Costs of hunting.

Even at my age, with my experience and where I'm at, I could work 12 hours a day everyday. Everyday I take off to hunt instead of working cost me a minimum of $250 in lost wages. I'm not bragging, I bet most of us could find a second job instead of hunting that would put more meat and veggies on the table than hunting....even if it was just flippin' burgers at McD's. This is the difference between subsistence hunting(the way it used to be and still is in a few locales) and modern day hunting for sport. Used to be hunting was work, like working the fields or cutting wood for heat. Now for the most part it's recreation and the meat is just a by-product. Folks use to hunt for meat because there was no other practical way to get it. Now, it the most fun way to get it, even if it's not cost effective.

This thread reminds me of a friend of mine that reloads and casts his own bullets. He makes the statement he gets all his lead for free. I went with him one day to pick up his "free" lead. Took us most of a Saturday, about three cases of beer and a coupla Subway sandwiches for the mechanics at the garages, plus probably half a tank of gas. Now everytime he mentions his "free" bullets I just smile and remember the words of a song, "And ain't nothing in this world for free"!
 
I run down to West Virginia every year for a week. The gas I spend money on is just down and back, less than going in to work for a week. I have to eat anyway, so I am not spending more on food. I get paid vacation time so I don't lose a weeks pay. That is my vacation. It is a lot cheaper than going on a cruise. The out of state license is pricey, but a lot of people spend that much a year on cigarettes or lottery tickets. I don't really count the cost, but in a good year I never buy sausage or burger. I bet what I pay in a year for meat is more than a license costs.
 
There are some things that you do, solely because you want to and are able to. Take Ol' Mama dancing. Drive race cars. Fly little spam can airplanes. Collect desirable items. Hunt, fish.

If you can afford it, why worry about the cost? Life ain't free, and me, I'd rather live than just merely exist.
 
This is an interesting thread. Me personally I don't hunt for specifically for meat. Now I process just about everything I kill (which isnt much anymore) except for some hogs that get away or when I don't have the space for them.

I mainly hunt hogs, for the fun of it, and because they are a pest and tear up good pastureland which damages hay crops, cattle grazing ability, animals that injure themselves in the deep roots, tractor and truck equipment as is sometimes goes over the roots, stock tanks that they contaminate, and dogs that they attack, injure, and sometimes kill. So I hunt for vermin control and benefit with the cheap meat. I never have really added up my hunting costs, but its never much.

I only hunt doves if they are plentiful, I only go on less than 5 deer hunts a year (if that anymore). And lots and lots of hog hunting. So I pay for my deer and dove tags which are usually not much at all. I hunt on my parents cattle ranmore than 50 dollarsch so land costs me absolutely nothing. All of my guns that werent passed down Ive had for years, so they have already payed for themselves. Ammo is between 20 and 30 dollars a box and I dont go through much of it as I do not target shoot except for about 3-5 shots a year to check scope zeros. I have never owned a range finder. I dont carry binos or wear any kind of camo or hunting clothing. The only thing that I carry is my rifle, my pistol, and extra clip for my pistol and if Im not using my AR then I carry some extra ammo. I have a flashlight on my Glock 20 and on my AR as well as a laser. I only wear my old Wolverine steel toe work boots that Ive had since my days working in the oil field, so they payed for themselves nearly as soon as I bought them. I usually just wear an old muscle shirt and a pair of old wrangler khakis that are all a few years old and already payed for themselves. All of my cold weather and heavy hunting clothing are all handy downs from my grandpa so they cost me nothing, and down here in Southeastern Texas you rarely ever need that heavy clothing. Also I don't hunt blinds, stands or any structure. And even though feeders and baiting for deer are legal here in Texas and very common as the huge majority of hunters use them here I do not use them or any kind of baiting either. Neither do I use scents, scent covers, or calls.

I work as a gourmet chef so I have thousands of dollars worth of very high grade knife kits that have already paid for themselves as they are required for my profession. I just use simple wax paper to wrap my meat in and then I use cheap butchers paper to bundle it in and I wrap it up with masking tape from the dollar store. Its very easy to borrow a meat grinder from a colleague or hunting buddy. So processing doesnt cost me much at all and its just like another day in the office for me due to the nature of my career.

So the most expensive thing for my hunting is now gas. Me and the wife moved to Houston recently and my parents ranch is about 85 miles north so gas costs more than anything now. But up until the move me and the wife just lived 30 minutes away in the next county to the ranch so gas wasnt that big of a cost then. So overall I get away with pretty cheap meat.
 
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Frankenmaulser mentioned he will be hunting alone this year. I prefer to hunt alone. I worked with people (some of them damned unpleasant to be around) for 45 years, so I relish going to the country alone.

The cost for a young man or young lady to hunt here in Colorado would be dependent on several things, as many have mentioned. Big game licenses are $13.75 for youth, and no habitat stamp is required. If the young hunter can borrow a gun, and have some coaching to become familiar with the weapon before season, a couple of boxes of ammo might cost $40 to $50 depending on. Borrowing the orange gear should make that free. If they have a Dad or older brother or uncle or mother that hunts they shouldn't have to buy any other gear, unless special footwear is required. Processing game could cost $1 pound. Gas will depend on distance. Access fees on private land or a gift for the landowner might run from $25 up to $500, again depending on the circumstances. Public lands are free. Food is going to be a cost even if the young person is home on the couch watching TV, so if their folks can furnish a lunch or whatever, that shouldn't be a big deal.

The real cost will be if the young people enjoy hunting. Then the dollars will start flying out the door. Rifle, knives, gear, etc will be on the "I Want!" list. As well it should be... :D
 
Its all relevant.

I'm retired. I said when I retired I would do nothing but hunt, fish, and shoot.

That's pretty much what I do.

But the cost of hunting can be an expensive hobby, or it could cost virtually nothing.

I buy gadgets and stuff because I like gadgets and stuff. I have had some rather expensive hunting trips where I spent a lot of money and got skunked.

I also harvested game for a few cents.

My first deer as a kid cost $.25. I didn't need a lic. I used my grandfather's single shot 16 ga. Walked from the house to the hunting spot. And we butchered the deer our selves. The $.25 came from walking the highway picking up pop bottles to raise the money to buy 3 shotgun shells.

I spent a couple thousand dollars to fly from Anchorage to Kodiak, and charter a plane to take me to Afognak hunting Elk. Spending two weeks of the 10 day trip weathered in, and had to be rescued by the coast guard.

I spent a few cents for some black powder, cast a bullet, used an old shotgun primer from my skeet shooting days in the 70s, to harvest a deer in my back pasture. Cut it up and tossed it in the freezer.

I spent $3500 for a guided bear hunt in Idaho, a couple hundred for the tags, forgot the cost of driving there and staying in motels to and from. Probably over five grand, only to get skunked.

Here there is lots of public land, lots of game, you can hunt for a little of nothing. If I did that I'd save a lot of money, but I wouldn't get to buy fun stuff. What would I do with my money but drink it away setting on a bar stool at the VFW telling lies.

I don't drink, I'd rather tell my lies around a camp fire.

If I didn't hunt, I'd spend my money traveling to rifle matches. That way I could still spend my money on gadgets and stuff.

My kids are all grown and doing fine. My wife will get my pensions when I'm gone and wont have to worry about anything.

I have the choice of eating Antelope or Deer at a few cents per hundred pounds of meat, or eating that same critter for $100 per lb. or more.

I have a group of friends at Cabela's who depend on my for their lively hoods. I have to think about them.
 
My only two hobbies are hunting and fishing, and I hardly ever fish anymore. Hunting season is what keeps me going through the year, i.e. I can put up with anything during the year by thinking of going hunting. Truth is that in Texas, I could hunt year round.

With that said, I do spend a lot for draw hunt applications in Texas and have been drawn several times over the last twelve years, including a mule deer hunt and turkey hunt last season. I also put in for USFW NWR hunts and have been drawn for turkey and deer this year. These are pretty inexpensive hunts and you can scout all you want on the NWR hunts.

I will spend whatever I need to, within reason, to hunt. I have most of what I need, but also look at doing as much hunting as possible while I still can. And I like hunting alone even though I'm in my late 50s and not as spry as I used to be.
 
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I have a lifetime license. I spend $80 a year on extra tags. I usually put up 4-5 deer/year. Not much small game anymore as it is just me and the wife now. Lets say an average of 180 lbs of meat. We do our own butchering and Vacuum seal it.

I don't run feeders. I don't drive a long ways to hunt expect on Thanksgiving week. I get out maybe 15 days a season. 10 of those days I walk to my area or, drive 2 miles to hunt. The week of rifle I drive 102 miles one way. Our camping tent was paid for long ago. So is everything we use. Depreciation has those cost to such a minimum now I can't figure them. I make my own arrows. I use old heads that are 30-40 years old. I have pennies in them. Aside from a Nicholson file, a batch of 100 feathers, and hot melt, my costs are almost non existent.

With all that said, it still costs money I'm not figuring. I spend several hundred dollars on our rifle trip. I spend my time making shafts, sharpening heads, fletching arrows. etc... Countless hours shooting my traditional bows etc.... So, the costs are high even if you don't have to spend a lot of money.

I truly don't know what they are. But, figuring just costs the price per pound is much lower than say organic beef. Figuring in everything, I'm saying Organic beef is CHEAP in comparison. I do hunt for the meat and depend on it but, I hunt for so much more than that as well. So, it is a cost that I have never tried to justify. Lord willing, I'll never have too. God Bless
 
As stated by many, hunting can cost little or it can cost much. I hunt in a simple fashion as I learned when I was young. Public lands are nearby, guns are heirlooms passed down, gadgets are minimal (monocle, scent cover or urine, and a call). One of my biggest expenses is a good pair of boots to keep me warm and dry. I look forward to passing on this simplistic way. My main goal is to pass on the basics and abillity as I don't need to regularly hunt for food.
 
Yea, everything costs more, but people make a lot more.

In 1950 the median yearly income for homes in the US was less than $3000. In 2014 it was over $54,000. Adjusted for inflation we work about the same amount of time to purchase the same consumer goods as we did in 1965. There was a time in the 1980's and 1990's when we were actually paying less than in 1965.

In short, the prices we pay for everything relative to our incomes are about the same as it was in 1965.
 
i always wanted to go to africa to hunt and got to go with a friend four years ago and after that hunt i was hooked and have gone three more times since. believe it or not all my hunts were under 5000.00 US dollars for every thing from start to getting home. i,ll admitt i stay with friends and hunt with them useing their rifles on privite ranchs. i just came back from a 18 day hunt in mid july and took 13 animals and the total cost was a little over 4300 us dollars. with the rand being 14.51 to one dollar at that time, every thing was just about 45 percent cheaped this year compared to last year when the rand was 10 to one dollar. a good friend went to new mexico for a week long elk and his cost was close to 6000.00 US(he did kill a good size elk). to drive to new mexico took close to 30 hrs, to fly to south africa took 24 hrs. eastbank.
 
x3

I don't have an exact dollar figure for you, but I can comfortably estimate that the cost of my hunting has gone up about 3 times the amount that it did 20 years ago.

I base that on what I a paid then, and what I am paying now for club dues, and the cost of loading components, arrows, stands, that sort of thing. I don't buy a lot of high tech or trendy boots and clothes, but that has gone up as well.

License fee/permits have gone up as well, but AL is still pretty much a really good deal as far as costs paid to the state.
 
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