Accurate hunter success data are important for wildlife officials to properly establish the seasons and tags for the following year. Historically, anticipated hunter success (the percentage of hunters afield who actually succeed in taking game) has been a guesstimate, often times leading to very conservative allocations of permits, or worse, to over-harvest because too many permits were allowed. To obtain better data, many states are adopting mandatory hunter success reporting, sometimes with rather severe penalties for not reporting. But different rules in each state can cause compliance problems and confusion for those of us who hunt multiple states. As a service to Hunting Report subscribers, I have canvassed 10 western states for their current reporting requirements.
In the interest of brevity, all states require mandatory check-in for species such as goats, sheep or cougars, so these species will not be included here unless exceptions are noted. Also, for those who play the bonus or preference points game, I have included information on the number of years you can miss applying before you lose those valuable points. Here’s how it all breaks down....
