Big game hunts on a budget?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Random 8

Random 8

Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2018
Messages
2,893
Location
Central MN
Little back story first. Only big game wife and I have ever hunted are whitetail deer. We're both experienced hunters and wilderness travelers...ATV, boat, canoe, snowmobile, horse, 4wd been there done that. We work professional level jobs. Not rich, not poor, but also not looking to break the bank on a hunt. Looking to get our feet wet with something bigger or more interesting than whitetail. Antelope intrigue me also. Would like to avoid airplane travel, except possibly a bush plane trip into a camp, so probably a 1000 mile radius of MN would be the rough limit. Canada is definitely in-play. We're not serious trophy hunters, a big rack on our first hunt is not a priority. We own most of the gear, including a small but seaworthy boat (similar to what you'd find in almost any fly-in Canada fishing camp), canoe, snowmobiles, packs, tents, etc. In the pre-planning stage now, looking a year or 2 out, wondering what is out there that might fit these parameters that folks on here have done?
 
Speedgoats is what I have also heard. I am hoping to get final word from a coworker that I can tag along on a prairie dog hunt and slip off with the .270. The ranchers that he knows all hate speedgoats because they supposedly climb the hay and pee on it making the livestock refuse to eat it.
 
You either need time or money, and it helps if you have both. Without big money to fly in, hire a guide, and get on the most productive land, just how much time do you have to do it the hard way? Two months? The season can be a couple to four weeks, but you could use some time to scout and track before the season opens.
 
I started out with an outfitter/guide in Wyoming for antelope and mule deer. Access to private land and trophy judging were about the only thing the outfitter did. After a couple of trips I started doing it on my own and was quite successful. That was in the early '70s, now there are Google maps instead of USGS forest maps so it's actually easier now to figure out a game plan.

Go early, a few days before the season opens, and observe the game's habits then pick a strategic spot to start from. Like war the plan changes constantly as the hunt progresses.

Good luck and have fun.
 
Antelope can be easy, fun, and fairly cheap for a nonresident to hunt. It can also be extremely difficult to locate any at all, never mind a trophy, and near impossible to get within range if they are hunter shy. Wyoming has a great amount of private land and little public land but it can be done.
If you spend a little to get access to a good area on private land, your chances go up. They don't act anything like whitetail but are a lot fun to hunt. If you aren't after a trophy head it's pretty reasonable and the meat is great venison if it's handled properly. It's downright horrible if not handled properly or the game has been run a lot.
 
My wife and I are both retired teachers. Not tons of money, but we have time. We are going to Colorado in either late Oct. or early Nov. and I'll elk hunt. I've narrowed my search to 4 units where over the counter tags are sold and I'm still debating between 2nd or 3rd season. My wife doesn't hunt, but will go along. Going with 4-6 other guys would be preferable, especially if someone is successful, but that isn't in the cards this year.

We've done several road trips all over the west tent camping as much as possible and staying in a cheap hotel a few nights to get showers. My daughter went on a 4000 mile road trip before her 2nd birthday. It isn't terribly expensive especially if you go with someone else to split costs. Because of the type of work we did it was all but impossible to go during the fall until we retired. This will be my 3rd western hunt, I went with a group of guys the other times. Also, since we've traveled and camped in CO so often during summer months before we retired I won't be going in totally blind. I have a pretty good feel for the geography in the 4 units I'm considering. One of the reasons I'm considering 3rd season is that there are several days between the end of 2nd season and 3rd. It would give more time to actually get boots on the ground scouting before the season starts. In the meantime internet research and google earth are your friend.

This will be a DIY unguided affair, and the only additional costs compared to the other road trips are the non-resident tags. Which will be near $700 for a bull elk. I'm estimating $700 for fuel plus food and several nights in a hotel. I think I can do the whole trip for $2000. If my wife were not going and I were to split costs with someone else it would be significantly less, about $1500. The fuel and hotel costs would be 1/2.
 
This is directly in conflict with your original post, but I still want to share it with you. A friend who I worked overseas with goes once a year to Africa hunting. According to him, he can go to Africa, hunt several different animals, and fly there and back for less than the costs of something like a trophy elk hunt in the US.
 
FL-NC said:
This is directly in conflict with your original post, but I still want to share it with you. A friend who I worked overseas with goes once a year to Africa hunting. According to him, he can go to Africa, hunt several different animals, and fly there and back for less than the costs of something like a trophy elk hunt in the US.
Click to expand...

Yes indeed. I've done it several times and never for less than 2 weeks. The last trip I got a couple of Kudu, Warthog, Bontebok, Impala, about 16 Springbok, Blesbok, Bushbuck and maybe some stuff I don't remember.
 
I know a man who went with his son to Idaho in 2015 and hunted elk on a ranch who did ranching for wildlife. The rancher treated and fed the elk like cattle and they were abundant. They took two mature bulls on an easy hunt in natural hunting conditions. The big advantage was that the elk were there and available for an easy hunt. They drove about 1,000 miles and the hunt and trip lasted about 4 days. I made ten trips to Colorado for deer and elk on both private and public land and it is difficult to get what you want. Bad weather during a short season can literally kill your hunt. If I were young and looking for a successful hunt I would think about hunting on a ranch that catered to wildlife. It is a long drive home to go 1,000 miles only to come home with a lesser animal than you wanted, or maybe even empty handed.
 
Diy elk hunt with an otc tag in colorado my friend. Even a cow tag in a unit, you just buy at wal mart. If you arent worried about antlers, it'll be hunting in the prettiest country you've ever seen. Start getting in shape now. Last i checked a cow tag was around 450, either sex was 660. It will be a hunt you'll never forget. No guide necessary, just a willingness to hunt in rough country. Price of a tag and gas. Good chance of success if you can handle the terrain and make the shot.
 
Best buy for the money is to hit the banquets like Safari Club Intl, Pheasants Forever, Ducks Unlimited, etc....great hunts at bargain prices.
 
Prairie Goats would get my nod. It is an easy, enjoyable hunt. The biggest problem is finding a place to hunt and drawing a tag. You can hire a guide, or pay a trespass fee and hunt on your own. You can stay at motel, camp or have a guided hunt with a cabin furnished. The ground is level, the game small, (as in not making 5 trips to pack everything out), and a license is cheap.
 
jmr40 said:
My wife and I are both retired teachers. Not tons of money, but we have time. We are going to Colorado in either late Oct. or early Nov. and I'll elk hunt. I've narrowed my search to 4 units where over the counter tags are sold and I'm still debating between 2nd or 3rd season. My wife doesn't hunt, but will go along. Going with 4-6 other guys would be preferable, especially if someone is successful, but that isn't in the cards this year.

We've done several road trips all over the west tent camping as much as possible and staying in a cheap hotel a few nights to get showers. My daughter went on a 4000 mile road trip before her 2nd birthday. It isn't terribly expensive especially if you go with someone else to split costs. Because of the type of work we did it was all but impossible to go during the fall until we retired. This will be my 3rd western hunt, I went with a group of guys the other times. Also, since we've traveled and camped in CO so often during summer months before we retired I won't be going in totally blind. I have a pretty good feel for the geography in the 4 units I'm considering. One of the reasons I'm considering 3rd season is that there are several days between the end of 2nd season and 3rd. It would give more time to actually get boots on the ground scouting before the season starts. In the meantime internet research and google earth are your friend.

This will be a DIY unguided affair, and the only additional costs compared to the other road trips are the non-resident tags. Which will be near $700 for a bull elk. I'm estimating $700 for fuel plus food and several nights in a hotel. I think I can do the whole trip for $2000. If my wife were not going and I were to split costs with someone else it would be significantly less, about $1500. The fuel and hotel costs would be 1/2.
Click to expand...

Hope you have prepared for the altitude; it can be a real capital "B" if you're not ready. It is real easy to get in trouble with the weather too; so be prepared and enjoy the hunt.
 
I was in a similar spot a few years ago. I drove to Montana and did a DIY mule deer hunt with a buddy on public land. We camped at night, hunted all day, and each killed a mulie. Nothing that would make the record books but a trophy to us. The hunt itself was the trophy, the mulie was just the dinner we ate while I told stories about the hunt. :)

Here's the story from my hunt: http://southernoutdoorsman.blogspot.com/2014/10/im-done.html
 
FL-NC said:
This is directly in conflict with your original post, but I still want to share it with you. A friend who I worked overseas with goes once a year to Africa hunting. According to him, he can go to Africa, hunt several different animals, and fly there and back for less than the costs of something like a trophy elk hunt in the US.
Click to expand...
Ditto. I know a couple who did it last year, and they're not rich. He's a HVAC contractor and she's a municipal water quality engineer: solid middle-class people. They raved about it.
 
ScrapMetalSlug said:
Diy elk hunt with an otc tag in colorado my friend. Even a cow tag in a unit, you just buy at wal mart. If you arent worried about antlers, it'll be hunting in the prettiest country you've ever seen. Start getting in shape now. Last i checked a cow tag was around 450, either sex was 660. It will be a hunt you'll never forget. No guide necessary, just a willingness to hunt in rough country. Price of a tag and gas. Good chance of success if you can handle the terrain and make the shot.
Click to expand...
This.

I wish I had started this in my 20's.

My story is very similar - hunted whitetails since I was 9 but I didn't chase any other big game until I was 45 because of lack of available $. The "Get in shape!" part is spot-on. The amount of fun you will have is directly proportionate to the shape you are in. But to me that's part of the reward. Elk hunting with OTC licenses in CO provide year-round motivation for me to stay in shape, and if nothing else ever comes from it, that alone is worth it. The incredible scenery is icing on the cake.

A over the counter elk hunt in CO for $1000 is completely doable from MN if you plan well.

I also have a good friend who has hunted Africa for the past 15 years, and he and his wife are NOT wealthy people. They save all year for that one trip, and they love it.
 
I will also bring up an interesting point about hunting a particular state and it's about picking your competition. When I hunted in Colorado I could predict where the out of state hunters would come from and the volume of hunters by the side of the State I was planning to hunt. SE and central Colorado was seriously hunted by people from Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. Don't make lightly about this point because many people from Texas really know how to hunt. I found the Texas hunters to be highly skilled and every bit as competitive as I was. SW Colorado had many hunters from Texas and California, and every time I saw someone with a good animal the hunter was usually from Texas. I loved SW Colorado and the weather always came from the west. NW Colorado had many hunters from California and I hardly ever saw another hunter from Oklahoma. The weather in NW Colorado came from the NW and every time I turned around I had snow up to my rear. I wouldn't expect to see many out of state hunters in NE Colorado because it is so close to Denver. I knew people from the Denver area who came to Oklahoma to hunt because it was an easier hunt.
 
Last edited:
sage5907 said:
I will also bring up an interesting point about hunting a particular state and it's about picking your competition.
Click to expand...

Good point.
I always put in for tags from Wyoming and Montana because there were no OTC tags there for non-residents. In Colorado the place was over-run by out-of-state and resident hunters. The success ratio was very high in Wyoming if you drew a tag. I think I only struck out once in many years of hunting Wyoming.
 
I’ve been on antelope hunts in southeast Montana a couple times. One time I Didnt have a tag, just went along for prairie dogs. Tags are by draw in the spring

The guy that headed the hunt had hunted the ranch previously, knows it well, and is really good at antelope hunting. Four guys tagged out in two days. Between the ranch and BLM land we had over 10,000 acres.

You must have a four wheeler and good binos. Drive, Glass the area. Drive some more. Their eyesight is beyond incredible. I got one first year the second day.

I talked to one rancher who had them in his front pasture every day.
 
labnoti said:
You either need time or money, and it helps if you have both. Without big money to fly in, hire a guide, and get on the most productive land, just how much time do you have to do it the hard way? Two months? The season can be a couple to four weeks, but you could use some time to scout and track before the season opens.
Click to expand...

And since time is money, its money either way.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

D
  • Locked
No more moose, elk, or deer meat from Canada
Replies
6
Views
820
SteveS
S
G
  • Locked
Ya! Our couse deer hunt opens tomorrow morning!
2
Replies
26
Views
2K
gamestalker
G
S
  • Locked
Hunting with an ATV, Helmet types?
Replies
9
Views
4K
Thedub88
T
H&Hhunter
  • Locked
Hunting with a rifle is unfair!
2
Replies
37
Views
3K
H&Hhunter
H&Hhunter
L
  • Locked
What do your dogs do when you're hunting big game?
Replies
17
Views
4K
CarJunkieLS1
C
Back
Top