Honest question about hunting economics

[HOGGHEAD]

As far as expense it really depends on where you live. If you live in the country and have close access to places to hunt then yes, you can easily hunt and save money on the grocery bill. I live in rural WV and I know lots of hunters that do this. They do not need the fanciest rifle, and the best scope on the market. Most of therm hunt with a 30-30 or an older Sporterized Springfield.

Just get out and spend some time in the woods and shoot some game. I know families who will eat 5 or 6 ground hogs a week. I some times take clean killed ground hogs to them(small ones with head shots). Tom.

[stevelyn]

That depends a lot on whether it's a hobby or lifestyle.

For those of us that live in the bush, hunting is definitely cheaper than shopping. It also adds more pressure to be successful because it'll be long and expensive winter if you're not. Same with fishing.

I have halibut, salmon, crab and shellfish right out my from door. Most folks would go broke trying to buy retail and live on the halibut I caught and put away last year on a subsistence longline. All it cost me was gas and hooks (and beer for the batter ).

When I lived along the Yukon River, we had salmon and freshwater species, we didn't/don't screw around sportfishing with rods and reels either. We use nets and on the river depending where you were we also used fishwheels. It's a harvest. No catch and release there. Same with hunting. You whack the first legal animal you see that can feed you for a year.

There is an initial outlay in procuring equipment (boats and snowmachines are absolutely necessary), but once you have it, it begins paying for itself.

For urban dwellers, there aren't any savings unless you have convenient access to prime hunting grounds within reasonable distances. By the time you figure in travel, meals, lodging (for you soft types), additional transportation such as air or boat, meat processing fees and extra freight to ship it home you haven't saved squat. In fact you've probably went into the hole a few hundred dollars.

[LanceOregon]

I don't understand what the point of this question is? Is there an implication that hunting can only be justified if it is economically feasible? The post seems to be dishonestly put to me.

It always bothers me when a post starts out with a statement claiming what the post is not supposed to be.

.

[Desertfox]

Hunting costs me less than $3.00 per hour.
Every other form of entertainment costs more.
Movie costs $7. an hour unless you get a drink and popcorn and it goes up.
Golf costs 15. per hour, if a round costs $60. with a cart and if the clubs, tees, shoes, bad clothing and balls are free.
Baseball, Softball, soccer, hockey,football,tennis, etc. All cost more.

I also receive some ammount of psycho therapy being next to nature.

It also teaches patience, concentration, respect, restraint, and many more lessons not mentioned.

Is hunting based on price per pound of meat? Not for me.

[deanadell]

economics?!?!?!

This year I bought a new 2 cylce tiller for my daughters little garden spot. Couple bags of peat moss. Hauled a pick-up load of horse manure. Bought plants and seeds.....etc, etc, etc... I'm sure you're all aware of this lovely liitle drought were having in the southeast. Well went dry, couldn't water the garden, so I ended up with a bowl of radishes and one lousy tomato I figure cost me somwhere in the neighborhood of $900 a pound.....


SOOooooo.....the venison in my freezer is looking like a pretty darn good bargain to me right now

[johnwilliamson062]

My analysis did not include a factor for time spent either as I assume I will enjoy tracking/hunting as much or more than backpacking and would thus be out doing it whether I had a rifle or not for fun. If you factor time spent and make 15+ an hour (about 30k a year salary) I doubt it would be cost effective considering time.

[Norrick]

eating something that you have caught yourself I think makes it taste better.

[DKA]

Hunting is like everything else, you control what you spend. If everyone looked at it from purely an economic view, it could probably be done, but would not be very easy, and that would depend on where you live. Don't buy a gun that you want, buy the cheapest, in my case, I can walk 100 yds and take a deer (either sex), use all kitchen knives etc. to process and you could probably save money if you eat every bit of the meat, but wouldn't be a lot of enjoyment.

[Jack O'Conner]

It depends on travel distance, additional lodging, license fees, and food costs.

For example, the hunter who walks out his back door into the forest to hunt has very low cost factors. But the hunter who travels hundreds of miles or halfway across the continent will spend considerably more. Out of state license fees are getting spendy, too.

I like to hunt elk in neighboring Wyoming. But non-resident license and trespass fees are getting to the point where its not cost effective.

Not many folks here in Spearfish, SD earn more than $40K per year. Housing and food costs are considerably more than areas closer to farming and manufacturing centers. The hunter from Ohio or Pennsylvania earns more and has less living expenses, too. These hunters have the ways and means to hunt "out west". So there are are income factors to consider as well.

I like to hunt in Bucks County, Pennsylvania with my old Air Force buddy. True, this venison is costly when travel and other factors are considered. But I like to think of it as a friendly visit with bonus hunt instead of just a friendly visit.

Good hunting to you.
Jack

[Csspecs]

I don't think I can beat the 32 cent a pound Turkeys I bought last month or the 2.00 a pound beef this next week.... I do much better hunting than most, I ride a bicycle to my hunting spot, so I don't have to pay for lodging or gas. Deer hunting is a waste as I buy the tag and have yet to down one.

I bought the guns because I wanted them, and I like skeet shooting so when hunting I figure I am saving money on clays.

[Buzzcook]

Depends and it depends. My ex-son-in-law lived on a farm in South Dakota. Going pheasant hunting for him meant walking or driving to the "backyard". The one time I went with him we flushed 5 birds each in less time than it takes to tell about it.
He filled one of his deer tags just about the same way.

My own case out on the coast is different. I'm out $100 in gasoline just to get there and back again. For the last decade or so I've hunted as a quest on private land, so that's at least another $100 in gifts and beverages.
So before I even lace up my boots I'm out $200

[Art Eatman]

The absolute last thing that ever concerned me was the cost per pound of Bambi. I spent what I could afford for the package deal that the hunt is to me: Messing around in big open country, sitting around the campfire with friends and family, getting away from citified BS. There is a lot more to it, of course, but that'll do for the bare bones.

A deer on the ground? Fun's over, work starts. The fun restarts after the cooking is done.

How much per pound is a happy memory worth?

And, to be brutally honest, the last thing on God's green earth about which I care one iota is anybody else's opinion about my hunting. It's what I do. It's what I've done since I was a kid. Starting somewhere around 1941, with my grandfather's .22 rimfire rifle.

[Buckmaster]

Art! To me the hunt is all about good times with good friends and family enjoying God's outdoors! There is just something about being around the campfire enjoying food prepared over an open fire with good friends. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the hunt too, but as Art said the work begins when the animal is on the ground! And another thing, it's not about the size or B & C score! If you get a good buck that's just a bonus!