Another Reason
 

Another reason I hunt for deer, beside the obvious ones like relaxation, love of the outdoors, thrill of the hunt, (I'm not a head hunter so I won't use bragging rights.) the incredible satisfaction of taking a deer with a muzzle loader, and others I'm probably missing right now, is to ease the annual cost of my grocery bill for the year. Of course this year it is to help recoup some or all the money I have spent on the sport this year also. I was astounded at the price when I ran out of ground venison this year and had to buy hamburger at the grocery store. So, maybe I'm wrong, if I remember right it cost something like $5.00 a pound for cheap ground hamburger. now let me say I got 55lbs of ground venison from the 2 does I harvested and multiply that by $5.00 and you get $275.00. But try to remember that ground venison, if you can buy it, is one heck of a lot more expensive than hamburger. My wife looked it up once and I was amazed at how expensive it was.
So anyway. I think I have gotten a good start on keeping down the grocery bills this year. I still have a ways to go though.

its healthier for you too.

Never see a meat recall on the news due to some FDA inspector taking some $$ under the table to pass bad meat off.

Again puckit,

For a guy who was leaving the forum for being a trespasser, you sure dont follow your word do you?
But then again you are a trespasser so your word dont mean anything anyway.
Please dont send me PM's about your problems any more!!!

I usually put three deer a year in the freezer. As far as I can figure it cost me something between $80 and $90 a pound. :s2:

It's pretty expensive for me, what with hunting lease cost, planting food plots, tractor upkeep, gas in the truck to and from the lease, etc., etc. On the other hand, I spend every Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the lease from October through January, and use the range about two weekends a month from March to mid-June. So I figure I'm spending around a dollar an hour for and awful lot of entertainment and relaxation. See, you can justify anything. :p

Actually because now in Wisconsin we are limited to one deer for the gun season... the cost of venison increased dramatically. When you consider the hunting license, hunting clothing, gas to go to and from the woods, if you hunt away from home you have hotel, restaurant, bar tabs, miscellaneous items, and lets not forget the powder, projectiles, and that rifle you had to have. Throw in a knife or two, and it gets expensive.

Really though if you just figured the license, to have the animal butchered if you can not do that yourself, the cost of having sausage made if you can not do that also, then gas to go hunting, and pocket money.. that #55 pounds of meat gets pretty expensive.

What I am getting at is.. I never figure the venison at so much a pound. If I did that, I would sell off my gun collection and purchase a butchered beef every year for many years, with the money from the sales.

Try over $800 spent total in Colorado and walked away seeing 4 deer and 4 elk. Those 5 grouse we got were REALLY expensive!

It cost me about $150 to get a cow. About 200lbs or so. I've seen elk for sale for $27 lb.

I'm stuffing my face with elk as I type this.

I thought my hunting was done this year, but a land owner just gave me a voucher for a doe. I have until Feb to get one. I'm going to wait until it cools off some, and then break in the new Optima.

As the title states. It's another reason. Certainly not the only or the main reason. Before this year I used one rifle, a .50 caliber Thompson Center Hawkins. I only took it out for deer season and only shot it as many times a year as deer I shot at. As for gas, The property I hunt is 20 minutes away. So the cost per deer was very low. It will take some time to make up ground with all the money I spent on guns and range time but I will make it up. I already have a good start.

Dang Muley, that's really cost effective. I have a venison meat loaf in the oven right now. I can hardly wait until it's done.

Yeah, I got it 25 miles away, so I stay home every night, and go early in the morning. Plus I do my own butchering. Not like a pro would butcher it, but i'm the only one eating it, and i'm not fussy. Meat is meat. It all taste the same to me.

Also, I don't spend much money at a range. Once the gun is sighted in. I'm good.

So, my expenses are simple. An elk licence..$49..a couple of tanks of gas, and a bunch of energy drinks.

Oh, and one bullet. :D

Tag 24.00
gas for three trips 150.00
processing fee 110.00
Misc. Sundries 20.00

304.00 per approx. if lucky, 50 lbs. of boneless meat = 6.08 a lb. I can buy some steaks for that, on sale at the local Kroger. I average a deer about every three trips, is how i figured gas. I do process my own but, alot of hunters do not. It has to be a sport and someone enjoy it, because it gets exspensive when you add it up.

Now see if I was like in Falcon's shoes.... I'd be living fat off the hog. It would be all I would eat for meat. I don't care what it costs to hunt. But in the last few years, I stick pretty close to home. And I hate to say this.. its not important if I get one or not. I just like being out in the woods. But the deer is a bonus without a doubt.

It's not going to pay off with those skinny little whitetails.

You need some elk boys!

I agree, my brother keeps trying to get me to go hunting with him, he lives in Utah. But if i remember right, a out of state tag is like 1200.00 bucks. still not worth it.

There are some many hogs down here you get to the point you run out of freezer space then you run out of people to give the meat too

I think Montana is $900 too. Colorado is a bargain at $550 now.

No kidding... I bet that would be fun to hunt them when ever you felt like fresh pork... Good way to test bullets too. :happy0001:

When it comes to hunting I am a cheapskate. I usually hunt within walking distance of our home but sometimes will drive a few miles to my cousins place. We do our own butchering so that is basically free and to me the butchering is a big part of the whole experience. So for us the meat is a bonus.
Just don't figure the cost of my rifles into the equation, they are an investment. :happy0001:

Utah's deer tags with the license are a little over $300.00 for OOS folks.elk are quite a bit more.my buddy was hunting Utah this weekend and took a really nice muley..

My Louisiana resident "old fart" license for big game/small game/turkey/waterfowl/freshwater fish/saltwater fish, etc. is $5.

They have to give you something to live there.

At least we have plenty of oxygen Muley. The lack of which at your altitude seems to have affected your poor old brain.

Oxygen is overrated.

your on to something there SeMI:s1:

Me too, I hate paying license fees and tag fees and whatnot. My family owns the land I hunt on, so I don't have to pay for a license or tags. When I lived in Ohio basically I paid for gas money, powder and projectiles. I process my own meat, so that is just time spent. Now that I live farther away, I have to pay $$$ for the 8 hour drive, and I'm not too happy about that.

Did someone mention pork?

Thats crazy! I was thinking about trying Montana for a buck but good lord! I cant see spending $900 for just a deer tag.

Jon, Colorado wants $550.00 for a OOS deer tag? and montana $900.00?

that $900.00 in montans .covers elk,deer,small game and fishing.

I was talking about elk in my post.

NonRes deer is $334