The true costs of venison
This makes me think of the old adage "there's no such thing as a free lunch".
I hunt in western NY where we have very limited public land. I tried to hunt public land when I first started hunting - and was confronted by an army in orange.
I've long since bought some property to serve as my hunting camp, where my friends and family hunt with me. While they get off "cheap" just paying for tags, gear, firearms, ammo, meals, etc., I have the cost of the property and the yearly taxes coming from my wallet.
I concur with the other thoughts here: no one goes hunting for the sake of the cost of the meat. It's all about the experience and the relationships, and the time in the woods.
Any meat harvested is just a small bonus in comparison.