When looking at places to moose hunt, it pays to look on both sides of the northern US. But hunting as an out-of-state resident can be expensive so it pays to do your homework. Both Maine and Alaska are great destinations to fulfill your moose hunting dreams.
Maine has economical tags and licenses. A big game hunting license (16 years and older) runs $114.00. But you can buy a chance to draw a tag for only $15.00. And, unlike other states, you don’t have to limit yourself to one chance to draw. If you want more, take out the checkbook and try three chances – $25.00; six chances – $35.00; or blocks of ten chances – $55.00 per block. Once you win, the non-resident permit fee is $585. If you don’t win, you can earn points towards additional chances the next time you enter.
If you do the math, you can pay for your hunt in Maine at the bargain starting price of $714.00. We all know that’s the cheapest part of hunting, but for a do-it-yourself hunt as a non-resident that’s a fairly cheap starting price, considering permits in many moose hunting states start in the thousands.
There isn’t much cheap hunting in Alaska. No matter what you hunt, it’s going to require travel and very few hunting places are accessible by car or truck. You are going to need at minimum, a four-wheeler/snow-mobile, boat, or a plane to get to any hunting spot, but you aren’t going to pay that much to get a license or permit to do it with. A non-resident hunting license will cost you $85.00 and a moose tag – $400.00. The biggest benefit of choosing to moose hunt in Alaska is if you do decide to head up to the last frontier, you can buy your tag over the counter and head out. Sometimes knowing you can depend on getting that tag is half the battle.
Part of the pain of being a non-resident hunter is that so many states require professional guides for specialty hunts like moose. Adding a guide fee can be a large burden for most hunters, and knowing that you can do-it-yourself is often an added bonus. With research, planning, and finding the best and most accessible areas, it should be possible to find a hunt that costs thousands less than it would to hire a guide.
Try a do-it-yourself in these two destinations if your state doesn’t offer a moose hunt, and live your dream.
