Are you really saving money by hunting? How much? (Not an attack thread)

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This comes up every year (or more) and the answers always show incredible diversity. Yes, hunting can be much cheaper than shopping at the store. But very few people hunt in a minimalist fashion designed to save money. Most money spent on hunting is for expensive guns (do you really need to spend $1500 on a new bolt action when you can get a used 20 guage for $150 at the Pawn shop), exotic trips, huge trucks (you need a truck for hunting??? Can't you tie the deer to the rood???) and asinine clothes (I hunt in jeans).

You ask about Californa, Oregon and NY. I can't answer the cost question offhand cause I don't live in those states. I did grow up in New Jersey though and have lots of family in NY and can tell you the answer is goign to vary alot by where you live. Folks in the NY City (and Long Island area) who are hunting for meat can kill incredible numbers of deer for little cost in extended archery seasons. Upstate, I don't think the deer numbers are as high.

I live in Virginia. I hunt in a number of other states but that is really more about luxury vacations (well, its a luxury in that I enjoy it).

So my costs here as a resident in Virginia (to harvest as many as possible in the cheapest fashion) are:

Basic hunting license: $23
Big Game License (6 deer, 3 turkeys, 1 bear): $23

My bow is a Matthews. But you don't need to shoot a $1000 bow to hunt a deer. My go to rifle is a Remington 700 Mountain Rifle. In .280 Remington. Again, you don't need a $1000+ Rifle and odd calibers to kill a deer. My shotgun is a Beretta Silver Pigeon. Again you don't need a $2500 shotgun to kill a bird (or deer). A used shotgun at the pawn shop could do all that for you and would cost $150 (or less). Plus, the gun doesnt go bad and so its cost can be depreciated over the legnth of time you own it. I've had my Remington 700 for 10 years. So its cost is basically $100 a year to me, plus if I were to sell it today I could easily get $700 or more for it. The true cost, $300, over 10 years comes out to $30 a year (which is the number I'm going with even though I think over time, if your looking to do this in a minimilist way then you can pretty much figure no costs (or well, $10-$20) in costs for the gun. A box of ammo is $20. You should practice, but that's not necessary (and with a bow you don't need to buy new arrows every year). Still, lets total that cost up to another $40.

We are talking deer here - so the meat for the turkey or bear are just a bonus and won't factor into it.

If I go to the butcher, I pay $75 - $100 to get the deer processed. I actually spent $15 about 15 years ago on a hoist and gambrel to lift the deer up so I can process it myself. I have a food saver vacum sealer - that cost me $120. But I use that for all sorts of food. Still, lets figure it last 5 years, Thats $24 a year.

I have a bunch of fancy knives, but really any knife will do. Go to Wal Mart, get a hunting knife for $20. A sharpening stone is another $20. Both will last 40 years. And you can use that hunting knife to butcher the deer - you don't need anything fancy. You don't need a saw. You just need a sharp knife.

I am not including the cost of gas. Yes, I need to drive somewhere, but its not that far. And I can take 6 deer in a day If I want. Heck, if people heard I shot 6 deer every time I went out, I'd have hundreds of offers to hunt peoples land for free. There is no need to have to pay for a hunting lease. Just ask around. People with lots of land and crops want the deer managed.
This may be different in different areas. But is the case here around DC and is the case in the NY Suburbs too.

So total costs then is as follows:

Basic hunting license: $23
Big Game License (6 deer, 3 turkeys, 1 bear): $23
Gun:$ 20
Ammo: $40
Vacum sealer $24
Knife and sharpening stone $4

Total Cost: $134

Those 6 deer will get me somewhere between 240 and 320 lbs of meat. Lets say they are all on the smaller end and I get 240 pounds of meat.

That comes out to $0.55 per pound. Last I checked beef was somewhere around $6 a pound in this area (though in truth you can find it on sale for 1/2 the price right now. Look for the price to sky rocket - increasing 25-30% over the next year).

There is no comparison in the price. Hunting for food is so incredibly cheaper than purchasing it. IF, your focus is on saving money. If your focus is on making the Cabela brothers richer, or impressing your friends, or traveling to exotic locations (heck, I went to Oklahoma last week to shoot dove - I got 13 dove . . . airfare, car rental, meals, lodging etc, I don't want to think of the price per pound).
 
It depends on your style of hunting and your personal logistics, and how far you must travel, etc,

Flintlock rifle, cost $900, bought ten years ago, cost per year now = $90.00
Flint for rifle for deer season = 2.00
Annual deer license, $24.50
Cost per each shot, .530 patched round ball and powder = .15 + .20 + .01 = .36 cents..., takes but one shot per deer.
So total is so far $116.86

Car gets 25 mpg, and with the "close" farm is less than 25 miles round trip, even if I take the deer to a butcher instead of home processing, and a 50 mile round trip to the "far" farm including a stop at the butcher, so for argument sake that's $4 - $8 gas cost if you use today's prices and don't adjust for gas prices per year from 2001-2011...

Farthest Scenario is now $124.86 for one deer.

Assuming I don't home butcher, butchering costs me $70, total is now $194.86
Two additional trips last, plus two more shots, and two more deer plus butchering = $156.72

Total is $351.58 ÷ 150 lbs. of meat (3 deer averaging 50 pounds of meat when processed) = $2.34 per pound..., for last year's deer.

Now if you add in the other nine years that I have owned that rifle, taking into account the years that I only got one deer for the year, some years none, some more than one..., I find I get an average cost of $2.50 per pound.

NOW Compare that to..., Organic, Grass fed, Ground Beef from the local Whole Foods store... (Don't tell me folks have been comparing their organic venison to the cheapest ground beef available! :eek:)..., Whole Foods OGFB (Ground) = $3.99 per pound (ON SALE).

This is not accounting for roasts or steaks, just comparing it to OGFB ground and on sale...., so for others I cannot say, but for me it is cheaper. :D

When you compare it to the local cost of playing golf once a month on a public golf course..., it's cheaper still. :D

LD
 
There are other intangible benefits too...like the value of knowing you could provide for your family if you had too...
 
I know a lady that runs a high fence ranch in the Texas Hill Country and she has a 65 acre pen where she runs "meat hunts" She charges less than $300 cleaned and quartered for red stag doe's that run about 400 lbs and up. I am not going to comment on the ethics and it is a perfectly legit business that sounds better than my desk job.
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That's not bad. It's not something I would want to do, but I certainly find nothing morally wrong with it. It's still probably better conditions than a slaughterhouse and he have not issues eating meat that came from one of them.

There are other intangible benefits too...like the value of knowing you could provide for your family if you had too...
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Also, with wild game, you're not eating all the chemicals they used to preserve the meat. Look at the steaks next time you're in Wal Mart. How long do you think it's been since that steer was slaughtered? And it's still that red. Imagine what that's doing to our bodies. Fresh killed game = healthier meat.
 
Also, with wild game, you're not eating all the chemicals they used to preserve the meat. Look at the steaks next time you're in Wal Mart. How long do you think it's been since that steer was slaughtered? And it's still that red. Imagine what that's doing to our bodies. Fresh killed game = healthier meat.
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That's not preservatives. That's because they keep it frozen, but also inject the packaging with CO2 to displace the oxygen so the meat looks more appetizing. The concept is not any different than when people (or restaurant's with salad bars) sprinkle lemon juice on apples to stop the appearance of oxygenation.
 
I never considered it as money saving activity. But it is cheaper than golf in the long run. And much more enjoyable to me.
 
Not at all...

However I might freak some shoppers out if I were to jump from isle to isle in camo, blaze orange and a bow and arrow (or gun) hunting for that fine delectable goodness in my local supermarket...
 
Are you really saving money by hunting? How much? (Not an attack thread)

Ok, my uncles (on my grandma's side of the family) who lived and worked on the farm already owned .22 rifles and 12 ga shotguns to protect livestock from predators, and to protect themselves and their property from thieves or vandals who could be a threat to life, limb or livelihood. So hunting was basicly a morning or afternoon weekend walk in the woods for food for the table and fur or hides. They grew vegetables, and had chickens for eggs and raised hogs to have meat over the winter. Hunting game added variety to their diet, and saved livestock for the market. I suppose the ammo really did not count as an expense, because they would need to rotate their ammo supply anyway (yearly buy fresh ammo to replace the old).

For me, living in the city, hunting was a hobby in remembrance of days past, but cheaper than golf as a hobby. And the clothes were less embarrassing.
 
Carl N. Brown said:
Are you really saving money by hunting? How much? (Not an attack thread)

Ok, my uncles (on my grandma's side of the family) who lived and worked on the farm already owned .22 rifles and 12 ga shotguns to protect livestock from predators, and to protect themselves and their property from thieves or vandals who could be a threat to life, limb or livelihood. So hunting was basicly a morning or afternoon weekend walk in the woods for food for the table and fur or hides. They grew vegetables, and had chickens for eggs and raised hogs to have meat over the winter. Hunting game added variety to their diet, and saved livestock for the market. I suppose the ammo really did not count as an expense, because they would need to rotate their ammo supply anyway (yearly buy fresh ammo to replace the old).

For me, living in the city, hunting was a hobby in remembrance of days past, but cheaper than golf as a hobby. And the clothes were less embarrassing.
Click to expand...
I have never rotated ammo and some of it is 25 years old . It still works unless it's been soaked in water or solvents.
 
All of the rabbits & squirrels you could get in a fall could be had for $4.50 in my neck of the woods when I started hunting. (Dad was buying the .22 & shotgun shells though)
Even today, the only difference is it's $19.00 per year & dad doesn't pay for the shells.
Hunting can still be inexpensive if bottom dollar price per pound is what you're after.
 
This is just like the question of whether or not reloading saves money.

If you get into reloading with the idea of actually saving money you can save money by reloading. You won't be using the state-of-the-art progressive press and all the latest fancy equipment, and you won't be loading hundreds of rounds a night, but you can make it economical. Many, if not most, get into reloading as a hobby, or as a way to shoot more for the same expense--naturally that doesn't result in savings.

Same with hunting. If you get into hunting with the express purpose of saving money, you can make it work. You won't be buying ATVs, tree stands, high-dollar hunting rigs, out-of-state hunting licenses, you won't be buying your own property to hunt on. You probably won't be able to afford a game lease all to yourself and you won't be paying someone to process your game once you shoot it. You won't be hunting elk, and maybe not even deer, but you can put hogs in the freezer for cheaper than you can buy the meat if that's your goal.
 
I hunt 11 miles from the house, using guns I already own, with ammo I would have bought anyway ( OR handloaded) AND I do my own processing.

Put two in the freezer last year, ended up with 125-150 lbs of meat total.

Tag $30
gun paid $150 cuz I liked it AND the price was right, it also happens to be a good deer round ( 7.5 X 55 )
The war wagon gets better than 25 MPG
Ammo was just under a buck a round

So YEA, hunting saves us money.....................Deer hunting anyway.........small game hunting, not even close ( LOL )


As far as one person shooting anothers deer, check YOUR state regs, they vary by state, in Nebraska, taint legal....still happens though
 
I shot 22 deer over the years.
Let's see-------started with station wagon---tent----pop-up---26' trailer--
motor home----46 guns----2 million dollars wort of ammo, gas, etc.
I will let you figger it out---------------------------------:):):):):)
H
 
Nice replies all, I got a fair bit of information that I can now use for background info and myself.

Any one have any experience on large game hunts? I.e., paying 1500-2500 for a hunt of bison (prices I've seen, not including cost to get there and back and transport meat home). You walk away with say 500 pounds of meat at $3-5 a pound (Which is a bit less than I pay in store for beefalo) but not including processing fees and all that.
 
Well I have no experience with cooking bison. However I will venture a little info:
I know most beef is killed fairly young, much younger than most would think for steaks. Animals that remain at large and cannot be rounded up on time can often get 30% or more larger and actually be worth less wholesale because as they get older they are less suited for many quality cuts (and they cost more per pound to grow past a target weight, it is all calculated for profit.)
For example compare what an average full grown bull/steer weighs to what the average weight at slaughter is:

http://www.beefusa.org/beefindustrystatistics.aspx


It takes more research to get breeds and proper averages, but I can tell you they can grow a lot larger than they do.
2-3x the size they are slaughtering them at.

The marbling in beef is also fat, and most domestic beef are finished in a way that increases that white fat on the meat before slaughter.
This fat makes it more tender and moist.
They gorge them on grain before slaughter to create this.


A full grown Bison that is lean and massive is going to be meat of a type likely very different than what you are used to in beef.
It is going to be harder to cook tender. There of course is still plenty of great ways to prepare it, just need to have realistic expectations. A lot more slow cooking variations taking hours that break down collagen rather than marbled steaks you can cook to typical rare/medium/well done etc are the likely result. Trying to use it like a normal piece of beef is more likely to give you some dry tough results.
 
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No way. I own my land so I don't need a license to hunt on MY land. I bought a lifetime license a few years ago for $500. If I was Dan'l Boone and used the same gun to kill everything I ate then I might save money if my family ate everything I put on the table. They don't! I probably eat 50-75 pounds of whitetail every year. If I live for 300 years and eat 500 pounds per year I would not come close to paying for my land.

I hunt a lot in other states, often for free other than the license. If I kill an elk for "free" it will cost $1000 to process and ship it back home.

Heck I could probably not even shoot my cows and save money.
 
Farm tags=$0
bullets = $1.05 at two total
gun= doesn't count cause I'd get it anyway
processing for two deer=$124 with summer sausage

After all is said and done, 160lbs of meat for about $.78 per LB.
It would cost $1.05 but I'd prefer the processor. I don't have the time.
No bucks, doe taste better.
 
It's like driving a Ferrari full of Hi-test to Whole Foods for an organic sushi sampler and wiping your mouth with 100 dollar bills.

Is it practical or cost effective? Certainly not to start. Is it rewarding anyway? Yes.






Of course you don't 'have' to drive a Ferarri or run on high test and no matter how they slice it of you're land locked you're eating thawed fish. There ARE cheaper ways to have that same meal, or one even better.

Those of you that are going to say, "Sushi? that's bait where I come from" may now return to eating your plate of fried squirrel.
 
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in Texas, hunting aint cheap, so that goes out the door real quick unless you own your own land, I figured with my deer lease and expenses, deer meat is abot $300 a pound.
 
I save money by hunting.
I hunt with a 30.06 I bought for under $300.00 twelve years ago, and a pawn shop scope and rings that ran about $30.00. I own my own land, and I pay a processor $60.00. I wear work clothes for hunting, plus the cheap blaze vest I figure cost about $8.00 twelve years ago. I have built all but one stand with scavanged wood, and the one stand I didnt build was a gift. Organic beef is way over $6.00 a pound for the cheap cuts, and deer tastes much better to me. I get three or four a year, and after processing fees, and gas, and snacks...big savings. I also dont lose money from missed work, as I hunt Saturdays, and use paid vacation time when I am able for another day or two of hunting.

If Virginia ever comes out of the dark ages and lets us hunt Sundays, I will probably have a couple more deer every season. Lets hope that happens.
 
I drove my Ford Explorer with V-8 down to Maryland on Saturday. But after 5 hours sitting in a tree with my crossbow it was almost dark and time call it a day. No deer were observed.

Cost me about $27.00 in gas. My non-resident license and permit cost over $200.00. Typically, I kill 4 deer in Maryland each year. Fuel cost is too high.

TR
 
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