Hunting Vs Buying Meat
 

I get asked if hunting for meat is cheaper than buying it at the grocery store. I've never done the math, so I don't know exactly. But I found a couple perspectives about it online.

Tasting the Clean Stuff

Memories in Every Meal

Traditional Hunter in a Modern World

I think it's about more than just the meat. The memories with my Dad are what is most important to me. What are your thoughts?

I doubt I save much overall. every hunt is different , some are cheap some are not. the cost means nothing to me . I like to hunt and kill the meat is a bonus and I opologize for it to no one.

When you consider all the gear, travel, meals, etc...wild game is pretty expensive! But you are getting meat that is inaccessible by any other means so in those terms, it's priceless.

I tried keeping a record of all my hunting expenses last year. I started in January and gave up on January 31st because I didn't like seeing the truth :s6:

That said, let's just take my bow - $500 for the bow, $130 in arrows, $70 in broadheads. So $700. If I shoot a 100 pound doe, I'll get 40 pounds of meat. That's $17.50 per pound. However, I shot two deer this year (a 140 pound buck and a doe) putting me at around $7.29 a pound. Every deer I shoot the cost per pound decreases. Same with all the other equipment I have invested in. I'm kind of an equipment geek so I'm always buying stuff, but I don't think my dad has bought anything for deer hunting in about 25 years aside from a license and bullets so his meat is pretty cheap.

So long story short, tell your wife you need to shoot more deer to increase the ROI on your investment. It just makes fiscal sense! :woot: And you are not just paying for meat, you're paying for the experience. Break the costs down by hour of hunting and you'll find that it is one of the cheapest activities you can enjoy.

I figure if I spent just have the time in the woods and worked OT for those hours I could buy all the meat I wanted and be money ahead but where is the fun in that. And besides If I dont get outdoors to recharge there is no one in this world who could stand to be around me, especially my wife so then i would have to figure the cost of a divorce into the equation! Way to complicated!

Well if your going to buy venison, i think it's usually red deer around here, from a store it's very expensive. Even the "cheap" beef fat thats disguised as burger you get from the store ain't cheap $3-$4 per lb. When i get venison from the woods around my property it's cheaper and better then store bought beef, when i go out of state hunting the venison can get a little spendy.

For me that's definitely not for saving money... I never did the math too though...

Would be cheaper to put away all the firearms and stay at home. But...memories aren't made like that. ;)

No doubt.

Hunting (like any hobby) is not really cheap. Sure you could buy one cheap gun or bow and use it forever, don't spend much on accessories, never go out of state or on a trip, and it wouldn't cost that much long term. But nobody does that which is why its a multi-billion dollar per year industry.

If I had to guess, many pay 2-3x what the best store bought red meat would cost. I shoot alot of deer, and I'm sure I'm still way in the hole. But to save $ certainly isn't why I hunt at all, getting some nice meat is a bonus.

It's an investment in ourselves and our families, economy and American workers that can't be overlooked.

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.