Hunters snap up elk licenses in seconds

SANTA FE (AP) - It took less than 10 seconds for quick-fingered hunters with fast Internet connections to snap up 350 cow elk hunting licenses offered online Tuesday by the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish.

The department's Web site, which usually gets 200,000 hits a day, registered 250,000 hits between 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

The sale began at 10 a.m., but department spokesman Dan Williams says hunters began hitting the site heavily beforehand to get questions answered about the sale.

The agency says it was unrealistic to try to distribute the late-season licenses through a normal drawing because the process would take so long the department could not ensure hunters all received licenses before their particular hunt started.