Thump, lots of good logic to your reply. I do see the other side of it and had to think before I replied before. My personal situation is unique because we control so much country. If I had a small place with small places all around then it would likely get shot up without the system they have in place and the price increase. Nothing is ever black and white.....

it wont cut down on pressure on private, it may cut down on a few WMA’s and the draw’s, but not private. leases are still cheap in terms of quality

It will cut down on the number of people willing to pay the price period, that’s all that matters. The private land sector is going to be changing very soon as well on its on, I’ve been offered up to three times what I’m currently getting on leases and it’s routine to be offered double so with any luck this increase will at least slow it down somewhat. Also the chip plant is about to make the land prices in the south central Oklahoma area go though the roof so anyone hunting that area be prepared because I’m already getting calls over in our area from contractors working on it looking for places to hunt.

its really only roughly $260 for most people. Most NR hunters only do “A” deer season.

I do think some NR might drop out of the draws though, I’ve been in bid wars with outfitters and NR for school leases, okla now has a rep for big deer, NR will continue to come just like they do to KS.

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I can’t disagree with anything you said but at least the price increase is a start to attempt to control it. Ive been hearing rumors floating since well before this was announced about the state going to a draw system if this doesn’t slow it down by 2028 but who knows. Oklahoma isn’t a state that messes around so if they see a problem which they obviously do they generally fix it pretty damn quick so the draw rumor probably has some backbone to it.

I hope this helps the situation and by the comments in this thread alone it appears to have some shock factor to it but only time will tell.

What is this "chip plant" you speak of?

The 30 plus billion dollar computer chip plants going in around Sherman.

if I only hunted one species, It wouldnt be that big of a deal but typically grab deer, 1-2 pronghorn and an elk tag most years, but ill just wait until I glass up a good one then buy a tag with mobile app

I don't know, it may cut down a little bit on some non residents coming to hunt. But for the most part people always seem to find the money, or should I say credit.

I didn't see anything about turkey license? Did they jack that up to?

Seems every state is significantly increasing their turkey tags/license.

I am kinda with freerange on this, there are plenty of deer to go around in OK at least the places i have seen.

This will probably reduce the traffic into WMAs but probably not as much as some think…for the cost of a deer lease these days, 708 dollars for a season of hunting public is still a lot cheaper than a lease.

And if lease prices are going to go thru the roof in north TX-southern OK as thumper says, this proce increase wont affect a thing other than bringing more revenue to the state wildlife dept.

Just checked. Mine didn’t increase

Bobo is getting screwed. LOL. I just logged into my account to see prices, and it is $300 for deer rifle season for me. Same as last year I believe.

knew this was coming. I dont have alot of shame in my life, but fact a Mississippi boy has one and I dont is pretty shame full

happens next year

Glad i got my lifetime license in Oklahoma before i moved to Texas in the 90's.

That's gonna sting.

I want to apologize to everyone on here. I'm the reason for the price increase. I've never hunted OK and made the decision that I would do so this coming fall. Didn't mean for my bad luck to spoil things for the rest of you.

Please, wash your car as well......

Thought I would bump this up for a heads up that might save someone a few bucks if they hunt OK depending on what and when they hunt. The Bill that increases license fees goes into effect July 1st. One may be able to purchase some licenses before July 1st that will still be valid for next season and fall under the old fee structure. For example the nonresident fishing and nonresident hunting are 365 day licenses valid for one year from the day you buy it. And it looks like some of the big game may have dates that fall into next season. Deer Archery I think shows 10/01/2024 - 01/15/2025 and falls under the old fee and limit structure until July 1st. I did buy my nonresident hunting for next season tonight for $175 valid until 5/17/25. It would have cost me $208 if I waited until July or August to buy it. I don't know what the season date structure is on antelope and elk, but it might be worth researching for someone like Bobo that knows he will hunt one of these next season.

https://www.wildlifedepartment.com/licensing/license-restructure-faq
"Will my current licenses still be valid?
Yes, any license bought before July 1 will be valid for what it was intended (one single resident gun deer antlered license = one antlered gun deer). That one license does not, however, cover the hunter for all the deer they can hunt so after July 1, they will need to buy a resident deer gun license if they are going to hunt beyond just the license they bought previously. "

Sniper, thanks for the try but I dont understand. Ill have to call them I guess.

I'll try a shorter version. A Bill was passed that increased license fees for Non Residents. It goes into effect July 1st. If you purchase any license before July 1 that is valid for next season it will still good after the fee increase.

The NR hunting is valid 365 days from the day you buy it. If you buy a NR small game hunting license today it will cost $175 and be valid until 5/18/25. If you buy a NR small game license on July 1st after the fee increase it will cost $208 and be valid until 7/1/25. You save $33 by buying it before the fee increase. There might be potential for much larger savings with some of the big game options by purchasing before the fee increase.

Free, sniper is saying if you buy now for this years season the prices are last seasons prices. Saves about 200 off deer license types and about 30 off the non-res hunting license.

For someone looking to do deer archery, rifle and ML, this could save 600+ dollars.

That is if this years licenses are for sale now….and it appears as such that they are.

Interestingly, when you select the license for deer archery, it says you need no other licenses to hunt only deer in archery season. Does that allow one to game the system this one year and not get the hunting license per the new Bill for this season, since the license stares nothing else is required?

Reading thru the OK rules, it does not yet say anything about the need for a hunting license. Even tho this years season dates are in the system.
The other thing that may be different is the holiday antlerless season, it does not say you even need a gun license for this. In the past I could swear it required a rifle license to be eligible for holiday antlerless gun season. May have to ask my GW about that one.

The answer is in the FAQ I posted.

If a Non-resident buys a deer license in June ‘24 will they still have to buy an annual NR hunting license to hunt deer in the Fall?
Yes, every nonresident hunter in the fall of 2024 will need an annual hunting license and a deer license (even if they bought their deer license in June ‘24)

Thanks Sniper, I didn't go thru the FAQs, but that is helpful.

Your email still has potential to save $200/deer license type if bought before july 1, and $30 on the hunting license

That is good news for deer hunters, for this year at least