Hunting Recession Proof

[308win]

From 9/20/2010 USAToday

Even during recession, hunting remains bulletproof industry

If you have free access to hunting areas with a lot of game available you might save a little but if you have to pay for hunting privileges you will have a tough time breaking even. In Ohio a hunting license and a deer tag will run you $43.00. If you can walk out your back door and get your deer and you get 80 pounds of meat you have $.54/lb in it before any other costs.

 

[22-rimfire]

Deer hunting is not cheap entertainment. There can be substantial costs. Used to be I spent $3.00 for a couple cartridges, $12 for a license, a few dollars for gas, and that is about it. So other than clothing or boots which I may wear at other times of the year, I spent about $20. It is not the same anymore.

I always got my deer cut up and packaged by a butcher now. It adds cost. It is part of the reason I don't want any more than one deer per year unless someone wants a deer that has just been field dressed. My experience is that most want you to cut up and package the meat for them. So you probably know what my response is going to be about providing them a deer for food.

Venison is one of my last choices of meat in steak or roast form. It all gets ground up with pork fat for hamburg. Used to save a few roasts, back straps, and so forth.

 

[ArmedBear]

Depends on the kind of hunting.

I was at a benefit auction the other day, for Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife. A complete guided African stay-and-hunt package, 3 species I think, went for $650. Last year, the same package went for $3800 and AFAIK that was a good deal.

It pained me not to bid on such a great deal, but it didn't include the flight to Johannesburg, shipping, etc. My wife and I chatted about it, and decided not to bid. The guy who won the bidding at $650 (he was very excited!) is still on the hook for thousands more that we didn't want to spend right now. A new roof before Winter is a higher priority for us, and we're grateful we can afford that.

I'd say that, if you are running a high-dollar guide service, you are DEFINITELY not in a recession-proof business. Most of those guys have other irons in the fire, fortunately.

 

[bang_bang]

Hunting is far from cheap. Using quality ammo, rifles, and equipment can run you big $$$$$.

My usual deer hunting outfit, with rifle, has took me years to acquire. At any time when I venture out in the woods, I'm carrying thousands of dollars of gear....and I shop at Wal-Mart.

Not to mention wear and tear on good clothing (waterproof and windproof is my choice of hunting garments) may cause you to buy new within a few years.

The recession has caused me to stop buying so much stuff, pack lighter, and enjoy the simple things more. I often take a back pack, hatchet, and plastic bags and quarter the deer up in the field. I then give the meat to families who need it far more than I do. After dressing a deer...I don't want to eat one for a good while after. Nasty critters....

That being said, some bacon wrapped backstrap baked with A-1 and balsamic vinegar sounds good about now. Too bad I'm broke and hunting permits cost more than 40 pounds of hamburger from the local grocery store.

 

[Zoogster]

Most types of hunting in California can add up.
If you factor how much actual usable meat you get from an animal, it is often substantially less than the total weight of the animal.

For example resident hunting costs for a California resident (several times more for non-residents.) Here is what you need to take a deer:

Resident Hunting License
$41.50

Resident First-Deer Tag Application
$27.85

Then many of the areas with animals are considered a state operated hunting zone which requires these:

Permits and Passes for State-Operated Hunting Areas

Type A One-Day Entry Permit
$17.75

Type A Two-Day Pass
$30.20

Type A Season Pass
$140.20

How many days do you need?


Add tax of course, which is rather high in the state. Now you are easily around $100 or more to take a single deer.
Add the cost of gas to get to the area, and other potential costs (like the above person that has a butcher process the deer.)
How many scents and calls ad other doodads are you planning to buy?
Pretty quickly you are near or above the $200 mark to hunt a single deer.

On top of that many hunting zones require the person to enter a lottery for the chance to hunt, some people go years without being picked, so even after paying all the fees many people just get a chance to possibly be picked in the state hunting lottery!

Here is a site I stumbled on in a quick search to show estimates of likely meat form a deer of a given weight:
http://www.butcher-packer.com/index.php?main_page=document_general_info&cPath=36&products_id=331

Let's say a hunter kills a mature buck, and it weighs 165 pounds field-dressed. Using the above equation, we estimate its carcass will weigh 124 pounds, and it will ideally yield 83.08 pounds of boneless meat. The deer's realistic meat yield is about 58.15 pounds.

So if it costs you nearly $200 to get a deer, let us say you get something similar to the above example and have nearly 60 pounds of meat.
Much of that meat is far from the best cuts.
What would it have cost to buy that much beef? Chicken is much cheaper and most pork is too.
You are paying over $3 a pound for that meat, and you are not even guaranteed to win the hunting lottery and be allowed to hunt in many zones.


So hunting deer wouldn't really save people much money in California.
The cost is a few times what is listed above for a non resident.

 

[wankerjake]

Depends on what I'm hunting. I save money on elk hunts, works out to like $.75 a pound and I butcher myself. Usually don't miss work either. Other than elk it's not really cost effective for me. In states where you are issued a gazillion deer tags then it probably is very cost efective to shoot them if you butcher yourself, especially if you shoot them with an old 30-30 your dad gave you which is all you need

 

[CoRoMo]

I just got back from a good, long backcountry hunt. I spent money on a vehicle park pass, a little bit of fuel, and of course the licenses. I won't count the cost of the foods that I packed out there, nor much of the equipment I used because I use it over and over, year after year, and it never cost me much of anything to begin with. It was a black powder hunt, so I suppose a very small portion of the cost of my Triple Se7en Powder and Great Plains bullets could be added in. The park pass is good for a year, so if I go back for the rifle season, its cost is spread out a good bit. No horses, which would kill all the savings I might be seeing.

I didn't get a deer or an elk. Had two real good chances, but you know how it goes. Had I killed one or both, I would process the meat myself, as I've been doing for the past several years. The cost of my butcher paper, plastic wrap, tape and marker, really can't be added in entirety either.

We don't buy meat from the store anymore. I rely on hunting, and both families have livestock that keep many freezers stocked. Therefore, I don't know how much it would cost, if I were to try and buy 200+lbs. of meat, but there's no way in heck that I spend that much on my hunting.

 

[Yarddog]

I've harvest alot of deer in my years, Hogs by the truck load. Now I hunt for Relaxation
rather than harvest animals But if that (Big Buck) comes by he will hit the dirt ; )
Y/D

 

[inclinebench]

I have under $500.00 invested in rifle and scope. I built my stand out of scrap lumber. All the clothes I wear for hunting I also wear for many other of lifes tasks. License and tags to cover all my hunting and fishing desires are about $120 a year. I do not buy new clothes, or guns or anything else every year, just my license and tags. I harvest anywhere from two to five deer a year. I guess you could spend more money on hunting, but all the gear in the world wont make you a better hunter.

I don't take unpaid time off from work to hunt.

Hunting most certainly is a huge cost benefit when it comes to feeding my family.

 

[Sky]

No wonder the Sheriff got mad at Robin Hood!!! He didn't have a Royal Deer tag!

 

[CoRoMo]

I have under $500.00 invested in rifle and scope.

Unless you use it up and toss it out in the trash with the hooves & hide, you can't necessarily count your equipment cost like this. That rifle might take hundreds of deer before it is really "used up".

 

[~z]

My wife buys me a nice big porterhouse steak for my birthday each year. My wife likes chicken (my favorite vegetable) so other than that we dont buy meat from the store. Between helping out the farmers with their pig problems and management hunts for does and old spikes we stay in the meat pretty good. We made a bit over 1600lbs of sausage last year.

Now if I could only find someone with a ferral chicken problem I think I'd be set.
~z

 

[UpTheIrons]

Here's what my Texas Hill Country deer cost me per year:

Rifle: My dad's 50 year old Winny '94 (free!)
Ammo: 1 box per season (~$15)
Clothes: ~$75, spread out over 5 years so far (~$15)
License: $25
Lease cost: $400
Rent: $200
Corn/Protein feed/Molasses tubs: ~$200
I process the meat myself, so there's no cost there beyond a new box of FoodSaver bags every couple of years.

For that $855 I get a house that I can stay in at any time since it is a year-round lease. I can also go at any time and hunt whatever is in season (squirrel, jackrabbits, doves, etc.). We also go just to get away from the craziness of the city. That also means that, even though the numbers say I'm spending $171/deer (it's a 5 deer county), I'm really spending less, since it is also a sort of "vacation home." I also save some of my vacation for deer season, so there is no unpaid time off.

While the meat is more expensive than beef, it is also healthier (free-range, organic, etc., etc.,), tastier, and more desirable by everyone in my family. Aside from the occasional Ribeye or T-Bone, I haven't bought meat (except chicken & fish) at the store in 5 years.

 

[CSA 357]

not here in north alabama, a man could starve living off the land here, but back home in south west ms i could and have.

 

[millertyme]

I wingshoot, mostly. Hunting mostly dove would hardly keep anyone in my family fed for any length of time, and I'm really the only one who eats the stuff. I would like to shoot deer and all that but I don't know if I'll have the time. Had I the time I already have a nice pair of boots paid for by a company that laid me off before they could take it out of my paycheck, I might need to buy some insulated pants or thermal underwear and then maybe some kind of insulated, waterproof camouflage to wear while hunting. At least with most bird shooting you can do it in jeans and a t-shirt.

 

[DeepSouth]

Last year I spent a little over $400.00 on seed and fertilizer for the fields, (not to mention fuel for the tractor) probably over $100 on camo clothing, about $175.00 for processing, and a little on licence and ammo, also bought my oldest son a new gun but I don't count that, I also want count the many hrs of overtime I turn down at work so I can go hunting, that probably costs me more than everything else combined.

We took two deer last year, one weighing a little over 100lbs the other a little under. $700+ would buy a LOT of meat from a grocery store. Bad thing is I don't even hunt anymore, I just love enjoying nature and taking my kids. There ain't no price tag on that.

I could do it cheaper but I don't, so for me it's a loss, a pretty big one.

I want even try to calculate my losses at duck hunting, I would have to quit. That duck meat would be like 50 bucks an oz, mainly cuz I'm such a bad shoot.

Now if I could only find someone with a ferral chicken problem I think I'd be set.

If you find that one let me know, I'll move if I have to.

 

[wankerjake]

Now if I could only find someone with a ferral chicken problem I think I'd be set.

If you find that one let me know, I'll move if I have to.

Hawaii!!! Seriously they run rampant all over Maui and Kauai, and maybe the other islands but I haven't been to them. They look delicious, I've been tempted to grab one and cook it up both times I've been there.

 

[jbkebert]

I don't save a dime by hunting for meat. I also don't save a dime by raising hogs for 4-H and one for slaughter or by buying a bucket calf for 4-H and one for slaughter. The point is by doing so and the same with chickens the quality of meat is far far better than anything that you buy in a supermarket.

 

[336A]

I have under $500.00 invested in rifle and scope. I built my stand out of scrap lumber. All the clothes I wear for hunting I also wear for many other of lifes tasks. License and tags to cover all my hunting and fishing desires are about $120 a year. I do not buy new clothes, or guns or anything else every year, just my license and tags. I harvest anywhere from two to five deer a year. I guess you could spend more money on hunting, but all the gear in the world wont make you a better hunter.

I don't take unpaid time off from work to hunt.

Hunting most certainly is a huge cost benefit when it comes to feeding my family.

+1 to the above.
I don't understand how folks spend so much money every year on hunting. Here is the break down for me.

Hunting license: sportsmans 67$. This allows me to hunt small game, fish, take 1 buck, 2 doe, 1 black bear, and 4 turkey(2 fall and 2 spring) for the year.
Equipment:
Marlin 336A bought in 2002 $300
Bushnell Elite 3200 2-7x32 $180
Knife bought when I was 15 (back in 1991) $40
Clothes:$0 as I don't buy specific clothes for hunting. I just wear old jeans and long sleeved shirts.
Ammo well I have a good supply so I haven't bought any in some time so I don't factor that in. if i did it would be $15 still not expensive.
Hunting location is behind my house on private property so no cost.
Processing fee for the deer is $50. If it weren't for my work schedule that would be be no cost either as I would do it myself. Which I'll be doing as soon as I retire from Uncle Sams services.

So after the purchase of my Marlin and scope I actually spend $117 annually, $67 for the license and $50 for the processing fee thats it. My freezer is stocked with deer, grouse squirrel, turkey, trout and salmon. I could have cheapened the initial cost considerably if I picked my Mossberg 500 combo(bird barrel and rifled slug barrel) that I recieved for my 16th B-Day back in 1992 I've slain a lot of game with that set up over the years for sure.

 

[Zoogster]

Hunting license: sportsmans 67$. This allows me to hunt small game, fish, take 1 buck, 2 doe, 1 black bear, and 4 turkey(2 fall and 2 spring) for the year.

Wow! You have a fishing and hunting license in one, and the basic license includes that much game without purchasing separate tags?

In California just the tags for what you listed would cost a couple hundred dollars.
Basic license ($41.50), deer tags (max 2 per year $27.85 +$34.65), bear tag($40.70), upland game bird stamp for turkey ($8.40). More fees for passes for "State-Operated Hunting Areas" which include a lot of public land.
Add another type of bird and yet more required stamps (Duck is $33.50.)
A fishing license must be purchased separately and itself can cost around $70-$80 with various required stamps and required report cards.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

It saves me money, but not directly per the grocery bill...., I save money on recreation activities, as I only travel a short distance to the woods to hunt, and I could walk to several areas if I had to do so, so this leaves me more money for groceries. Sorta counts, doesn't it? Even using a local meat cutter, figuring in the cost of the license, plus the cost per shot from my flintlock is under 50 cents, all my venison is less than the cheapest ground beef. If I played golf, and borrowed the clubs, the cost for a single round would probably cost the same as a year's deer hunting.

LD

 

[~z]

Zoo, that is crazy! Texas has the 'SuperCombo' license which is similar to what 336A describes. This includes fresh and saltwater fishing, and hunting. We are allowed all the pigs and varmets you want and small game and upland birds at the daily bag limits. We get tags for 4 turkey, 2 mule deer, and 5 whitetail. I believe the cost is around $50 or $60. I got a lifetime hunting and fishing license years back for $500 so I dont keep up with the cost.

~z

 

[Old Shooter]

Mostly my hunting dollars give me the chance to get out on a nice fall day and wander about the woods with one of my rifles while the deer and bear wander around someplace else. I still feel I get more than my money's worth.

We get our meat for the table from the grocery store, local butcher shop sometimes has some sales and we stock up the freezer when he does. A couple hundred pounds of chicken, beef and pork chops go us a long way and I don't have to drag it out of the woods.

If I had to depend on my hunting skills for food I'd probably be in size 32 jeans instead of 40.

 

[HGUNHNTR]

I enjoy being able to harvest game that is antibiotic free and sustainable. Mmmmmmmm.

 

[bellyup039]

1st off Yes I hunt to save money.

My wife, her dad, my dad, and I all hunt at a local farm for deer.

The farm is owned by a very good friend, who raises BEEF CATTLE and they grow there own feed for said BEEF CATTLE.
Well, the Deer on her farm 220 acres are eating all the feed for the BEEF CATTLE and it cost her a fortune to just feed the cattle over the winters.

We have been asked; "Please take the deer out!"

So we do. And we eat them too. We all get Doe tags, and bonus Doe tags.
We take as many as we are permitted to take, by law.
We eat them too.
The guys I work with, get treated to several cookouts for lunch at work.
(we have a bbq grill at work)
They all agree that the deer I bring in taste as good as any beef steak.
HMMM, the deer eat the same food as the beef cattle, I wonder why they taste good?

AS far as the cost-- Gun, bullets, hunting gear. One time expense.
Processing $70.00 per deer, and then they are good for the freezer.

Way way way cheeper than trying to buy that much meat at the local grocery store.

Hmmm, Might have to have a Deer Chops for lunch today. MMM.