Is getting a hunting license online worthwhile?

Beneath a bufflehead duck mounted on his wall, Jack Wolf studied his computer screen, clicked his mouse and tapped his computer keyboard the other evening.

An avid bird hunter, Wolf, 51, of Lakeville, could have been researching hunting prospects for fall. Or messaging his hunting buddies. Or checking out the latest hunting gear online.

Instead, he was buying his 2007 Minnesota small game hunting license from the comfort of his home.

Since 2001, shortly after the Department of Natural Resources installed its computerized Electronic Licensing System statewide, hunters and anglers have been able to buy their licenses online. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. They can even print their licenses at home.

Other states offer the same service, and hunters and anglers have found it convenient, though sometimes difficult to navigate.

But last year, the Minnesota DNR shut down its online licensing system for six months because of concerns it didn't properly safeguard privacy. There were no security breaches or identity thefts, but officials decided to reprogram the system to better ensure security.

Now the revised system is up and running.

"It's more secure now," said Steve Michaels, DNR program manager.

And with the fall hunting season fast approaching, some hunters will do what Wolf did and take a shot at buying their license online.

Navigating the Web

Most Minnesota hunters and anglers buy their licenses at one of the 1,800 ELS outlets around the state. Of the 2.5 million transactions that have been made this year, only about 54,000 -- about 2 percent -- have been bought online.

But that could change as hunters and anglers become more computer-confident or more aware of the online licensing option.

Wolf usually buys his licenses at a nearby outdoors store, along with many others (see accompanying chart).

"Normally I'd buy it there while I was shopping for something else," he said.

But he agreed last week to try the revamped online licensing system from his home office, adorned with hunting memorabilia, while I watched and documented his efforts.

"OK, so I want to go get my license," he said, quickly finding the "Regulations, Permits and Licenses" tab on the DNR's website.

After entering his name, address, date of birth, height, weight, eye color, gender and Social Security number, Wolf clicked his mouse.

"What's this?" he said as a box popped up on his screen saying his name didn't precisely match the DNR's database.

He tried three other variations of his middle name and initials until finally offering one the computer program recognized.

Wolf then successfully answered the required federal Harvest Information Program (HIP) survey of migratory birds he hunted last fall.

"Oh, we have to get my stamps -- pheasant and waterfowl," he said. He ordered both, then paused and studied his screen. This year, those who hunt pheasants and waterfowl still must pay for the stamp endorsements but no longer need to possess the actual stamps.

It costs an extra $2 each to have the actual stamps mailed out.

"But I want the stamps," Wolf said.

So he clicked on two different boxes that would get him those stamps, meaning, however, that he had doubled his stamp purchase.

"Let's see if it will let me delete those first two," Wolf said.

When he went to check out, the system indeed let him delete those errant purchases. "We're done," he said.

Well, not quite. He still had to enter his credit card information. Then he printed his license and signed it -- and was ready for hunting season.

The bottom line

It took Wolf about 15 minutes, from beginning to end, to buy his license and two stamps. Probably less time than it would have taken to drive to the store, buy the license and drive home.

"It wasn't bad," he said.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both. His license takes up half of an 8½-by-11-inch sheet of paper — more than twice the size of a license printed at an ELS outlet. And it's printed on plain white paper; the ELS license is printed on waterproof plastic paper.

But buying the license online is convenient. If you need to buy one at 2 a.m., you can do it. The cost of that convenience: an additional $3.50, which goes to the vendor that operates the system for the DNR.

"That's a turnoff for me," Wolf said. "That's a box of target shells. I'd be more apt to do it if that money went to wildlife."

There's another caveat: "If you're a deer hunter or someone who requires a tag, you will have to wait for it to come in the mail," Michaels said. You can't print those licenses at home.

But Wolf thought the process was fairly easy, the steps logical, the problems minimal.

"It's intuitive," he said.

Skip the computer

Customers don't have to be computer geeks to find convenience: The DNR also sells licenses via phone, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The same vendor, Automated License Systems of Nashville, operates the phone line, Michaels said. The cost is the same as buying a license online: an extra $3.50.

Only 4,400 licenses have been sold via that phone line in 2007, Michaels said.

"It generally works pretty well," he said. "Right before deer season, you might have trouble getting ahold of someone. But they bring in extra staff for the busy times."

Doug Smith • dsmith@startribune.com