I don't buy the sportsman's, it just doesn't make financial sense for me since I just catfish my local lake and deer hunt. I also limit myself to just a bow and muzzleloader for the weapons so I only purchase the two weapons licenses.
With that said I compared what it will cost me for the new licenses, especially with only having to buy the deer license and not the individual weapons license, and my overall cost only goes up about 4 dollars depending on the added online fees and how/when I purchase them. If I turkey or bear hunted then it would be a difference.
While I never like to have to pay more, it doesn't surprise me at all. As others have mentioned, the cost of everything has gone up, and that cost has to get passed on to the final end user in one form or another.
It's no different at the grocery store, where we all feel the pain or at the auto parts store, or anywhere, the cost of doing business will always get passed down to the final end user. In this case, that is us.