Countertop has a pretty good post on the high cost of hunting licenses. Let’s see what he would pay as a Pennsylvania resident:
Resident State Hunting $20.00
It appears you get one turkey with your license.
Resident Bear: $16.00
Resident anterless deer: $6.00
Resident Muzzleloader $11.00
Migratory Waterfowl Conservation Stamp $3.00
Contribute $2.00 to Hunters for the Hungry $2.00
Total Fee $58.00
So if Countertop were a PA resident, he’d pay a bit less. As a non-resident:
Non-resident Hunting:Â $101.00
Non-resident Bear: $36.00
Non-resident Deer: $26.00
Non-resident Muzzleloader: $21.00
Non-resident waterfowl: $6.00
Contribute $2.00 to Hunters for the Hungry: $2.00
Total Fee: $192
Wow, that’s pretty insane. Remember that hunting has been in decline for quite a while, and most game agencies do not receive state tax dollars to fund them. They are entirely funded by license fees and Pittman-Robertson funds, which is a federal excise tax on guns and ammunition.
Pennsylvania also does not allow Sunday hunting. Sunday hunting has been fought by a lot of groups, including hikers, who do not pay a blasted thing to use public lands and trails that other people pay for.
Can you imagine someone who wants to get into hunting having to navigate the legal maze that exists? Â Barriers to entry for this sport are too high, and I think that is, in large part, responsible for the decline.
Hunting is an important part of the shooting sports community. A lot of us deride the “Fudds” who would gladly throw shooters under the bus as long as they get to keep their deer rifle, but hunters are an important part of the shooting community as whole, and without them, we lose political power as a whole.
