are lucky, kill a buck that's over 160 up to 200+. If you are on good ground, you will see more big bucks in a single day than you will in your entire life hunting free range deer in Bama. Management of the resource is what makes those other states what they are. Limited gun seasons, limited doe harvest and limited overall season length. They protect the herd with season length, timing and weapon restrictions, not antler restrictions and unlimited doe harvest over a 4 month period. Combine the limited seasons and top it off with the fact that they have virtually all the food that a deer could want with all the ag. In AL, our herd and season is managed to maximize the hunter's ability to kill deer, period. That out of state $300 you spend in Bama, means you might actually see a rack buck and if you are lucky you might kill a free range 120" deer or if you are lucky enough to hit the lottery, maybe even a 140-150", if you have access to prime property. It's like anything else, you get what you pay for and you cannot kill what does not exist where you are hunting. Bama hunting is not midwest hunting and Bama management regs are not midwest management and regs by any stretch of the imagination.

100% correct.

To sum all that up, other states manage with the resource (deer) in mind, and Alabama, well, doesn't.

And we've just enacted legislation that makes it easier for those who operate on a "pile 'em up" system.

So, you want AL to start charging us a lot more for license to reduce hunting pressure, further restrict the number of bucks that can be harvested, greatly reduce the length of the season, place weapons restrictions to prohibit harvest during the Rut and other things to overall reduce the # of bucks harvested?
And, where exactly are all these bucks gonna get the high quality food needed to grow these big racks? I guess the State needs to do something about that, too?
Maybe they can figure out a way to change Bergmann's Rule in all the spare time they will gain with the Closed Seasons????

I have hunted as a non resident in Alabama for about 35 yrs. I don't hunt over corn but I find it funny that now you can do it if you pay an extra $51. For years people have tried to get that passed and the state said no it's bad for the deer, we may increase the occurrence of chronic wasting disease. Not that the Feds will pay them 300% for each baiting license it seems acceptable to the state. Govt never ceases to amaze me. It's all about power and money. I just want to go relax in the woods.

That's a big leap to make there Danny. Bama deer will never be midwest deer. I do however think that with better management: such as, limiting "individual" doe harvest in areas where needed, (2) actually having a system to be able to obtain true, complete harvest data and regulation compliance, (3) having the ability and money to hire enough wardens to actually be able to really enforce the laws that are currently on the books, and (4) having the fines high enough that if you do break the game laws in Alabama, you pay a high enough price that it'll make you think twice about ever doing it again. I'm not saying reduce the limit on bucks from the current 3 or even the season. Just actually having the personnel in place and a good system to actually enforce the 3 buck limit would go a long way. Game check is a joke and a single warden working entire counties and in some/most cases multiple counties is pretty much a joke on the enforcement side. It's like everything else, the devil is in the details and the best plan with piss poor execution and enforcement is just as bad as having a bad plan to start with, if not worse. Everyone has broken the baiting law for years because it could not be properly enforced due to a lack of personnel and time and the penalty being too low to serve as a deterrent. Here's just a few examples:

Hunting without a license resident Fine $100
Hunting without a licence non-resident Fine $825
Selling game animals $500
Hunting out of Season $250
Hunting over bait $250 (legal now with the new permit)
Running deer with dogs during stalk hunting only season $200
Exceeding bag limit on big game $100

The fines are so low that it is not a valid deterrent. If you can get away with hunting without a non-resident license in Alabama for 3 years, you're money ahead. Selling game animals, $500 fine. What a joke. Heck, you know that if you and I wanted to do that, we could easily make $1000's a week. Fact is, it's cheap as hell to be an outlaw in Alabama and that's the biggest problem with all of it. It's no wonder why so many people dont pay attention to making sure they obey the game laws of the state. Doing that little bit of research just showed me that for only $100 (if and only if, I get caught, LOL) I can kill a fourth buck or shoot two on the same day, if I happen to see second one that I like, with the only downside being that if I get caught, I have to pay a $100 fine plus court costs and forfeit the deer. I'd never do it because rules, regs are laws are there for a reason and I will not knowingly break them but that right there IMO is the biggest problem.

I've noted this before, too. There is no bite to the punishment in this state. None of these fines would make me think twice if I were of a mind to be an outlaw.

Shooting a deer out of season is $250? If I wanted deer meat in June or July, that wouldn't be a deterrent at all. Meh, here's your check. Exceeding the bag limit is only $100? Hahahahaha. That's a joke.

I've had my share of speeding tickets over the years. The fines are bad but not enough to make me put the cruise control on 70 all the time. BUT ... the points system does. Get docked enough points in two years and you lose your license? Yeah, I don't want that. So I try to drive within the posted limits.

Alabama is $312 plus $51 bait permit and I can kill deer all season long.

I even took two bucks with one shot and had the money for da fine.

Its a win-win

In Alabama you can hunt for FOUR full months, including purposefully extending the season so that you can shoot hundreds of yards at deer during their most vulnerable time when they are literally procreating so you can have deer next season (and most of you would double down on that if you possibly could). And I'd trade it tomorrow for two/three weeks bow hunting in Iowa.

You just think you would because your speaking from a “ have my cake and eat it too” standpoint. I guess it really depends on why someone hunts. These states with very few restrictions and liberal bag limits are a Blessing.

I could trade it.....and, don’t.

As a matter of fact, most don’t ‘trade’ it.
They simply have the means to do both.

That's the whole problem is the I don't give a shucks attitude like yours!

How about I change my residency for the winter and get my license for free and shoot three bucks a day and pay the fines with your hard earned tax dollars? Win-win-win

You are correct, I don’t give a shucks

And I wouldn’t. Different strokes for different folks. Hunting is fun and I don’t only want to go 2 or 3 weeks.

I hunt in other states, the opportunities vary, restrictions and quotas suck, advanced planning tiresome, and you almost need a wheel barrel for the law books and hunting regulations.

Here's something else to think about. I think that most other states grant an exemption of have a special permit available for non-resident landowners to be able to hunt the property they own in that state without having to pay the full non-resident license fee. I think it is either 40 or 80 acres in KS and I know for a fact that it is 40 acres in IL. If you own it, you apply for a much cheaper permit to be able to hunt just your land. I'd be all for AL doing the same thing.

You overlooked the biggest fine joke in Alabama, spotlighting. Since everyone wants to be like Kansas , take a look at their night hunting fines, I believe it's about $10,000.

When do you guys have time to go all the way to Iowa? I don’t have time to hunt my club and it’s 45 min away.

Ask Spook Spann about breaking game laws in Kansas and how much it will cost a fella. 😀

I haven't yet. Buying points until I am ready to go.

Still going to Texas and Alabama, though!

Try Ohio, One buck and up to five does. License is $142 and each tag is $24 and they kill some monsters. I've killed 160 class deer and seen larger on the hoof or killed by others. Lots of public land and look at the records: https://apps.ohiodnr.gov/Wildlife/BigBuck/

It's 80 acres in Kansas.

This never will happen in Alabama because the non-residents wouldn't be paying full non-resident license costs. Can't have that. Nope.

And I don't disagree with ya... it's just MY preference. Where I'm at in my hunting career, and the way I hunt, Alabama's hunting experience is lacking (again, for me). Hunting has become secondary to me as a hobby, I fish much more these days, but that's because fishing in Alabama is the envy of the country (the total opposite of hunting). Guntersville (for example) is the fishing equivalent of Iowa deer hunting.

Shhhhh.

Nothing to see in Ohio. Not worth the drive. No deer at all there.

Best thing is Iowa MAKES you buy an antlerless tag for $150 !!!!!!

Like Squeaky said I’ll have about $800 total in my hunt with that and points this year before I leave home. A buddy and I have 660 acres of the best land on NE Iowa to hunt this year.

If you’ve never been Iowa can be magical and addictive. This will be my 5 time going and I can’t wait. Best thing is I will be sending a Spartan camera up in September to see what’s walking around before we get there.

Sometimes I'm the outfitter, sometimes I'm the booking agent, sometimes I'm the guide, and sometimes I'm the client. It just depends.....

Not to mention the whole "if you're not at the table, you're on the menu" dynamic. Non-residents, by definition, can't vote and have no say in the matter.

Well, since I personally know several IL residents who are pretty serious trophy hunters......I am just gonna tell ya, they despise the ground that Out-of State hunters walk on! LOL

Most Midwest guys hate out of state hunters; especially those of us from the south.

“We” ruined the Midwest.

Yep they do, and I just love seeing those Illinois tags at Gulf Shores every year eating at all the fine places that people on this site reveal. Bottom line "Suck it up".

Haha! Says the idiots that walk through public land during shotgun season shooting every tail they see.

it ain't just OUT OF STATE..when I started hunting Wilcox Co in 1972 they called Bham folkshunting there BHAM SUMBITCHS....all of them.