Getting fired up! License, HIP, Stamp....

Steve Sanford

Steve Sanford

Well-known member
All~


As this long hot Summer finally shows a few hints of cooling and crisping - and allowing my drive and energy to return - I just began my annual ritual: license, HIP, stamp.


New York began selling licenses on-line when I was still at DEC. My poor Division Director boss had to shepherd the problem-ridden process (then one of the larger tech corporations) through its first problem-ridden year. As one of the bureau chiefs, I undertook the task of beta-testing of the new system each year - and have continued to do so even now long-retired. Although I generally opt for face-to-face in any transactions, I wanted to know what our public saw and contended with. Sad to report, the process has always been less user-friendly than most websites I buy from.


A bit hesitant to leap into the license-buying process yesterday, I thought I might get my feet wet by just getting my new HIP number....


No longer possible. As far as I can tell, one cannot get a HIP in NYS via web (phone may be different) without first having a license. So, I leapt into the license-buying quagmire. There appears to be a new vendor (I imagine that our contracting process - always Byzantine in the Empire State - requires a new bidding process every several years). As a result, my (and most others') log-in is no longer valid. So, I had to sign in with a new user name and password. (Which was OK - but I had to sort of back into it via a counter-intuituive process.)


Once equipped with my new web identity, I began the shopping spree. The system recognized me and listed my usual items. But...the menu listed Hunting License near the tail end of the list. Thus, selecting Turkey Tags from near the top of the list presented as an error: cannot get tags until one has a license....


Same with our "doe tags" (Deer Management Permits). For whatever reason, this process (which has a lottery component because of limited availability) occupies a separate tab - on equal status with license buying. It, too, scolds you if you try to get one without first buying a license.


Most simply, I do not understand why an inherently linear process cannot enjoy a linear process (at least as encountered by the license buyer)....


My license will be mailed to me. I only presume my new HIP will arrive in the package. Not getting it immediately spoils my long tradition of printing my HIP (with my name, year, state) on card stock each year. The card gets trimmed to wallet-size and I then stick my signed Duck Stamp onto the reverse side.


I did buy my Duck Stamp from a cheerful clerk at my local Post Office earlier today. I signed it, trimmed the card it comes on, and stuck it in my wallet in the Hunting License slot.


Now for the big challenge: learning to wing-shoot left-handed! I just picked up a bunch of degradable clay birds and #7 steel for practice....



All the best,


SJS





 

WHEW!

Hopefully your shooting Left Handed (Aug. 13th, was International Left Handed Day) will be less of a challenge than the puter deal. I'm pretty sure that once ya set yer mind to it, you will adjust and do well.




I just walk across the street to the town hall/clerk. Much better for my blood pressure, and stress levels.

This year I get my NY Geezer licenses, which I have mixed feelings about.

Then I'll walk to the PO for the Duck Stamp. Walk home, and call for the HIP #, as the last two years the puter was a no go deal.

Write the HIP # on the cardboard the stamp is on, and also on my hunting license.

Place license, tags, stamp, in two thin waterproof PA fishing license holders that I always carry with me. Cuz ya never know.

I put last years Duck Stamp in a very nice small frame I got at a thrift shop. Might be a good long while before a drake Wood Duck, and decoy will be on a Federal Waterfowl stamp again. I DO love Wood Ducks.



May you have a safe and enjoyable hunting season Steve.

Best regards
Vince
 
Have been purchasing my license & duck stamps online in Md. for several years now. Pretty simple and beats picking up at local walmarts in my area as clerks are so dense you have to enter the info on their keyboard for them(no joke). Md. recognises thru a DNR I.D no. or you can also use drivers license no. Works good and only issues were in first years of system getting fed. duck stamp in a timely fashion mailed to you. Its printed on license at time of purchase but you still need to display the signed stamps after short a period of time. Pleasantly surprised when my actual license was only $5 this year as I turned 65 in june. Its normally $25.
 
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not sure I will live long enough to see it break even - but when NY went to ramp up the prices several ( 10 maybe) years ago-

I just went ahead and bought a life time - if nothing else, it saves me grief

i have done the HIP online without issue each year - the local small toen post offices only get a few stamps in - so , i need to remember to go get one soon
 
I attempted to purchase my NY hunting license online today. I entirely failed to get the new online system to work. It just keeps saying "Please check your inputs. Customer is not valid." This is ridiculous. It located me but won't let me register. The information I have provided is entirely correct. I am very computer-savvy. I really don't want to go into a store and doing it over the phone seems like a pain. I suppose now I'll have to try their help line...likely that will only yield more frustration. This new vendor seems like the worst they've yet had.
 
Good morning~


Key is that you will need to create a new username and password - by Signing in instead of Loggin in....


It too me a few attempts to discover this.


Excelsior!


SJS

 
Good morning, Roy~


We make you young fellows wait another 5 years here in New York. I'm 67 - so 3 more licenses for me to get that big break!


All the best,


SJS

 
Good morning, Dave~


We're never sure where to draw the line....


Licenses, stamps, HIP - sure thing! Season dates? Bag limits? ....viewed more as "guidance" or "best practices".....


All the best,


SJS

 
I did the online thing a couple days ago and it was relatively painless. Next is to go online and get my stamp (our local P.O. Hasn't carried them in years).
 

I made many DEC, and political inquires as to why the wonderful state of NY has the age of 70, for their Geezer hunting & fishing licenses. Most likely the oldest age for the license of all the states.

Every inquiry brought the same results.

When the deal was stuck for the lifetimes license, first offered at a low price. It was understood by those that make those regulations, that a lot of money would be lost in the future. The result, the Geezer license age 70, and try to recoup some of the loss.

Another of the advantages of retiring to the welcoming state of NY.

Hell they might as well have upped it to 90, and got it the **** over with. Which is very possible here.


my 2 cents
 
They did away with Md. lifetime license several years ago as it could be purchased I believe at 65. A few were auctioned off afterwards by State. I guess $5 isn,t to bad each year for the rest of my hunting days.
 
CT Deeps website is terrible, but the online licensing is actually halfway decent. It even spits out your boaters license on your hunting license- which is great because I lost my boaters license years ago and then it magically appeared 3 years ago or so.

I purchased my NY license for the first time last year when I decided Long Island sound might get me into trouble. It was a pain then. As I start today, purchasing my NY license, I already see the ?sign up? is at the top left of the page, when the splash page says it?s on the top right.

Wish they sold lifetime licenses for the young folks down here like they do in ME. I got both kids lifetime licenses by age 5.
 
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Steve, I didn't have much fun just trying to buy an online, non-resident NY fishing license the other day. Guess I'll hit up the White Creek town clerk's office for my non-resident hunting license....my blood pressure likely would not tolerate an online episode. Of course, in past years, when I went there to buy it, the nice lady would tell me that "the system is down." She may not realize how true that is.
Gary
 
I am sorry to hear about the hassle. You know better than most of the contracting difficulties. I have hard time getting to talk to anyone at that company about HIP so it doesn't surprise me that they built a complex system. They keep talking about making licensing simpler for recruiting new hunters but if old salts like you have difficulty navigating the waters, I would guess that they missed the mark.
 
I managed to get through on the help line today. The woman with whom I spoke was pleasant and honest. Somehow over the years I have gained three separate profiles when purchasing licenses. This has never presented any real problems, and I've been able to purchase my license online, submit harvest reports online, etc. Apparently with the new system this created a block and the profiles must be merged. The woman on the help line informed me that this would take several weeks at a minimum. I could purchase my license over the phone but then it would take 14 business days for me to receive it (which will not work for the September 1 goose opener). So I had to go into a store and purchase my license, which is something I very much try to avoid in these difficult times. Oh well, at least I have my license. Hopefully they will merge my profiles so that I can report harvests online throughout the season.
 
Good morning, Tom~


Question: Did you get your HIP right away?


I have yet to hear an answer to my e-mailed question.


All the best,


SJS

 
Steve-

I didn't receive my number but expect it in the mail with the rest of my license and various tags. My reciept lists one each HIP August 2020 to September 2021.

Best regards, Tom
 
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