Cost of hunting beyond what most can pay?

R

roysclockgun

Handloader
Dec 17, 2005
736
0
I was 34 before I paid for my first hunt, a boar shoot in Tn., at $400 for the week, to include one boar, food and lodging, in 1976. This year, I booked another Mule Deer/Pronghorn hunt in NE Wyoming at $3200 plus $200 to the cook and a guide tip. When I first did this combo hunt in 1991, the cost was $1800 and seemed doable. $3200 is a stretch, but I am counting down to no longer being fit enough to go hunting at my age so, what the hell, pay the bucks and do it!
Is my perception of these hunts going beyond what the average working man can pay a perception unique to me? What do you think?
 
Roy,

The cost of a fully guided hunt is always out of reach for me. Married with 2 daughters and Arabian show horses always keep these hunts just out of reach!
I was invited by a friend to go on a televised moose hunt with Jim Schottky but the cost was more than I could afford. That hunt will air later this year. Maybe after my girls are through colledge, I can do my dream hunt.

JD338
 
Dude:

I live in Wyoming and thank God for that. If I did not and being an enlisted man in the USAF I would have to watch the outdoor channel to know what an elk/antelope look like.....let alone having my freezer full of them as I do now!
 
On the east coast, even in one's home state, much of the free hunting land is gone. In Balto. Co., 30 mins. from downtown Baltimore, I was hunting small game, upland birds and deer, very freely up until the 1970s. Now urban sprawl and growing antipathy toward all hunting has caused that hunting to disappear.
Certainly, if one spends some time networking, hunting can be fournd, but at a much higher cost in time and energy than used to be the case.
Because of all that, I no longer keep a bird dog, nor do I anticipate the coming of Autumn as I used to. I am happy in the fact that I enjoyed all sorts of hunting in my younger days, but I feel bad about youngsters unable to find or be able to afford the hunting that is left today.
N. American trophies of many species are more accessable today, IF one has the money. Because of imposing minimum sizes on antlers and horns, the numbers of "big ones" out there has increased, but for the most part, only at very high prices.
 
I too remember the good old days when I could travel 20 minutes from my front door in Connecticut and hunt for birds and squirrels. Those days are unfortunately gone forever. As far as big game hunts I saved for a number of years and booked a hunt in New Mexico circa 2000. Between airfare, guide, license and other amenities I spent $5000.00. Can't do that again. Now I try and hook up with a few friends and travel to Colorado for a do it yourself hunt. The cost is still in the area of 1600.00 which isn't bad but requires pinching pennies. As of late I've been hunting with a friend on a lease in Northwest Colorado which costs in the neighborhood of 2500.00 with everything included. Still expensive but doable with extra sidejobs during the course of the year. If you want it bad enough you'll figure out a way to make it happen plus, as Roy said. the years are catching up. Likewise with me at 62 years of age.
 
"big rifle man" you are walking on my heals, as I will be 64 if the Lord spare me until July.
The thing that amazes me is how many young men would spend thousands on firearms and never go on a dream hunt. When I had my shop, I had a number of men in their 30s and 40s, who drooled over the antlers and horns that I brought back from western states hunts. They'd look at photos of a week's hunting and ask: "What's a hunt like that cost?" I'd tell them the door to door price, maybe three grand and they'd just sigh and say, "Maybe someday!" and then order another $900 firearm, nearly duplicating a piece that I'd previously sold them. So, I suppose the old adage is true, "People will always buy what they want and not what they need!" I would rather take a used rifle on a wonderful hunting experience, rather than own a battery of fine rifles that never went anywhere, but that is just me.
 
"big rifle man" you are walking on my heals, as I will be 64 if the Lord spare me until July.
The thing that amazes me is how many young men would spend thousands on firearms and never go on a dream hunt. When I had my shop, I had a number of men in their 30s and 40s, who drooled over the antlers and horns that I brought back from western states hunts. They'd look at photos of a week's hunting and ask: "What's a hunt like that cost?" I'd tell them the door to door price, maybe three grand and they'd just sigh and say, "Maybe someday!" and then order another $900 firearm, nearly duplicating a piece that I'd previously sold them. So, I suppose the old adage is true, "People will always buy what they want and not what they need!" I would rather take a used rifle on a wonderful hunting experience, rather than own a battery of fine rifles that never went anywhere, but that is just me.
 
I have probably bought all the guns I will ever have. Enough for my boys and Son in law to each inherit a nice piece. At 49 I figure in another couple of years I may be able to think more about some hunts. As of now I have a couple of brother in laws out west and each has been great about hunting with them. But with 3 kids in their expensive years, there is no cushion for lots of hunting out of state.

Long
 
roysclockgun - outstanding point!

Most of us could do all our big game hunting with one good .30-06, a decent scope and some good ammo.

Then spend the rest on practice ammo, and trips to hunt elk, deer, bear or whatever strikes our fancy.

Hunting is as expensive as a fellow lets it become. The more a guy can do on his own, the less expensive it is.

Couple of years ago I grabbed a rifle I'd owned for nearly 30 years, used a quarter of a tank of gas, and one bullet. Oh yeah, I bought a license and a tag too. Shot a mulie. Butchered it myself. My buddies and I had a great time and I shot a nice sized deer for about $100.

Never have spent a lot of money on a hunt, but have brought down deer, wild boar, elk, predators, varmints and a mess of upland game along with some waterfowl.

Hunting sure can be expensive if a guy has to buy special tags and out-of-state licenses, pay for transportation and pay an outfitter and/or guide... But if a fellow does it himself... Or most of it - it's just not that expensive! Regards, Guy
 
Guy Miner did write: "Most of us could do all our big game hunting with one good .30-06..."

Well made point Guy. However, the vast majority of today's hunters simply do not have the availabillity of enough hunting and therefore turn to gathering a large battery to make up for that.
I had previously noted old customers of mine, who'd buy up most any "New" rifle model in any "New" cartridge, touted in the gun rags. To a man these men worked hard to support their families, but appeared to be out of shape for any sort of hard hunt. They had settled for being armchair hunters, sitting around wiping down firearms that were destined to never take game.
I do not mean to be critical. Everyone should do as they choose. I am just saying that the hunts are out there, although reasonably priced hunts are getting harder to find. One ranch on which I have hunted twice for deer and elk, is in the Colorado Rockies. The Rancher does not guide and merely rents the cabin and horses for $2500 a week, complete with bottled gas cook stove, heat, refrig, hot water and real beds. The horses are mountain bred and will go back to the cabin, even if YOU get lost. On each ride, I never missed seeing game, although I took only one bull during the two hunts. So, $500 a piece for that hunt is an inexpensive, real adventure these days.
Most hunters will find the hunts that fit their desires if they are genuinely motivated to do so. Doing so has gotten harder. Many ranches that offer unguided hunts can be found on the state sites. Or, contact the state's Chamber of Commerce to get in touch with ranchers.
 
The effects of which posters have written have broader implications. Our culture is changing, and when antihunters greatly outnumber hunters, our future will be bleak. We have to remember that hunting is a privilege and not a right. Thus, when the majority decide to eliminate this privilege, it will be time to surrender your guns. You gotta keep in mind that too damn man Americans haven't a clue of the intent of the Second Amendment...IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HUNTING BUT EVERYTHING TO DO WITH JOHN LOCKE!!! Moreover, our native population is in decline, "America" soon to be defined solely by immigants from nearly exclusively Third World countries. I do not believe anything will be done to reverse this trend. What has occurred in CA will become the law of the land, and by that I mean you will have to prove extensive rigmarole just to be deemed worthy to buy a gun!

By the way, the precursors for this cultural transformation were put in place during the 1960's. This, as Robert Bork opined, was when radical individualism was born...as was the intent to legalize the ability to deny that status to inconveniences immoral mothers carried in their "wombs." Would we "need" illegal immigrants had the lives of over 40 million babies been accorded due process?

The point here is that nothing in social science occurs in a vacuum. What has happened to hunting was predictable. All we can do now is predict the situation of out sport for our posterity.

Being a realist can sure cast a pall over one's morning...



Good hunting,

Tom
 
Wow! Tom1911, your last was heavy merde! Being very selfish for just a moment, I am going to say that I, personally will not worry about anything that you've said, because at the age of 63, I do not see those things affecting me. I wager that during the balance of my active hunting years, I will be able to lay down four figure lumps of money and go shoot the critters of my choice. Sorry for the younger guys, but each generation needs to clean up the mess left by the previous generations. Always been that way and always will be that way.
Modern communication has put "Leave It To Beaver" on the tubes of third world hovels. Those folks will no longer pick our coffee beans for three cents an hour, because they want to live as The Beav, Wally, June and Ward do! Very simple game. They are here to get those things and what they get has to come from someone else's pocket. Sadly the pockets are, and will continue to be, those of middle Americans, who believe that they cannot simply wait for Uncle Sugar to provide, but that they must generate cash for themselves. Sad thing is that Middle American Joe is now also providing for the family of Jose and Ahmed, who like Tom has said, are outbreeding Joe's numbers at a very rapid rate. Since Jose and Ahmed have no interest in continuing any of Middle American Joe's traditions, those traditions will die. Perhaps those deaths will be spread over the next 50 years or so.
 
roysclockgun,

The probelm with the new breed of immigrants, especially illgeal aliens, is that they will eventually vote. In the case of the illegal varity coming from Mexico and farther south, they do not believe in killing their babies, thank God, while believing in having lots of kids. Eventually the demographics of this country will change, and the culture will reflect that of the those dominating the electorate. Using CA as harbinger, illegal aliens never talk about making this country better. They demand largess from the government, especially variance in its laws. In essence, they stand in line demanding we give up our rights (vote Democrat, the party of gun confiscation) so that they can live here free from prosecution for violating federal laws, and for governmental largess: they disproportionately consume in tax dollars more than they contribute.

CA is forever lost to liberalism and gun confiscation. As soon as those of European decent can no longer protect this country, it will be on an irreversible course of becoming a Third World nation. Just like the greatest empire the world has ever known, Rome, the USA will perish because it refused to keep out the modern version of barbarians.

BTW, the realist side of me demands that I assess conditions and make predictions thereupon.

Check out: www.wehategringos.com when you get a chance. Using their owns words, especially those of Professor Jose Angel Gutierrez, they're not coming here to assimilate: THEY ARE COMING HERE TO RECONQUISTA!!! The reality is that they are operationalizing their plan! Once they win, we lose!


My best,

Tom
 
Tom wrote: ".....RECONQUISTA!!! The reality is that they are operationalizing their plan! Once they win, we lose! "

Again, no arguement from me, Tom. The great question is, what does one, as an individual do about all of that? Certainly there were and are men of low intellect who think that violence will solve the problems. That was what the Militia movement was all about, along with actions taken by Tim McVeigh and others that think along the same lines. There is a very thin line between Freedom Fighters, Anarcists and Terrorists. However, those types do change things. People are moved by the actions of the McVeighs, but usually in a negative direction. I don't see voting doing much good, as the candidates are all cut from the same cloth. I do vote, but usually only to keep someone out, not to vote someone in! (I did not want to see Terry Kerry running my government!) Certainly the Reconquistadors will out breed the Eurocentrics and eventually have the voting strength to demand their way. But by time that takes place, the vote may be even less important, as the world is divided up into fiefdoms run by power structures related to energy and banking. "What is good for General Motors is good for the USA!" (Change GM to Honda, BMW or WalMart and the meaning is the same.)
 
roysclockgun,

While there are many in the Mexican community advocating armed conflict such as Professor Gutierrez, who has said that Mexicans have to be prepared to kill gringos should we not die naturally quickly enough to effectuate reconquista, it appears they are set to achieve their goal via the American political process. For those adversely affected, there may be little we can do but go along with the pending cultural transition. As soon as those desiring this cultural change exceed 50% of the population, there will be nothing we can do to impede it. I guess I will just have to get used to being a foreigner in what was once my country.

Sadly, it is obvious that because we are told we have a labor shortage in this country, and because our government can't afford to imperil Social Security, politicians have forced us to live with an open border to our south. What we have to remember is that nothing happens in a vacuum in social science. With this open border will come consequences. When the massive influx of illegal aliens gain sufferage, we will experience drastic change. Hell, some clown in Orange County, CA, Larry "Nativo" Lopez, wants to legalize cockfighting in CA. Believe me, if this disgusting social vice of Mexico becomes legal in CA, legalizing soiled diapers on roadways will not be far behind!

I guess I ought to brush up on"Spanglish" because it won't be long that it is the official language of CA!!!


My best,

Tom
 
And here is the quote from Professor Gutierrez, who appears to be the Aztlan Nazi:

"We have an aging white America … They are dying …We have got to eliminate the gringo, and what I mean by that is if the worst comes to the worst, we have got to kill him."

Jose Angel Gutierrez, professor, University of Texas, Arlington and founder of the La Raza Unida political party
 
Tom,

This is insane! I figured that the maids would sneak back before I finished the artical. I wonder if the fiancial hardsip on the family is due to the lost wages or profit from theft.
Meanwhile, US unemployment is still there and illegal immigrates contributes to this.

JD338
 
JD338,

On a segment of the "OReilly Factroy" last night, the cultural change was discussed. He talked about a community in Long Island that has had its culture completey changed as illegal aliens took it over. It is happening in CA. As this state is accepting more illegal aliens, middle class whites are fleeing to other states. One could argue that this has occurred in the USA for decades, and it would be a sound argument as neighborhoods have undergone transformations of ethnicities. However, it all privious instances, the new immigrants assimilated and became Americans. This is not the case with immigrants from south of the USA border who openly defy American culture. These new immigrants have no intention of assimilating: they intend to instill their culture as dominant in America.

The Second Amendment is in peril from lots of angles. There are many ways it can be destroyed. As culture shifts in CA and new immigrants demand largess from "their" government, predict consequences. In CA, the process of purchasing a gun is so damn onerous that it is clear the intention is to outrightly discourage us from excerising our Second Amendment rights. Even though the Brady Bill was demonstrated a failure and allowed to lapse, CA still imposes retrictions even more harsh than it. I see absolutely no indication that CA will revert to days when guns were not demonized. In short, things will get far worse and never better. And who do we think keeps voting for the politicians who take away our gun rights...?

And people wonder why fewer and fewer Ameicans are enjoying the great sport of hunting...



Take care,

Tom
 
Tom I think you are one of the sharper persons at this web siteand you comments are allways well regarded so please do not think I am attacking you and I do not want to ofend you. I have seen and done things that are dif than other people and I just have a different opinion.
I know that there are many loud mouthed people and for some reason people believe that these activist speak for all imigrants aka Gutierrez. In my small piece of the world we hire and work with many imigrants. I am out in the heat along with them and we talk. Everyone of them think government giving money to people is silly. The biggest comment is why don't they work? I see many people working who are hurt. I know in many places the demographics are split 50/50 dem/rep Now there are those poor me gimmie gimmie groups of people every where and it sure seems like the cameras are all focused on them.
The people I see are hard working and will not take hand outs. I gave some kids pieces of gum and the Dad wanted to pay for it. I asked him why and he told me he does not want to be like those lazy people and to let his kids know if you take it you pay for it. Good integrity. As a gun activist these are the people I want. I have an easy time convincing them about individual rights and examples of how socialism hurts everything. Some of these people will be U.S. citizens (Canadians and Argentinians are Americans also) and they will enter the U.S. legally. It will take them up to 8-10 years. Also all of them that I know believe that English must be spoken well. As far as not wanting to become americanized what I see is people not wanting to be called Mexican american or Columbian american just U.S. Of course this is not all of them but it is a very large group. My family has owned a large farm/ranch in Montana and I have protected the California Arizona New Mexico Texas and even parts of La. border for 8-9 years. This is where my opinion has come from, not one guy on cable T.V. Also while working the border I never met an alien who knew who Gutierrez was.
I ramble.
Crossing the border with out the U.S. gov aproval is wrong! ....But there is a legal group of people that the gun activist should be looking to recruit not crush. I am not interested in losers on any side of the border or where they were born. I like Oreilly but I think he is concentrating on this loser group. Too many people want to follow and not form their own opinion. Individualism is allmost dead. Orielly I want no one to be assimulated. Follow the law yes!! I like Chinese food fire crakers, fish and chips, bag pipes, sushi and anything else this great melting pot has to offer.
There are people here that could help support capitalism, NRA and hard work ethics not hand outs. We should be concentrating on this area not bums. Recruit and strengthen our cause. Plenty of people will go after the bums.
 
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