Is the economy/Ukraine impacting your hunting plans?

[D.B. Cooper]

I'm thinking about the coming 2022 hunting season and looking at the global economy, and I wonder if world affairs are impacting hunting in the US. It's no secret that food prices have been climbing for some time, especially meat products. I'm not here to discuss the politics of the war in Ukraine, or the resulting sanctions, but they will certainly negatively impact global trade and, subsequently prices on food products.

If you were primarily a trophy hunter in the past, have world affairs influenced you to hunt primarily for food? If you were already primarily a food hunter, have world affairs influenced the tags you apply for, or the areas or game you hunt to improve your odds of success? Are you now willing to take a "lesser" game animal, to be sure of meat in the freezer? If you weren't hunting in recent years, are you planning to hunt this year due to rising food prices?

I've always hunted for food purposes. I've never taken antlers or anything. My normal tactic is to take the first legal animal where I have a solid, safe, ethical kill. I've hunted in areas that were less productive to avoid the crowds, so to speak. Coming home empty handed wasn't that big of a deal. This year, I feel more pressure from within to be successful. I'm planning to hunt areas I wouldn't have hunted in the past because the hunt won't be so enjoyable. I plan to pay more attention to animal size/weight, and, if necessary, to use more time off from work to hunt more days. I may even try to add in some waterfowl hunting as well this year, which I don't normally do. I also plan to spend a lot more time and effort fishing this summer as well to procure additional food for the freezer.

What are your thoughts?

 

[WestKentucky]

I’m not aware of anything really important except for fuel coming from Russia so I don’t know of anything specifically that might be in particularly short supply. Everything will be expensive due to fuel prices and demands for higher wages for menial jobs.

I plan to raise a garden… and if the deer eat it then I might eat them back!

 

[entropy]

I was planning a mutant boar hunt just outside Chernobyl this fall, but now the troops (both sides) will have eaten them all. (Or vice versa...... )

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

No reason why it should interfere with my hunting.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

I was planning a mutant boar hunt just outside Chernobyl this fall, but now the troops (both sides) will have eaten them all. (Or vice versa...... )

You should call Hollywood. I think you've just stumbled onto the plot of a great B grade sci-fi/horror film like they made in the 1950s.

 

[brewer12345]

I've always been a meat hunter, but I also just like being in the field and have an adventurous palate. Consequently I hunt a wide variety of game and my freezer is like Noah's Ark ("bring me two of every animal"). There is more to hunting than just deer, although I am happy to chase them, too. So I don't think the world circling the bowl will make a whole lot of difference to me other than blanching at the cost of gas to get to my favorite spots.

 

[Blue Jays]

Ukraine warfare does not meaningfully impact my day-to-day life other than overall food/fuel/supply costs.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

Ukraine warfare does not meaningfully impact my day-to-day life other than overall food/fuel/supply costs.

And you don't expect that to become a significant impact?

 

[Atavar]

And you don't expect that to become a significant impact?

It’s like charging for water. You’re going to pay whatever it is.

 

[Blue Jays]

"…And you don't expect that to become a significant impact?…"

If fuel reaches $7.00/gallon my response will be to trim costs where I can.
There are some costs (like fuel) that simply need to be endured like a slap to the face or splash of cold water.

 

[Hartkopf]

Supposedly fertilizer will be in shorter supply, adding to food inflation. Never know what news is accurate though.

 

[Chuck R.]

Currently no effect yet, but hunting season is a ways off.

I'm still in for a draw on a guided mule deer hunt this NOV. Still trying to get down to OK in the next couple weeks for a pig hunt on a friends lease. My local deer will be taken off either mine or my neighbor's place. I fish in my back yard (9 acre pond).

The only thing that's hampering my plans is a shortage of H4831SC and some Nolser bullets I'd like to work with for a WY combo Elk/Mule deer hunt in 2024. I'm all set for deer loads for the next 5 years or so, and did manage to scrounge 150 .308. 180 Nosler ABs for the combo hunt.

The state of the market from my foxhole is actually a good thing....I've got probably 22 months till my retirement (2nd) and I'm maxed out on contributions to my 401K and two Roth IRAs.

I spent a few months n the Ukraine in 2016 working on a collection ins support of US, Canadian, and British forces training them. This war is going to last a good long while unless Russia backs out. Occupying the Ukraine is on par with trying to occupy Afghanistan...a fools errand.

 

[wbm]

No.

 

[jmorris]

US. It's no secret that food prices have been climbing for some time, especially meat products.

I am sure prices will go up because people like making money.

As to your meat prices spiking, go to a sale barn and the price per pound at auction hasn’t gone up like it has on the shelf. So it’s not the people that raise the cattle that are inflating the prices and gaining the profit.

Add to that they are way down the list as far as trading partners go and we export fuel, machinery and food to them. Not having a place to send them means they have to stay here for our consumption. We send more of our goods to them than they supply to us.

Note: mineral fuels being at the top, of EXPORTS. That means we are sending them coal, petroleum and natural gas. Not that they are supplying us with it.



Note: meat and fuel not making the list of imports.


https://ustr.gov/countries-regions/europe-middle-east/russia-and-eurasia/ukraine

Significant impact? Imports from Ukraine came to $1.3 billion in 2019. That is statistically nothing.

The $3.4 trillion in “aid” the .gov handed out as of the end of last year, gave millions of people lots of money they didn’t work for so they can blow it on things they don’t need and that consumes the supply and does the opposite of reducing demand, that is what made prices go up.

If your TV is telling you what we have been seeing since the .gov has been playing a mix between Santa and Robin hood, the last two years, is because of an event that started last week, you should change the channel you watch.

Worst case, we loose 1.3 billion in imports from them while we suffer from the 3400 billion our .gov blew, at least we have the highest inflation in 40 years to show for it…

 

[buck460XVR]

Biggest factor for me would be gas prices and availability of ammo/reloading components. In the past few years my hunting has been primarily for sport. I've passed many good eating deer because I'd rather look at them instead of eating them. Same goes for fishing. I've been pretty much "catch and release" for many years, limiting myself to 1 mess of panfish during our week up north, with the kids and grandkids. If gas prices skyrocket, then the amount of time spent hunting and fishing far from home might be limited. If shotgun ammo becomes even harder to find, my bird hunting would suffer. Got enough arrows and reloading supplies for a while so I'm good to go for deer.

 

[jmorris]

Loosing Ukraine as a trading partner, looses us ~3\4 billion in mineral fuel exports. That could stay here now to offset the cuts in our production, set in place by the current administration.

Now we do export food and live animals to Russia



However we also import mineral fuels, iron/steel, fertilizers, etc from Russia.



https://ustr.gov/countries-regions/europe-middle-east/russia-and-eurasia/russia

It would be much more likely that the loss of 13 billon of fuel imports from Russia, would effect us more than having to keep the 3/4 billion of fuel exports we ship to Ukraine.

 

[FL-NC]

In (correct) speculation about the economic decline and costs of food, I maxed out my limit on deer this past season (3 bucks, 2 does) to offset the cost of meat this year. Normally, I only kill 3 deer. Moving forward, the only costs associated with my deer hunting are items that are expended during the season: corn (cost has increased significantly, but I am feeding way more deer than I am killing, and investing in the future of the herd) appropriate ammunition (I am well stocked for the future, assuming I minimize the amount used to test fire/confirm zero, with all other rounds going into a deer- I used 4 rounds and 1 xbow bolt this past season) vacuum seal bags (to preserve large amounts of meat in the freezer) and fuel to get to the area I hunt (30 miles). Each deer I kill requires 4 bags of ice (to cool meat prior to final processing) at about $2 each from one of those machines where you bag it yourself. I also have sufficient ammunition and supplies to hunt doves and turkey, although these hunts (when successful) result in much less meat in the freezer. I already own everything else I use to hunt: guns, knives, coolers, clothing, popup blinds and stands, feeders, 4 wheeler, misc. equipment, and so on. Also, my Fl state hunting license is free. If anything, the overall situation incentivizes me to hunt more as it is a comparatively "cheap" activity to pass the time, increases overall levels of training in various tasks, and results in a stockpile of meat.

 

[Thomasss]

If it gets into WW III, we may see more ammo on the shelves.

 

[Patocazador]

If Washington would roll back the restrictions, we would again have a surfeit of oil.

Regardless, it won't affect my hunting. Old age and aches and pain affect it more.

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

If Washington would roll back the restrictions, we would again have a surfeit of oil.
Regardless, it won't affect my hunting. Old age and aches and pain affect it more.

Yup... what he said.

 

[Armored farmer]

I think we likely saw the end of cheap rusky 7.62x39 ammo.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

If fuel reaches $7.00/gallon my response will be to trim costs where I can.
There are some costs (like fuel) that simply need to be endured like a slap to the face or splash of cold water.

I see your point, and I agree: energy is a must, but I believe we can do things to offset circumstances that are out of out direct control. I see hunting as one (of several) ways to mitigate our circumstances.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

Biggest factor for me would be gas prices and availability of ammo/reloading components. In the past few years my hunting has been primarily for sport. I've passed many good eating deer because I'd rather look at them instead of eating them. Same goes for fishing. I've been pretty much "catch and release" for many years, limiting myself to 1 mess of panfish during our week up north, with the kids and grandkids. If gas prices skyrocket, then the amount of time spent hunting and fishing far from home might be limited. If shotgun ammo becomes even harder to find, my bird hunting would suffer. Got enough arrows and reloading supplies for a while so I'm good to go for deer.

So it seems like you and I are going in opposite directions for the same reason. Sounds like you're prepared to reduce your hunting while I'm planning to increase.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

Loosing Ukraine as a trading partner...

I wasn't concerned so much as Ukraine as a trade partner but rather what the impact from the war and, really, the sanctions will do to the global marketplace. Oil is shipped and sold globally. Any reduction in the supply anywhere in the world will result in higher prices everywhere in the world. The same is true for fertilizer. Russia is a significant player in the global oil and fertilizer markets.

Connect the dots. Price of fuel goes up. Fuel is an input cost for farmers and ranchers. As is fertilizer. (Grain has to be grown to feed livestock that is slaughtered and shipped to your grocery store.) Fuel is an input cost for shippers. Those two inputs alone have been and will continue to drive up food costs.

This is why I'm changing my hunting plans.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

In (correct) speculation about the economic decline and costs of food, I maxed out my limit on deer this past season (3 bucks, 2 does) to offset the cost of meat this year. Normally, I only kill 3 deer. Moving forward, the only costs associated with my deer hunting are items that are expended during the season: corn (cost has increased significantly, but I am feeding way more deer than I am killing, and investing in the future of the herd) appropriate ammunition (I am well stocked for the future, assuming I minimize the amount used to test fire/confirm zero, with all other rounds going into a deer- I used 4 rounds and 1 xbow bolt this past season) vacuum seal bags (to preserve large amounts of meat in the freezer) and fuel to get to the area I hunt (30 miles). Each deer I kill requires 4 bags of ice (to cool meat prior to final processing) at about $2 each from one of those machines where you bag it yourself. I also have sufficient ammunition and supplies to hunt doves and turkey, although these hunts (when successful) result in much less meat in the freezer. I already own everything else I use to hunt: guns, knives, coolers, clothing, popup blinds and stands, feeders, 4 wheeler, misc. equipment, and so on. Also, my Fl state hunting license is free. If anything, the overall situation incentivizes me to hunt more as it is a comparatively "cheap" activity to pass the time, increases overall levels of training in various tasks, and results in a stockpile of meat.

I'm pretty much right there with you. Except I envy your 30 mile hunting commute. I drive about 8-9 hrs one way, then I still go about 30 miles from the road. I've hog hunted in FL over corn. Those guys have it down to a science. In some ways, I think you're ahead of us down there in that there is no limit on hogs, and, as I recall, a pretty large limit on deer.