Believe it or not, it is the start of the 2017-18 Hunting Season and all hunters will need to purchase their new hunting licenses.

There have been some changes in the license format that will affect all hunters and perhaps a few more that target pheasants in the small game season. The biggest change that will affect all hunters is that you will not receive the full regulation digest when you purchase your license this year. Instead you will receive a pocket guide that has some basic rules of the hunt. To obtain a full digest you will need to purchase it for $6 from either a Regional Game Commission Office (Franklin is our nearest location) or order it through the mail from Harrisburg. Once again, the cost saving plan is in effect due to no changes in the license fee rates.

Speaking of license fee rates, they will generally stay the same with a resident adult license fee of $20.90 and a non-resident license fee of $101.90. The senior license is $13.90 and the lifetime license for those 65 and older will be $51.90. Senior hunters must still buy archery, muzzleloader, bear and a new pheasant permit. The pheasant permit is required of all adult, senior, and senior lifetime hunters. The new permit will cost $26.90 each year and junior hunters are exempt from the permit fee.

Trappers will still have the same rates for their licenses and will need to purchase their general licenses and a special permit for bobcats, fishers and river otters with special regulations to consider.

The annual elk hunt will take place this year with elk license applications costing $10.90 and with a deadline of July 31st to be included in the drawing. If you are lucky enough to be drawn, you will then be required to purchase the elk hunting license along with your general license. Antlerless deer applications need to be ready soon as well. The first round of doe licenses for resident hunters is set for July 10th and for non-resident hunters it is July 17th.

The pink envelopes are still required and can be picked up at the counter of your license sales agent. The numbers of doe licenses available has not changed for our area. WMU 2D will have 55,000 licenses available and WMU 1A will have 52,000 licenses available to hunters.

I suggest that if you do not want any glitches in your hunting applications that you purchase your licenses over the counter at your favorite sporting goods location or gun shop. My personal experiences with receiving mailings from online license purchases have been less than favorable. Plus, there is a limit on which licenses will print out and you will still be required to mail it back out when you get the materials through the snail mail. Last year was a mess for me and I had to track down my license and have a new one issued. Not good.

I was waiting for the news on my Colorado elk hunt and to see what licenses that I would draw and I found out this week that I did receive a notice that I was successful in drawing both tags that I applied for this year. We will see how that works out as I get serious about planning my 2017 elk hunt.

One thing that I did do was put in a search for a full sized 8-foot truck cap. We decided that with the equipment and coolers that we might need that it would be a smart move. Not wanting to add great expense on the trip, I decided to search for a used cap. As luck would have it, my old friend Bob Watson of Slippery Rock had just what I wanted and I found my used cap for a clearance price of $125. Of course, it will do the job and I found keys and a lock smith that secured the door for another $15 and I am ready to take on the challenge. I will pass on my good fortune when my trek is over to the next adventurer that needs a truck cap.

I tried my hand again at striper fishing the other night and the striper tournament came and went and I didn’t fare well. I did get a T-shirt and I guess that it amounts to a participation trophy. There is always next year and I am generally an optimistic person.

Until we meet again, have a nice 4th of July and remember that freedom isn’t free!

Jay Hewitt is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle.