Costs of hunting.

B

Boogershooter

New member
With the costs of hunting land going up and the price of ammo going up, not to mention firearms and camouflage, how much are we paying for the meat we harvest every year?

I understand alot of people hunt public land and own some of their land. I myself own land but I'm also on two different deer leases. So between gas, ammo, leases, camouflage, stands, licenses, binoculars, range finders, cover scents, game cameras, and all the other things we spend money on, how much is the meat you put in your freezer actually costing you?

Last year between my wife, kids, and myself we harvested 6 deer, 31 hogs, and a couple hundred squirrels. A few ducks, geese, dove, and two turkeys. That sounds like alot of meat but it's basically gone already.

Now comes the price of processing. We do our own. Grinder, cleaning tables, food saver system, food saver bags, and lots of ice. Alot of people pay around a $1 a pound to have their meat processed.

I'm not going to add in the price of feeders, corn, or food plots because alot of states don't allow it. Alot of things I've mentioned will last for years so you can't factor that in every year but on average my family dishes out about $2000 a year for hunting. I'm just curious if we are around the average?

If anyone posts a answer for their average yearly costs, thanks in advance. I also didn't include our annual trip to Colorado for elk because I consider that a vacation.
 
I never added it all up. I do know that I spend in the thousands every year to hunt and I usually keep one or two deer. Getting an average of 45 pounds of boned meat off each one, I end up with about 90-100 pounds of meat. I know I spend at least two grand a year so it's not very cheap meat. Thing is, I don't do it for the meat so it doesn't even matter. I pay the money to just do what I like to do and I do it a lot. If I look at it as "cost per hour" for enjoyment, it's a real bargain.
 
Like most of my other hobbies, I really don't want to know what I spend on it. I gave up on the idea many years ago that I was saving money by hunting for my meat/food, especially if you figure in the time. On top of the time spent hunting, there's scouting pre-season and after season. There's the time spent hanging stands and clearing shooting lanes. The time spent helping landowners with fences and other projects for the privilege to hunt their land. Then there's the cost of the gas to drive and do those things, not to mention equipment, clothing and the cost of the meat for your sandwich while hunting. That in itself puts the price into the premium level. Back in the day when I had nuttin' else to do and could grab my gun and a handful of shells, walk out my back door and score a few squirrels, rabbits or grouse, I considered it cheap meat. Anymore, the rabbits I raise in the pen out back are cheaper and better eatin' that the ones I shoot in front of the dogs. Same goes for the chickens compared to the grouse and pheasants that take me a day and $10 worth of gas for the chance of maybe gettin' some. While I enjoy eating wild game, it is only a small added benefit to the enjoyment I get from the hunt. As per cost per pound, I don't really care.

I do hunt a game farm for pheasants in preseason to get my dog ready for the regular season and after the regular season closes and football is done for the year. That meat is savored.....dearly.:D
 
I'm not sure most people who hunt are doing it to save money on their meat. If they are they're probably making a big mistake.
 
In Ohio you can buy a used muzzleloader or used crossbow and hunt public land pretty cheaply and have a lot of time in the woods.
You can process with a knife and some butchers wrap paper pretty cheap.
A vacuum sealer and grinder can be begged borrowed or stolen for a day or two pretty easily.
Using these methods you can get pretty cheap meat and I know a couple guys who do it that way. Been using the same knives and front stuffers for a few decades.

Is that how I do it? No. I could buy nice kobe steaks for what I spend.
Is that how my wife thinks I hunt? Yes.
 
I believe it's in our DNA and for alot of us we would find a way to hunt no matter the cost. Duck hunting is probably the most expensive hunting I've done but none of it is cheap. There are cheaper ways of hunting but I prefer to be comfortable while I hunt. We also give alot of our game away to elders in the family and in the church. We pay for entertainment all the time so any meat you bring home while having fun is just a bonus.
 
I hunt out of state every year. I think the most expensive part of hunting for me is the license. I use a lot of different guns, but would buy guns and reload even if I did not hunt. Most of my equipment is pretty old. If I do replace something, I definitely got my moneys worth out of it.
 
I hunt only public land and even with that it costs enough to where I could replace the venison with good steak and come out cheaper. Therefore, I don't consider the cost per pound and just go with the enjoyment factor.
 
There were a few years where I pulled in 60-80 lbs of Antelope meat for under $200.

But, there have been other years, like last year, where a serious chunk of change flew out the window and nothing came back in return. Just for the deer and elk hunts, I stopped adding up the total when I hit $1,600 -- just in gas, tags, and food; for only myself.

That didn't count beer, ammunition, ammunition that was given to a family member to get familiar with my borrowed rifle, firearms, accessories, new boots, new tools, a new spool of 550 cord, re-balancing my tires after I threw a wheel weight, or the 'miscellaneous' expenses like the $25 I spent on a high pressure self-service carwash to blast packed-in mud out of my wheels and (vented) brake rotors to reduce front end vibration (I had not yet discovered the thrown weight) for the remaining 200 miles home.

Last year was rough.
Medical emergencies.
Family betrayal.
Way too many back-to-back 4-6 hour trips.
And more.

This year, I'm into tags and a license for ~$80.
I'll be hunting much closer to home.
Gas and food will run about $40 / day.
But, I'll be hunting alone. :rolleyes:
 
I'm with NoSecondBest on this.
The first hint of fall air just brings a special feeling to me and my son. I can speak for him because he has told me on numerous occasions. I would never argue about the high expense of the meat and we have our own land. The meat is just a small part of the whole experience for us.
 
Hard to put a value on what each year costs. There are so many one time purchases that may get used for 20-to-30 years of hunting use. Atv's, binocs, guns, blinds, trucks, trailers, processing equipment, smokers, coolers, clothing, cameras, bows, and the most expensive of all.....land.

If you factor in (Iowa) farm land which could easily run more than a million dollars, you'd be better off flying in fresh lobster each week.
 
I dont know what I spend on hunting every year. Dont really care, it's what I enjoy, it's my hobby and time spent with my kids. But I'll bet I could buy a BUNCH of Wagu Steaks for what I spend.

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Part of the reason I started this thread is because I'm trying to get the sheriff's dept to help sponsor a kids camouflage swap and make it a annual event. It will be a weekend for the kids to get rid of clothing they have outgrown. Insulated clothes for kids is often more expensive than adult clothing. Not to mention boots and waders. This weekend would coincide with the hunters ed classes and local kids. It's sad but there are alot of families here that can't afford the nice stuff that we drop off at the nearest goodwill. It was election year for the new sheriff last year so they didn't want to fool with it. Kids swapping camo and stories of last year's hunts or their first deer is priceless. Just looking for a average cost of families to hunt so I can share that on the free radio advertisement we are getting for the event. Thanks all to the replies so far.
 
Last year I bagged 24 pheasants, 1 crow and 1 deer.

But I hunt public land for pheasants so it was about $3 per trip out for gas, the crow was free I guess, and I deer hunt private at public. I probably spent $300 for 5 days hunting in Northern Wisconsin at my friends camp bordering public land. No go for deer there. I then went to hunt with my dad in Northern Michigan and bagged an 8 point. Butchered it on the back of the truck tailgate and filled maybe 2 packs of quart freezer bags.

I always hunt for a week with my dad and fish for a week so anything spent on those trips goes into the spending time with dad fund.

But if you think about it all meat has a price. For fishing a pack of night crawlers is $3 and 60 miles round trip for the truck so 3 gallons of gas and a pop. So anywhere from $10-15 with no guaranteed profit to the freezer.

Oh by the way I bought a used truck this year to make hunting and fishing easier.

Frankly I don't want to know how much I spend but I'm pretty frugal. It's all about the experience. Better than sitting at home wishing I was doing something.
 
Yep.
There's always more than money involved.

This year, as mentioned above, I'll be hunting alone.
Not only does that suck in the sense that I've almost always hunted with my brothers before, but if something happens to me... I'm screwed.

Cheap hunting.
High risk.

:(
 
Wow I guess I'm the odd ball... I buy a dozen arrows and some heads every few years and tags are real cheap here. I don't need any more camo. I process my own meat. Live on the land I hunt and have family land to hunt as well. So this year I'll be spending like 40.00

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I used to spend several hundred dollars each year on gas, gear and licenses but not much anymore. I haven't bought new gear or camo and it's been a long time since I've even bought ammo.

I do take my deer to a processor but even with license, gas there and back, I figure we're under $2 per pound for deer meat. Less for turkey.
 
I own hunting land. My Land Taxes are $1600.00 yr. My deer (allowed only one) this year will costs me close to $2300.00. Son takes his. His cost $200.00. Certain neighbors take their share without permission (more than one) after dark typically. $1.00 ea.

Owning hunting land is expensive. The only time it isn't. ~~is the day its sold.
 
After buying a 45.00 license and spending about the same buying my share of the grass seed all I have to pay for is my ammo and gas. It might take a dollars worth of gas to get there and back. So say 100 bucks more or less for the season.
 
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