Montana is the biggest rip off state as far as price of tags for out of state hunters. Montana is a very unfriendly hunting state. The DNR is a greedy bunch as the state is also and I hate to say it but true.

They are pretty pricey for sure. Their deer tag is about double of the next highest State I have checked in to and triple most States.
We are still heading up there next season to chase deer around south of Miles City.That is going to be our inaugural western hunt and the hopefully the first of many for us.

Careful where you choose in there Shane, I'm told the deer down that country are not nearly what they used to be and the areas holding better prospects are pretty much leased up. Take caution not to be on private land without permission.

Montana is my native state and I love it but what Snowy said is correct. Montana got the big non resident hunting prices started back in the mid 60's.

Osky

Thanks Osky. I have done a ton of research on the area. We are looking at the Ashland Ranger District of the Custer Gallatin National Forest and some of the BLM and State Land surrounding it as well as some of the Block Management land in that region. We wanted to do a hunt in relatively mild and accessible country our first go around to get a better feel for what will be involved in hunting out west.

I have the BLM surface use maps and the National Forest maps for almost that whole region of the State. It is mind boggling to me how much public land in Montana and Wyoming is landlocked by private land and inaccessible to the public. Makes no sense to me. If the public can't access it for recreation sell it and buy some that can be accessed in my opinion.

And.......Non-residents only get to hunt in area 7

Given that non-residents can only hunt area #7 (around Casper) Game and fish may have anticipated getting an awful lot of application money for very little real hunting opportunity?

As ShaneT said supply and demand, I don 't hunt out of state because of cost. I live in a state that makes that decision easy, don't know what I would do if I lived somewhere else. Don't be to hard on the states,in Idaho the F&G gets all funding from the federal sporting good tax and license and tag sales, no general fund money so they are always scratching for money. Everyone wants more but don't want to pay for it, from fish stocking to pheasant releases, it all costs.

Well I don't have to worry about the cost as im number 1524 in the waiting list to get a tag

Shane make sure the maps and satellite views you are using are current. There have been some very large fires that have wiped out a lot of that area the last few years.

Osky

Non resident hunting is not restricted in grizzly bear area 7, but this area is not around Casper, it is in two pieces - Heart Mountain/Bighorn Basin and Farson/South Pass/Wyoming Range. This area has a quota of 12 bears with no limit on the number of females that can be taken up to that number.

Area 1 - 6 (the areas around the parks) regulations are more restrictive:

(i) Nonresident license issuance shall only be permitted in hunt areas 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 when twenty-five percent (25%) of the total annual mortality limit equals or exceeds one (1) license.

For 2018 no area meets this criteria.

There is a quota of 10 males and 1 female for areas 1 - 6 combined, but if a female is killed the hunt is over in these areas.

I found this interesting:

(c) In hunt areas 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 the total number of licensed hunters in the field shall not exceed the available collective female mortality limit as specified in Section 6 (a).

So for 2018, only one hunter in the field at a time.

To anyone that thinks a state charges to much to hunt an animal, simple solution. DONT COME!

Clearly MT prices aren’t that bad as roughly 30,000 NRs still buy tags every year and we get inundated every fall.

Stay in your own state. Supply and demand, clearly we have something in the West everyone wants.

Google news said antihunter got one grizzly tag

Alasan Brown wasn't bad tasting, wasn't really good either though!

Shane T >>> if you have done your homework you will be fine in the area you stated.

It was around $140 for a NR white tail tag here just a few years ago. I'll shoot two this year. I am a substance hunter. I cant see leaving my state just for a little meat I can get here, for 30 or so bucks a tag, resident. But thanks for the welcome Boone, lol.

Well been to Montana twice in my life to shoot a nice Whitetail, with an outfitter as well so the price was higher, but the time scouting for something is shorter. Both advertised as trophy areas, and I did do my research, and reference work, so go figure, either everyone is on the take or they all lied about the outfitter and his success and theirs.

However I did not see anything worth shooting both times for the time there and the advertising that was given to merit shooting.

The state has great scenery for sure, but I doubt non-residents are getting anything better than any where else for what they spend, even according to what is advertised from their own residents.

I do realize about hunting and management dollars not being easy to come by as our legislature does not give out dollars to our DWR either so it's really a creative endeavor for those states to come up with dollars for services and care for habitat.

Having the legalized lottery system for a Grizz in the lower 48 in the west is a great way to get interest on such a large fee for just putting in, but the cost is way lower than any hunt in Alaska or Canada !