The Cost of Hunting

[Beaners]

I love the idea of hunting in season instead of buying meat from the store. But everyone always goes on and on about how it is so much cheaper than buying meat, or even raising it.

But when I lived in Tennessee, one of the guys I worked with was always complaining about how expensive it was to hunt. He said that he had to pay a couple hundred for his license, and then deer tags were $75 each. He also had to pay extra for each season that he had added onto his general license. This is a far cry from "the cost of a single bullet" that I hear some people talk about.

As a disclaimer, I am not sure which state he was hunting in, but I know he had residency in that state. (He was going to college and working in Memphis, but he lived somewhere else.) I think he must have been referring to either Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, or possibly Tennessee, but I could be mistaken.

So, can I get some financial data from the hunters on the board? I agree that it is healthier than factory farmed meat, and that the self sufficiency it provides is a good thing. I just would like to know a little bit more about the costs from people who live in different parts of the country.

Kayleigh

[ksfarmer]

All I can speak to is my situation in Kansas. I can get a "hunt my own land" either sex, deer permit for $17.15. I don't even need a regular hunting licence, as long as I hunt only land I own. That and the cost of the bullet is all the cash I need if I process the deer myself. However, if you figure in costs such as , deer rifle,, knife , hatchet and other processing tools,,and all the other things a hunter thinks is necessary, the cost goes up rapidly.

[hillsidedigger]

The meat from hunting is only cheaper than meat from the store if you hunt very close to home not taking days or weeks off from work, are successful and do the butchering yourself (and don't invest in 4-wheel drive trucks with trailers and ATVs just for hunting). Paying to have wild game butchered might cost close to what the meat would be worth.

Many hunters that I know drive across the state or across several states for hunting trips, often making multiple trips before the season in order to scout an area.

[mwhit]

My sportsman license (small game, big game and fishing) was $37...

Michelle

[Jerngen]

A resident deer license here is $15 versus A NON-resident deer license is $138
Here we pay a seperate $15 fee for each type of hunting/trapping we wish to do tho.
So if you were going to hunt deer, small game, waterfowl...... it would cost $45.

[Windy in Kansas]

My brother pretty well has goose hunting down to a science and gets birds regularly when no one else in his area is.

Using a shotgun shell with Hevi-Steel is something he discovered soon after the opening of the current season. His kill rate improved dramatically. However I think he said they cost more than $2.50 per round. The geese he has been getting have varied greatly in weight so I couldn't put a cost per pound on the meat.

http://www.cabelas.com/link-12/produ...3215603a.shtml

I don't know what his deer permits cost but he often qualifies for several and usually fills them all with a kill. He processes the carcasses himself so has little cost other than wrapping paper or whatever he uses for freezing.

I do know that he would hunt whether the target would go into the freezer or not. I know that because he goes to a gun range too, also the old tree stump out back of his house attests to that as well.

I also know that he will pick up not badly damaged road killed rabbits to give to their cats.

[pancho]

I used to hunt quite a bit and still have friends that hunt.

One friend owns his own land and can walk out the back door and hunt. His costs is very little. I have another friend that does it a little different. While we were at work we decided to see what he invested in hunting.

First he lives in town so must lease a place to hunt.
He bought a four wheeler to ride around in the woods. Of course he had to have a way to get it to the lease so he bought a 4 wheel drive pickup and a trailer. He is getting a little older so he wasn't able to lift anything heavy so he bought one of those attachments for his 4 wheeler that will load the deer for you. He bought a small tractor and implements to keep the food plots in shape. He had a enclosed deer stand built complete with electricity, heat, and computer. Around his deer stand he installed an infared system that notifies him by computer when a deer is in the area. Also bought a heat detector to find wounded game. He always buy the latest rifles so had to have a gun safe for them. Then there is always the license and deer processing, if he kills one.
He has gone quite a bit overboard with hunting. For the last two years he hasn't even killed a deer.

So you can see there is quite a range of cost for hunters. It can be cheap food or it can cost a fortune.

[agmantoo]

Here in NC I can hunt my own property without a license. I can kill 2 bucks and 4 does within the initial limit and I can get additional tags for does. The furtherest that I drive is a mile down the road to the "other" place. I process my own venison. I do own a good gun, a meat grinder, a cuber and a $35 cooler and a few knives and a sharpening steel. The gun and the tool investment has to date been spread over 78 deer. I enjoy hunting and I only hunt early mornings on good weather days. Our deer aren't overly large and deboned I probably average about 40 lbs of premium venison per animal harvested. So that comes to 3120 lbs of edible nutritious hormone free lean tasty meat. No matter how you look at it, this meat is a bargain.

[RedneckPete]

Originally Posted by agmantoo

Our deer aren't overly large and deboned I probably average about 40 lbs of premium venison per animal harvested.

To shoot, gut skin and debone a deer is at least three hours work, assuming you spend no time looking or waiting for the game. To grind and bag it into useful size packages is at least another couple hours including cleanup.

If your time is worth even $10 an hour, your nearly free venison is costing you $1.20 a pound, cheap meat yes, but certainly not next to nothing.

If you are paying at any step of the way, the meat quickly becomes far more expensive then anything you could buy.

Pete

[Cascade Failure]

Originally Posted by ksfarmer

All I can speak to is my situation in Kansas. I can get a "hunt my own land" either sex, deer permit for $17.15. I don't even need a regular hunting licence, as long as I hunt only land I own. That and the cost of the bullet is all the cash I need if I process the deer myself. However, if you figure in costs such as , deer rifle,, knife , hatchet and other processing tools,,and all the other things a hunter thinks is necessary, the cost goes up rapidly.

Similar expenses and conditions here. Many of the mentioned items are one time costs.

[EDDIE BUCK]

Well I enjoy hunting even when I don't get any deer I still enjoy being out in the woods. Most years I'll kill three or four deer thats about all me and my wife will eat. If I was trying to get a good deal on deer meat compared to beef, pork or chicken, all I would do is put the word out that I wanted deer, and in a couple weeks I would have enough deer to last me and my wife for a couple years. How you might ask ? Ever heard of Hunters for The Hungry? Well the REDNECK version is do you want this deer cause I don't want to mess with cleaning it. There you go, thats the deal, Ain't burned any gas, bought any tags, fed no dogs, no trail camera, no deer calls, or urine, no deerstand,no club dues, no hunting clothes, and ain't shot no bullet and last but not least, don't have to hear"Are you going hunting again today? " Like I SAID I ENJOY HUNTING THATS ALL.

[nathan104]

It depends on where you hunt and if you process your own meat. If you are one of these guys that pay $1000 on up for a hunting lease every year then it is very expensive meat. Processing can be expensive as well. Last year I took two deer. License cost me about $40. There was the cost of the two bullets, and that was about it. Hunted on a farm for free. So total cost of about 100lbs of meat was less than $50 even including gas.

This year, I only took one doe. License was actually cheaper since moving to TX. Hunted on Army corp of engineer land at Wright patman lake which was free to hunt. But, it was a two hour drive there and back. So, total cost for about 40lbs of meat was probably $60.

I process my own meat. Its very easy to do. If you pay to have this done its generally $75-$200 depending on weight and what you want done.

There will always be the initial cost of gear. Rifles are expensive. Hunting gear is expensive. But, it lasts a lifetime. And, even if I didnt hunt anymore, Id still have the gear anyways.

The majority of cost associated with hunting in Texas though is if you are paying for a lease. The prices are insane. Thats why I hunt public land, its free. In Arkansas I hunt on our old neighbors farm. She still lets me whenever I want to.

So, it can be very very expensive or it can be extremely cheap. Hope that helps

[nathan104]

Originally Posted by RedneckPete

To shoot, gut skin and debone a deer is at least three hours work, assuming you spend no time looking or waiting for the game. To grind and bag it into useful size packages is at least another couple hours including cleanup.

If your time is worth even $10 an hour, your nearly free venison is costing you $1.20 a pound, cheap meat yes, but certainly not next to nothing.

If you are paying at any step of the way, the meat quickly becomes far more expensive then anything you could buy.

Pete

You cant figure it like that though. Its not a job. Its a hobby or past time or something you enjoy. When you watch tv at home or go biking, are you adding $10 an hour up in your head to say that it is costing you? Sitting out in the woods is relaxing. Just like going fishing. As for the hours you spend processing your game, unless you are taking off work to do it, its not costing you either. Time better spent doing that than watching tv or sitting around. Its just part of it.

[ksfarmer]

Originally Posted by nathan104

So, it can be very very expensive or it can be extremely cheap.

Yep, I know some who travel from back east to Kansas and pay for a guided hunt at $3000 per 5 day hunt , but, most of them only want a trophy and those antlers sure are tough eating.

[Mike in Ohio]

We have our own land (our farm) here in Ohio. We don't need a hunting license (for deer...I believe we would have to get a Federal waterfowl if we were going after certain birds) and we don't have to pay for a tag. On the other hand, if you consider the mortgage on the farm ......

If you are hunting on something other than your own land then you have to pay for a hunting license and deer tags.

Mike

[homesteadforty]

Originally Posted by RedneckPete

To shoot, gut skin and debone a deer is at least three hours work, assuming you spend no time looking or waiting for the game. To grind and bag it into useful size packages is at least another couple hours including cleanup.

If your time is worth even $10 an hour, your nearly free venison is costing you $1.20 a pound, cheap meat yes, but certainly not next to nothing.

If you are paying at any step of the way, the meat quickly becomes far more expensive then anything you could buy.

Pete

That reminds me of something my grandpappy used to say:

"He that counts all costs would never put plough in the earth".

Heck, if I figured my pay as $10 an hour, and then every single possible related expense for every thing I did... I'd be losing money just breathing.

How much should I charge myself for typing this... a good secretary probably makes at least $12 an hour.

[myminifarm]

I hunt my own land but also belong to a hunting club. The hunting club is around $100-$150 yr
My license fees for small game/big game/fishing/bow/muzzleloader (super sportsman license)$68.00 & trapping license was $16.00 total $84.00, here in NY

[DavidUnderwood]

I hunt on my own land.
I'd own it if I didnt hunt
I'd own guns even if I didnt hunt.
All my skinning and meat handling equipment
is used year round on a variety of animals.
What is more, I'd probly hunt even if
there was no meat at the end of my
rainbow!
How can you figure the cost of that?
What is an afternoon in peace and quiet,
back in the woods, all alone worth?
Then some stinking deer interupts it all!

[sugarbush]

Hunting is a hobby, or maybe a sport, in the lower 48 its not a way to feed the family. I just went and counted 14 unfilled deer tags in my shooting box. two cost 95.00, two cost 50.00 and the other 10 cost 37.50 each. Thats what? 665.00 in unfilled tags?

I hunt alot less than I used to, mostly because I cant afford to drive out to a place pre-season to scout, and again to hunt several times.

If you hunt because you enjoy it do so, but if all you want is cheap meat most states have roadkill lists you can get on as well as hunters for the hungry. Just call your local Game Warden.

[Momwannabe]

I don't know where you can buy fresh venison for $1.20/pound. Or $2/pound. Or even $5/pound. And that's IF you could find it.

We took 3 small deer this year on our farm. We each (2 hunters) had to have a firearms license ($26), which allowed us each one buck, and extra doe permits were $13 each. We could have gotten an extra landowner permit for a doe at no charge, but if you do that you then have to open your land to other hunters. We do let people hunt on our place but we don't like to have strangers hunting, so we chose not to do that and instead paid for the extra doe tag. Shells- about 75 cents each.

I was surprised at how little meat we got from each deer (just under 40 pounds each). Normally we would process our own, but we were scrambling to get the farm ready for this winter and decided to take them to the processor. Our 120 lbs of meat turned out to be a lot more expensive per pound than normal. Next year we will hunt bigger deer and process them ourselves.

We each have a deer rifle, not sure how many deer hubby has taken with his, probably about 1 per year for the last 15 years. I have taken 3 in 2 years with mine. But, figure we have 25 more years to hunt, and broken down the cost of each gun is not too high. Also, the guns hold their value well and much of the purchase price can be recovered if the guns are later sold. Hubby says that you can get a decent used rifle w/scope for $250-500. Of course, you can spend a lot more, too! But you don't have to.

But, even though our meat was more expensive this year, it was well worth it- best venison I have ever tasted.