save your pennies Mass. hunters...

so all people who int and sit and Mass are going to sit out the next two years until we cripple the wildlife fund?

As hunters and fishermen we can buy hunting and fishing licenses and hunt and fish in other states.

Since we live in New England other states are a stone's throw away unlike if we were locked in central Texas....

If we continue to buy the licenses then we are telling them we are showing we are in agreement with the price hikes....

Quite a few years ago Connecticut pulled the same stunt and their license sales tanked. They relented about a week before the trout fishing season and went with a much more reasonable hike In fees.

Bob
 
Quite a few years ago Connecticut pulled the same stunt and their license sales tanked. They relented about a week before the trout fishing season and went with a much more reasonable hike In fees.

Bob
I think Mass gets most of their fees from fishing licenses. I know the salt water guy are pretty dedicated. A lot of them already spend a ton of money on their boats and gear. I doubt an increase in the licensing fee would deter them.
It is nice to think about a licensing boycott even though it will never happen here...
 
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The problem is Mass doesn't care if you don't buy a license They would probably be glad if nobody hunted. NY had to drop the license fee's as it was hurting the local economies as a lot of out of state people travel to NY to hunt spend money at local stores etc.
 
Sucks cause the hunting season is my "super bowl" time of the year. And being a few minutes from my Fav spots to hunt in my area VS driving to NY or NH will be a drag, but one I am willing to do if this the way the state wants to play this game.
 
So are we all going to whinge on here, or are folks going to comment on the state's form?

Here's what I sent them last night
This new price scheme is in direct conflict with the proposed R3 program whose purpose is to help increase participation in the sport.

Working families across the state have been subject to furloughs or lay-offs for nearly a year, and significant numbers of participants are older - it's hard enough to get these people to drop ~75/year for licenses, how are they going to find 160?

How are we going to get new people started? The proposed archery tag increase is more expensive than maintaining an LTC/FID. Same of the muzzleloader tag.

We need to raise money, but this will never work. We have limited reliable land to hunt, and inconsistent access to game. People are already accustomed to commuting to their spots - if we keep raising rates without providing obvious improvements in the actual offerings, people will pay a little more to instead commute to neighboring states with more available land, Sunday hunting, and better perceived game opportunities.
 
On the topic of taxing other users, I'd be careful what we wish for. Folks keep saying things like "tax dog-walkers" or recreational boaters, and you'll see that they just start increasing the tax for dog owners or folks buying kayaks - all of which comes directly back to us again. Hooray, you didn't have to pay the extra $40/year for your waterfowl and pheasant stamps because you paid an extra $25/year for your dog and 3% on the purchase of your new canoe.
 
Here’s my reply.
How about you liberals now in charge of fish and game require permits to enjoy photographing wildlife. A fee for walking or biking in areas paid for by our licenses ? The nutty crunchy crowd gets a free pass at the expense of fishermen and hunters ? Without our monies they wouldn't have these spaces to stroll in !

I went to nh for hunting last year and it was worth every penny of the $170 or so I paid. Hunted alot of Sundays. Even found good public land to hunt rabbits on. Got a nice buck in zone m......on a Sunday.
I've always said just the Sunday hunting possibility alone effectively doubles my potential time in the field as a 'working guy'
Sat & Sun are my only 2 days in a week that I can mostly do what I want
All I need is 1 family event like a birthday party or something on a Saturday to mess up my hunting plans for the 1 day of the week I can actually get out in MA
Suddenly it's been weeks since I've hunted and the end of the season is approaching fast

NH Sunday hunting changes that
 
you don’t want that......
you don’t want all those birds watchers and dog workers to have a actual say in how land set aside for hunters is used.
our best “ace in the hole” as hunters is that we solely fund those properties.

It is a quandary. Do we let them in or keep em out?? There are downsides to both. (At some point, people could just say "f the license holders" anyhow.)

It's not a shock. 25 years with no increase is a bit unheard of. But I'm still bristling on the SW license. "the ocean is free." Good. "But we're gonna charge you." WHAT???
 
yes, send in your comments. the question we should all ask is why are the sportsmen the only source of revenue. clearly there are others in this state that value wildlife and utilize those resources.

And based on what I see while hunting, there has not been a decline in hunter numbers during archery deer and turkey seasons. this past year there were record numbers of turkey hunters. Masswildlife even said so.
 
I put my two cents in. Used the "families struggling to survive because of covid-19, relying on hunting and fishing for food", etc. angle. Also used the no hunting on Sundays issue.
 
I don’t understand why the increases are so disproportionally directed at hunters. Of the main species hunted, a hunting license allows you to shoot antlered deer with a shotgun. Period. You want to shoot a doe? Mo money. Want to use a muzzleloader? Mo money. Want to use a bow? Mo money. Want to hunt waterfowl? Mo money. Turkey? Mo money. Bear? Mo money. And now pheasant/quail? Mo money. Why isn’t more of the increases targeted to fishing? I believe the fisheries hatchery expenses accounts for 17% of the DFW budget, yet there is no trout or salmon stamp. No fly fishing stamp. No ice fishing stamp. A basic fishing license allows you to fish 24 x 7x 365. The pheasant program is about 3% and they are proposing a new $20 stamp. Fishing is up and hunting is down by 50%, yet they continue to disproportionately fund the DFW on hunting and hunting fees. I always bought stamps for archery, turkey, and bear even though I very rarely to never hunted them. No more. This is just a blind and poorly planned grab at hunters that will serve to drive even more hunters away.
 
Here’s my reply.
How about you liberals now in charge of fish and game require permits to enjoy photographing wildlife. A fee for walking or biking in areas paid for by our licenses ? The nutty crunchy crowd gets a free pass at the expense of fishermen and hunters ? Without our monies they wouldn't have these spaces to stroll in !


I love busting balls !
Fkn awesom ! Well said
 
I don’t understand why the increases are so disproportionally directed at hunters. Of the main species hunted, a hunting license allows you to shoot antlered deer with a shotgun. Period. You want to shoot a doe? Mo money. Want to use a muzzleloader? Mo money. Want to use a bow? Mo money. Want to hunt waterfowl? Mo money. Turkey? Mo money. Bear? Mo money. And now pheasant/quail? Mo money. Why isn’t more of the increases targeted to fishing? I believe the fisheries hatchery expenses accounts for 17% of the DFW budget, yet there is no trout or salmon stamp. No fly fishing stamp. No ice fishing stamp. A basic fishing license allows you to fish 24 x 7x 365. The pheasant program is about 3% and they are proposing a new $20 stamp. Fishing is up and hunting is down by 50%, yet they continue to disproportionately fund the DFW on hunting and hunting fees. I always bought stamps for archery, turkey, and bear even though I very rarely to never hunted them. No more. This is just a blind and poorly planned grab at hunters that will serve to drive even more hunters away.
because hunting = justification for "gunz", pretty sure most of the libtards in the state would love to eliminate it or outlaw it completely
 
So my typical license for sporting and all of the stamps will cost me nearly $200. E.A.B.O.D Mass. I will stop hunting and fishing in this awful state and spend my money in Vermont and New Hampshire.
Cheaper to hunt out of state at that point, and lets face it, everyone in MA except the Cape is close to a border.
 
I thought Massachusetts moved license fees to the general fund years ago. I remember everyone at my sportsmans club complaining about it years ago. Unless it was a propsed bill that never made it.
It seems every new administration tries to pull the money from the Inland Fish & Game Fund to the general fund. Once they realize that the State would lose millions in Federal (USFWS) funding, the money is put back. The federal money comes from the various taxes on hunting & fishing goods (Pittman-Robertson, Dingell-Johnson, etc). Basically, no Inland Fish & Game Fund = no Federal money.
 
It seems every new administration tries to pull the money from the Inland Fish & Game Fund to the general fund. Once they realize that the State would lose millions in Federal (USFWS) funding, the money is put back. The federal money comes from the various taxes on hunting & fishing goods (Pittman-Robertson, Dingell-Johnson, etc). Basically, no Inland Fish & Game Fund = no Federal money.
Maybe we should think abut starting to tax bikes again.
 
I sent my comments to MDFW and to the local news station to try to get the word out.

Bob

Yeah. Chet and Natalie will have that on the 6 o’clock report tomorrow. Lol


I don’t understand why the increases are so disproportionally directed at hunters. Of the main species hunted, a hunting license allows you to shoot antlered deer with a shotgun. Period. You want to shoot a doe? Mo money. Want to use a muzzleloader? Mo money. Want to use a bow? Mo money. Want to hunt waterfowl? Mo money. Turkey? Mo money. Bear? Mo money. And now pheasant/quail? Mo money. Why isn’t more of the increases targeted to fishing? I believe the fisheries hatchery expenses accounts for 17% of the DFW budget, yet there is no trout or salmon stamp. No fly fishing stamp. No ice fishing stamp. A basic fishing license allows you to fish 24 x 7x 365. The pheasant program is about 3% and they are proposing a new $20 stamp. Fishing is up and hunting is down by 50%, yet they continue to disproportionately fund the DFW on hunting and hunting fees. I always bought stamps for archery, turkey, and bear even though I very rarely to never hunted them. No more. This is just a blind and poorly planned grab at hunters that will serve to drive even more hunters away.

Using 2017 data which seems most current, hunting lic’s bring in 2.4M in revenue and fishing lics bring in 4.5M. That’s all in. Res and non res. Permits and tags included. So you want to revise that? I’d say fishermen are getting the short end of the stick if they contribute 67% of the revenue and only 17% of the expense. (Not really, but I’m just pointing out that fishermen already pay far far more than their fair share.)

as far as pheasant stamps, only a select few hunters get to shoot at state stocked pheasants. There is no reason not to have a special permit for them to help fund that program. If I were exclusively a deer hunter, I’d be pissed some of my $ is going to “your” sport. (And all them fishermen, too!)

But maybe there should be a trout stamp for fishing stocked waters. Maybe.


 
Cheaper to hunt out of state at that point, and lets face it, everyone in MA except the Cape is close to a border.
I’m on the Cape, just a few minutes drive to either bridge. I love the places I hunt and fish here but if this all passes, I may take a good look at RI for hunting and fishing in the future. Problem with that is having to spend a lot of time scouting woods and waters I’m unfamiliar with. The fact that I work ~50hrs/wk and have a 3 and 1 year old, really doesn’t leave me much free time as it is. If I have to drive an hour+ to get some hunting/fishing in, I’ll probably just stop altogether. Sucks.
 
as far as pheasant stamps, only a select few hunters get to shoot at state stocked pheasants. There is no reason not to have a special permit for them to help fund that program. If I were exclusively a deer hunter, I’d be pissed some of my $ is going to “your” sport. (And all them fishermen, too!)
I don't mind a pheasant stamp but if we're going from $0 to $20... I expect a lot more stocking and a higher seasonally limit.
 
Many, many , many people won’t be getting damn licensed. I know I won’t. But still hunt and fish.
I just started hunting, but I will definitely stop hunting in MA. I mean, in NH I can hunt deer with a rifle instead of a shotgun, and I don’t need that stupid turkey sticker on my shotgun.
 
Many, many , many people won’t be getting damn licensed. I know I won’t. But still hunt and fish.
This.

This state isn't worth any increases. Deer hunting in my area sucks. I can pheasant hunt on my club if I want without a lisc.

Fxck thier fee increases. I already go to other states anyway to hunt for real and see deer every day.

Any time I spend deer hunting in MA is generally a waste of time.....this will just seal the deal til I leave this wretched shxthole.
 
I don't mind a pheasant stamp but if we're going from $0 to $20... I expect a lot more stocking and a higher seasonally limit.
Pfffft....yeah....maybe they will stock 3 times a week on WMA's. Oh....they already do? Yeah....OK....

And honestly, the pheasant program is the best part of hunting MA.
 
It seems every new administration tries to pull the money from the Inland Fish & Game Fund to the general fund. Once they realize that the State would lose millions in Federal (USFWS) funding, the money is put back. The federal money comes from the various taxes on hunting & fishing goods (Pittman-Robertson, Dingell-Johnson, etc). Basically, no Inland Fish & Game Fund = no Federal money.
This. Romney tried it. And realized he'd lose a shxt ton of Fed money.
 
I just started hunting, but I will definitely stop hunting in MA. I mean, in NH I can hunt deer with a rifle instead of a shotgun, and I don’t need that stupid turkey sticker on my shotgun.
Depends on the town, so just be sure to check first. [thumbsup]
 
Only a liberal would justify increases of 78%-166% by saying that inflation has increased "almost 66%".
 
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