Why do we keep doing this ?

[BerdanSS]

Bill Bucks

You forgot the most important part you should of capped that off with like on a visa commercial:


That feeling you get when the sun crests the far off hill, glinting off the cold barrel of your favorite rifle in the chill morning air.....priceless

[reynolds357]

My major cost is seed, diesel fuel, and fertilizer.
The good ole Federal gubmint pays for a little of that. I enjoy farming. I actually like messing with the food plots better than I like hunting. I am going to buy rifles, scopes, and ammo anyway; because I have to consistently shoot my favorite thing to hunt, Paper.

[Brian Pfleuger]

Priceless isn't the word I'd use for that morning chill. If God had wanted man to see the sunrise he'd have put it much later in the day.

I hate morning hunting. I keep trying, must be masochistic. Never shoot a thing. Probably 95% of the deer I've killed have been afternoon/sunset and I don't even have to get up early to do it.

[reynolds357]

I agree Brian. 95% of my deer have been shot after 5 PM.

[BerdanSS]

Really? I could sit anywhere in the woods I hunt ALL day till dark. And I can guarantee you if I don't get in there at legal 1/2 before sun up...I won't be bringing home a deer. All the deer taken from that property have been shot normally between 8 and 10 am...never later than noon. I'm a morning person though. Getting up at 5am, stopping at the gas station swapping "I'll get one before you do" friendly trash talk with the other hunters huddled around the coffee machines, the brisk hike to the stand....Boy! cant beat it fellers

[jimbob86]

Probably 95% of the deer I've killed have been afternoon/sunset and I don't even have to get up early to do it.

New York deer must sleep in ..... I get 50%+ of mine within 30 minutes of 7:30AM ..... some as late as 10-10:30 ...... afternoons, you gotta work for 'em, pushing them out of wherever they are...... generally a low pecentage proposition.

I've got a few at last light ...... but most of them come wandering by the Killin' Tree right after sunrise, checking the scrape lines or following a doe ......

[tahunua001]

also a consideration is that all I take are backstraps, tenderloins, and quarters(liver and heart too if they aren't blasted). boned out and trimmed a 200LB buck doesn't provide much more than 80LBs of meat, the dogs get almost as much as we do.

aside from my most recent doe, all of my deer are last light deer.

[ZeroJunk]

The upside to killing one in the morning is that you don't have to be fumbling around in the dark after the deed is done.

[globemaster3]

Ok guys (and gals) the esteemed Jeff Foxworthy has already gone through this drill for us here

$162/pound! "And that's not including my time and poker money!"

And leave it to Kraig to bring it back into perspective! Without my oldest, I would have been blissfully ignorant of the need to bring (non-camo) makeup on a hunting trip! Or the fact you can find enough wildflowers to make a headband just on the walk to the ground blind! Not certain I had ever taken notice of the wildflowers before that one! And not to be forgotten, there was the hunting trip where that all defining moment in female maturation begins with my little hunting partner and I am 900 miles away from the wife who is much more versed in these things. Boy, was I underprepared for that one!

And for jimbob, go watch the movie The Patriot. You might be able to take away a gameplan using a burlap bag. That should help you sleep a little better.

[jimbob86]

And not to be forgotten, there was the hunting trip where that all defining moment in female maturation begins with my little hunting partner and I am 900 miles away from the wife who is much more versed in these things. Boy, was I underprepared for that one!

That certainly tops me trying to tell my 8 y.o. daughter how to pee outdoors in the middle of nowhere without sprinkling her pants ...... but on the bright side, once she figured it out, she schooled her sister!

This season will be very interesting: The Boyfriend (of 3 years) is going to Deer Camp with us ...... He's never hunted ............ tomorrow we are going deer rifle shopping, because he wants his own gun. I have plenty of rifles, but he wants his own. I like the kid.

[globemaster3]

I like the kid

That helps. Just remember the burlap sack, needle, and thread...

[jimbob86]

We won't be bundling them ...... separate sleeping quarters for the boys and girls, I think.

[kraigwy]

When you bring kids, they have to keep up with homework.



And there is bonding;



And snowmen



And the fashion shows:



Sign???? What Sign



You can't put a price on memories.

[Sure Shot Mc Gee]

I don't look at deer hunting as a dollar and cents thing. It is what it is. I see my son maybe 3-4 times a year. So its more of a bonding thing for us. That one week every year. He gets to see how much I've aged and slowed. I get to notice him doing the same_ "as the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."_ Cribbage board, good food, Coor's beer and old hunting friends dropping in make our week together go by too fast for my liking. That's why I can't place a value on my hunting harvest or the time it takes. Its absulity priceless.

Can anyone tell me why I'm so anxious to get back out there next week-end, and do it again?

As I recall your ATV accident happen last year around this time? My guess. "glutton for punishment maybe?~?"~~~~Ah Just kidding WBB_
A more appropriate answer: "You love this time of year and being outdoors as we all do." <This is my best guess you 'ol bushwhacker you._

[PawPaw]

It's cheaper than duck hunting. The last year I duck hunted (and I quit when they started requiring steel shot) we put it to paper and ducks cost us over $25.00 per pound. When you start figuring blinds, decoys, hip boots, things get expensive really quick.

[Wild Bill Bucks]

I have 4 children ( all grown now) and 7 grandkids ages 3 to 17 years old, along with 6 other kids that might as well be mine with all the meals I fed them when they were growing up. None of them have ever been in the scouting organizations, and thus have missed out on a lot of what that brings to a kid.

I was an Eagle scout when I was younger, and loved every minute of it, so through the years, I have managed to bring a lot of the skills I learned from knot tying to tracking game, to fire starting, to you name it, and they have learned a lot of things from me through the years. This is not meant to be a brag, but I have been these kids hero, for a lot of years, and they would not let me stay home from deer camp if they had to carry me there.

I have a great time with them every year, and whether I actually shot a round at all, I would enjoy the weeks we spend together. I'm glad to hear others that have this same frame of mind, as probably the best thing a man can be remembered for at his passing, is the memories and skills he leaves others that they will reflect on and hopefully pass on to their children.

[sc928porsche]

'cause its FUN!!!! By the end of the year, it gets real expensive if you engage in other sports too (fishing, skiing, automobile racing, etc.).

[mxsailor803]

Well, here is my simple thoughts. I quit smoking/dipping and quit drinking. Hunting/guns is one of my few vices that won't kill me slowly lol. After looking at the OP figures, made me realize how much I saved by processing my own meat. Figure my cuber was $200, grinder was $500, and professional butcher grade slicer that I did some gun tuning and testing for. In roughly 2 years, all my equipment is paid for. Heck when I was in High School, it paid for it self in one season. My dad and I rolled 20 between the two of us. Had a over population problem. One thing I do know, the day I don't get the shakes and excited everytime I put the crosshairs on any game, I'll quit hunting and take up basketweaving or something lol.

[Double Naught Spy]

Over multiple trips...
ammo cost $100
vehicle expenses $600
travel expenses $200
incidental expenses $100

The value of being able to be gone when the MIL visits - PRICELESS

[shortwave]

[/QUOTE]The value of being able to be gone when the MIL visits - PRICELESS [/QUOTE]



Come to think about it, hunting isn't really that expensive after all.

[johnwilliamson062]

Well, it can be done a lot cheaper.
I use a ML with iron sights for all white tail hunting now. I bought a $150 dollar sight for a rifle a few years ago and it was more than enough.
Process my own deer.
Usually hunt a local public area during bow, bonus, and ML season. Only making the three hour drive to private land during gun season.

[Art Eatman]

Really, to me the money was the least part of the deal. It's all the outdoor stuff and campfire doings that make it all worthwhile.

Messing with critters when sneaky-snaking, sitting around in a stand or on a hillside and watching the world, swapping stories in the evening...

Standing by the campfire with a drink, a beer or a cup of coffee, slowly doing the "vertical rotisserie" game to stay warm...

Heck, staring at the coals from a small fire when I'm on a solo hunt, thinking about the hundreds of generations of hunters who have done the same before me...

Worth every penny...

[BIG P]

There's just something about hearing that high power rifle echo through the hills & the sound of a chain saw in the distance not to forget the smell of ham & eggs & coffee on the camp fire.I could care less about the cost,I feel BLESSED just to be able to do it.A real country boy I'AM.
There is to much other stuff to complain about other than time in the COUNTRY!!!!

[SPEMack618]

I think what keeps me going back is the sense of comradeship I get with my hunting buddies.

I feel closer to a friend of mine, who I have spent hours standing in freezing water, not seeing any ducks, and making tenative plans to "do something later tonight."

Or looking out over an empty field for an entire night hoping to see a coyote.

And then there is the ever popular I took my little sister hunting story, and enjoyed having her around deer camp, and how my field jacket swallowed her up and my wool socks went to her knees. I treasure moments like that.

[BoogieMan]

My cost per lb of fish last year---$16-$18
Cost of Venison last year--------$10 +-

We sure dont do it for the cheap cost of living. I must admit that beer and wine costs drove the cost per lb of meat ski high. New quad this year is going to really drive my per lb cost through the roof. Im already $7k in the hole before I even climb the stand.
You cant put a value on a week in the woods with your kids and close friends.
I have eaten in 5 Star restaurants and paid $100+ per plate. Not even close to the quality and taste of a marinated back strap cooked on an open fire with a few glasses of homemade wine.