Just got my catalog in from Texas Parks and Wildlife for their drawings for public hunts and Big Time Texas Hunts featuring various types of hunts you can win by lottery.

I have to admit I get a little giddy every year when this comes in. Hope springs eternal for the coming season.

Got mine the other day and already have everything filled out for the hunts I am putting in for.

I have been exceedingly lucky over the years and have averaged at least 1 hunt annually since 1986 or so.

My only problem, ios that I wished TP&W would limit these hunts to Texas residents only.

Colorado and other states limit the number of Non-Residents that can obtain permits in their drawing hunts.

Texan's as a group have such limited areas where Public Hunting can be done, that I feel it would be nice if these limited opportunities were limited to Texas residents.

quote:

Originally posted by Crazyhorseconsulting:

My only problem, is that I wished TP&W would limit these hunts to Texas residents only.

Colorado and other states limit the number of Non-Residents that can obtain permits in their drawing hunts.
.

Coloroado limits the numbers that non residents can have they don't eliminate non residents.
Remember that next time you draw a tag in Colorado or Wyoming or Idaho or Utah.
I think I'll get my whole family to put in for Desert Sheep in Texas maybe we can draw a tag thet was meant for a "texan"!

Colrado limits the number of Non-Residents that can draw tags in the limited entry hunts to 40%, those all are not Texans now are they?

That is ALL NON-RESIDENTS any STATE!

Why do Texans and other folks apply to Colorado and the other mountain states?

Because with a grand total of less than 5% Public Land, and lease prices being what they are, many folks can not afford a place to hunt in Texas.

I just posted my opinion on the subject and TP&W is damn sure more interested in making money for the state than giving its own residents a break in the game.

This is an arguement as old as time.

Texas is blessed with lots of great hunting, probably the best hunting in the country. Of course it can cost lots of money to hunt in Texas, lots and lots of money.

Western states, are seen by many as a hunters paradise. But in actuallity the total numbers of big game animals in western states tends to be very small compared with the number of people.

Most Western states have around 1 million to 2.5 million total big game animals. Of course we have states like California that have 50,000,000 people and we have states like Wyoming and Alaska that have 500,000 to 700,000 people. That includes everything antelope, all 3 kinds of deer, elk, moose, sheep, goats, bears, and now wolves.

As I understand it there are something like 20,000,000 deer in Texas. Of course you also have something like 20,000,000 people. Meaning that a lot of your 250,000 square miles is tied up in private land.



It is not fair to me that you get 40% of the draw of a state that you don't live in, pay taxes in, or have to deal with our weather, lack of jobs, or wind.

It is not fair to you that you have to pay more, and that you are required in many states to hire a guide to hunt public land "wilderness areas".

In the end the Feds own the land, and the states own the wildlife.

And Westerner's play the blame game on the Non-residents.

We need to change the way we do things in Texas. I would like to see non-residents forced to buy a hunting license if they want to apply like Arizona and Nevada. Non-residents shouldn't get any tags on their license. They need to pay a fee for each deer tag. While Colorado is generous with a 40% non-resident allocation perhaps we should do like other states and cut that down to 10%.

That was tongue in cheek. I wish every state would treat everyone equally. There shouldn't be a non-resident license.



D99.... IIRC we only have around 4 or 5 million deer in the state.

M16,

There isn't a fair answer for any way the states are set up. Some states don't allow non-res to hunt species like sheep, goat, and bighorns.

Alaska requires a guide for nonres for some species. This does 2 things, firstly it forces you to pay an Alaskan guide to take you hunting contributing to our economy. 2nd it ensures that you are quite a bit safer, or at least that in theory you are safer. Not that you couldn't hunt caribou in the middle of wolf-idise or sitka blacktails in the middle of bearidise.

Wyoming requires a guide for hunts in wilderness areas. The biggest positive for residents is they have these areas to themselves with the exceptions of outfitter guided nonres. The biggest negative is it is more Public land that is locked away from the outdoorsman. Especially if your a life-long hunter from another Rocky Mountain state, you have the horses and gear to make a wilderness hunt work, but you can't because Wyoming wont let you.

As for Texas requiring a tag for each deer, I think it's kind of a moot point. Especially when non-res pay $200 for a hunting liscense, and 7%-10% of the state tax on the trophy fee goes back to the state anyway.

Don't forget that Colorado also offers non residents over the counter Bull elk licenses and leftover cow licenses with no caps.
Real easy for a lot of people to think their state should make it tough on non residents but then want Colorado to loosen up with the non res restrictions when in fact they are very generous.

Two things wrong with this statement:

quote:

Especially when non-res pay $200 for a hunting liscense, and 7%-10% of the state tax on the trophy fee goes back to the state anyway.

This is from the 2009-2010 TP&W Outdoor Annual -

quote:

Non-resident General Hunting (Type 105) = $315.00. Valid to hunt any legal bird or animal (including deer). Stamp endorsement requirements apply.

Few if ANY other states allow Non-Residents to kill as much game as Residents can.

Secondly, since the majority of hunting in Texas is done on Private Land, the state does not actually realize ANY tax money from what Non-Resients spend on their hunts, except very peripherally.

Snellstrom, you are entitled to your opinion, but hunting in Colorado for Non-Residents, gets harder and more restrictive every year and I have seen that change first hand, I started hunting there in 1992.

Texas on the other hand bends over backwards to attract Non-Resident hunters and actually offers very little for Residents in the way of hunting opportunities.

They do try, and I have been fortunate enough to go on several of these state run hunts over the years, and have had fairly good luck.

But just like Colorado does not allow Non-Residents to apply for the Ranching For Wildlife tags, I feel that what few Public Hunting opportunities that are available in Texas should be limited to Texans.

I didn't know it had gone up.

But still $315 for a Texas hunting license is a good deal. Especially when you consider all that it includes.

It is a good deal, and that is part of the problem.

Due to various reasons, TP&W is strapped for income on all levels.

Texas is to my knowledge one of the few states that actively tries to get Non-Residents to come here.

It is the same way concerning Trophy Bass fishing, TP&W wants Texas to be the "Go To" state.

While other states are cutting back and making it more difficult for Non-Resident hunters, Texas is doing just the opposite.

As a guide/outfitter, I see the reasoning behind it, as a Texan, I don't like the concept that Texans are being pushed to the side in favor of Non-Residents.

I really do not know of any other state that gives what to me constitutes preferential treatment to Non-Residents over Residents at this point in time.

Colorado and some of the other western/mountain states did at one time, but due to the differences in those states form of goverment compared to Texas and the difference in the amounts of Public versus Private Land, the residents in those states were able to get laws enacted limiting the amoount of access Non-Residents have to the resource.

The only limit to the access to the resource in Texas for Resident and Non-Resident alike is the balance in an individuals bank account and how much of that they are willing to part with.

I'll tell you what, if I won the lottery tommorow I'd buy 20,000 acre hill county game ranch for me to run around on all winter long.

Texas is a great state for hunting and I hope it contiues to be.

I have expressed those same sentiments.

Texas is great place to live and hunt.

As I have stated quite openly many times, I can not even conceive the idea of what it feels like to not be a Texan.

If you have the $$$$ and connections the hunting is fabulous, if you don't, then Colorado/Nebraska and several other states become a lot more attractive, including hunts in Canada and Africa look more reasonable.

I know TP&W is doing the best they can with what they have to work with, and unfortunately that includes the sportsmen and women of this great state.

It really hurts something inside of me to see how the attitudes and opinions about or toward hunting in Texas have changed over the past 40 years, especially among those of us that grew up here.