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Lottery to hunt Ohio next year for out of state hunters?

6K views 45 replies 19 participants last post by  fastwater 
#1 ·
My buddy just called and told me that there is a proposal to make out of state hunters to have to enter a lottery to hunt in the state of Ohio for next year has anyone else heard about this
 
#6 ·
Yup! And as broke as ODNR is, AND, with Kasick saying the state is currently in financial trouble and possibly looking at some hard times the next couple years, which WILL result in ODNR operating on even less than what they always do(they are at the bottom of the food chain when it comes importance of distribution of tax $'s) one would think Ohio would be doing everything they can to be bringing more $ into the state rather than running it away.
 
#8 ·
Lottery won't happen. I would be happy if they raised the rates though. Seems like Ohio is fairly cheap considering what we have to offer in quality of bucks. Every year where I hunt the out of state guys out number the resident hunters. New York, Maine, WV, Michigan, Indiana, Pa, North Carolina and this year Louisiana
 
#12 ·
Not entirely our problem but the state would benefit from higher licenses for out of state folks. Ohio is one of the most storied whitetail states in the entire country and people from all over come to hunt Ohio Big Bucks. Yet, when it comes to out of state licenses I find that Ohio is on the lower end of cost for deer tags. I think changes could and probably should happen there.
 
#14 ·
Check out places like Indiana, Missouri, or Iowa. Ohio isn't very close in price to those states. The deal with most of those states is the add-on price for actually taking a buck. Total for an Iowa out of stater is near 500.00. Huge bucks out there and they still attract plenty of out of state hunters. Indiana is close to 180.00 for a 5 day license and one tag. Missouri is 225.00. These are just a few examples.
 
#16 ·
Seen this debate over the years as far as prices between states. I'm all for that, but it would mean ODNR having to stay on top of things to track other states. Fat chance of that happening. The lottery for out of state folks wont happen. Too many out of state folks owning/leasing property. Can you imagine shelling money out then not winning the lottery to hunt?? And let's not sing the swan song about the out of state pricing increase hurting the mom n pop shops. Don't believe it.
 
#22 ·
My dad lived in Florida he came up every year for gun season then we would hunt pa because of the second week for under 200 he could hunt both states.
I was invited to my buddies place in Louisiana 1000+acrs for deer and pigs. the deer that I was seeing were like yearlings here. the bucks were small but the boar were big so it makes up for it so after that 1 season I never went back ducks on the other hand wow awesome but now I see why they come north.
 
#23 ·
Ohio really needs to increase the price for an out of state license. The ODNR is way behind the times on out of state license cost and is missing an opportunity to increase their revenue stream. We have a great deer herd here. People from out of state will pay more to hunt here than what the ODNR is charging them. Once you figure up travel, lodging, food, equipment, trespass fees, etc the license is the cheapest part of the trip. We take our deer herd for granted some times. It is always a wake up call to me when I talk to out of state hunters that just had a trip of a lifetime after killing a buck that I wouldn't bother getting out of bed in the morning for.
 
#24 ·
I've ran into a bunch of those out of state guys who drool over a 130" deer. Most of them are guys that im surprised they were able to kill any deer at all.

We have good deer compared to states that have junk, but we're average at best compared to other Midwestern states.
 
#26 ·
I've been around. Everyone always talks about how great our deer are when compared to the antlered dogs they have in the southern states. Hawaii has good deer compared to those states, and I'm not even sure Hawaii has deer.

You know why people pay all that money to hunt Iowa, Illinois, etc? Because it's worth it if you want quality deer. Start charging those prices for Ohio, and you'll see people driving right on through us to get to the better states that charge the same.

We have good deer here, but we don't have good and consistent hunting that most would pay more than the $150 they already pay for license and tag.

Just my opinion.
 
#30 ·
I've been around. Everyone always talks about how great our deer are when compared to the antlered dogs they have in the southern states. Hawaii has good deer compared to those states, and I'm not even sure Hawaii has deer.

You know why people pay all that money to hunt Iowa, Illinois, etc? Because it's worth it if you want quality deer. Start charging those prices for Ohio, and you'll see people driving right on through us to get to the better states that charge the same.

We have good deer here, but we don't have good and consistent hunting that most would pay more than the $150 they already pay for license and tag.

Just my opinion.
When you say 150 dollars for a nonresident to hunt Ohio, I start thinking about how much I spend as a resident to hunt my home state. As a resident to hunt all the game animals in Ohio we spend more money on a license then a nonresident. To be able to harvest small game, waterfowl, an antlered deer, a fall turkey, and a spring turkey we spend 131 dollars. To me, these fews are a little excessive when compared to nonresident fees. I don't feel that nonresident tags should be the same price as resident tags. I also feel that nonresident shouldn't be allowed to harvest the same number of deer a resident is allowed to take. Just my two cents.
 
#27 ·
You have to look at the demographic aspect of it for out of state hunters also. Ohio is way closer to more major population centers. I know quite a few easterners that quit hunting states further west due to convenience and time. They can get to Ohio much faster and find good hunting here. For us local boys, we can pattern and kill big deer on a consistent basis. I couldn't ask for more than what I have in my own back yard. I can hunt out my back door, or on multiple private properties within an hour of home in just about any direction that all hold big deer. I couldn't ask for much more as a deer hunter.
 
#29 · (Edited)
I feel the same...having been privileged enough to have hunted a few other states and know what they have to offer. If I still horn hunted,still had the desire to hang heads on the wall I once had, I'd go to where my chances are best to get the most for my $. Other states may charge more to hunt there, but today, they have more of the same quality bucks we have here....and in some cases better.

Apparently the one and only Mike Tonkovich agrees with you as well beaver when it comes to hunting horns and the 'big' bucks in Ohio. Which is part of his excuse for for his continued plans to thin Ohio's deer herd even further than what it is:

http://www.cleveland.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2015/01/ohio_game_biologists_hunters_s.html
 
#31 ·
Why not? If they buy a tag, who cares? It would be different if we have a quota hunt, but that's not how our system works.

Also, I don't understand the statement about spending more to hunt all the game. As a resident, you can hunt everything ohio has to offer for less than $100 (not counting your federal duck stamp). A non resident has to pay $127 just for a license. Then add the tag, stamp, etc. fee for whatever their game of choice is.

If there is any grounds for a change in charging practices for non residents, it shouldn't be for our mediocre deer hunting. It should be for the best walleye fishery in the world that thousands of non residents flock to every year for cheap. I'd be all for an erie stamp to make sure that the fishery stays that way.
 
#33 ·
Beaver I'm not trying to start an argument, I'm just saying that Ohio's nonresident hunting and fishing fees are relatively low compared to other states. I'm also saying our resident fees are relatively higher compared to other states. I feel the state needs to look at making resident sportsmen and women feel they take a presidence over nonresident. If I'm understanding your response you also feel the fees are too low for nonresidents. By the way I'm all for the Erie stamp also.
 
#36 ·
DNR has proposed the increase multiple times, it has to be approved by the senate. The reason they weren't approved for the increase was they didn't have a plan for the extra revenue. Hows that make you feel about our DNR. Someone correct me if Im wrong on that but thats the word in the woods.
 
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