High cost of hunting
 

What got me to post this information is that here in central Missouri a small outfitter is charging $100 a day for a deer hunt. This price includes food and lodging.That seems fair. Now what gets me is the fact that there is a $400 trophy charge for any buck.To me the cost of hunting has gotton compelety out of hand. If it keeps escallating one day it will only be for the rich folks. When I first hunted Wyoming the trespass fee was any where from $25 to fresh fruit, to clothing for the land owners churches, to farming and welding supplies etc. The state permit was less than $100. What the L has happened? I'll tell you, greed. When people find out that the rich such as doctors, lawyers, singers, and performers, etc don't care how much it costs and pay that cost, it makes it bad for the rest of us. I am not asking something for nothing but give me, ( and the rest of us average hunters), a break. Yesterday another member and I were talking about charging hunters to hunt on our individual properties. I would not charge anyone. I would however be selective on who would be allowed to hunt. Our great state of Missouri has one of the best Conservation Commissions around. Every dollar that is spent in our state is taxed 1/8 % and that money goes to the Conservation Commission. Now we have gone to checking our game by the internet or phone. By their own admission this has saved them around $600,000!!! Wow. That's a bunch of money. So let me ask? Why does does the cost of our permits continue to increase? Greed, greed, and more greed. I for one think it's ridiculous.
Then there is the cost of hunting out of state. The idea of paying trespass fees, or whatever you call them, the high cost of permits, and what outfitters charge is more than ridiculous.I have never hired a guide or outfitter, and am not planning to. Now I don't mind people making a living, but dang, I don't want them to make it all off me? As you all know I am retired and lucky because I can afford to go on hunting trips, hire guides if I want but I refuse.
Our numbers as hunters are declining and I can understand this because of the prices we must pay for not just the trips, permits, etc but the high cost of equipment we have to purchase for these hunting and fishing excursions. Don't you think this obsession with big racks, horns, trophies, etc has been a major contributer to the increased prices? I do.
Here in Missouri it costs a nonresident around $200 for an any deer tag. $7 for additional doe tags and in most counties they are unlimited. Out west it's more than twice that amount. Where will it end???


Spudrow from Missouri[/align]_________________
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RE: High cost of hunting
 

Spudrow,

Thats why average hunters like ourselves, need to have one anothers back but it seems like everything has a price tag once money is involved. If hunters wouldnt use the services then the prices wouldnt be so high but thats just supply and demand.

RE: High cost of hunting
 

Spud the prices you posted would be considered CHUMP CHANGE in Pike county IL. Do some searching on outfitters there.

Or maybe you can search by a key word or phrase like $500/day.

RE: High cost of hunting
 

Face it, big antlers are big business. There are a lot of reasons why numbers of hunters are declining. The whole wacky, often selfish, deer hunting cult is just one of them though.

RE: High cost of hunting
 

I agree with this. Big bucks = big buck$! It is getting way out of hand. I belong to another hunting site and almost all of us are trading hunts just for the fun of meeting new people, hunting new territories with hunters from other states. It has worked out great for me. I have been to Pa. to meet 4 of these hunters and have been invited back in Dec. 08 for a bear hunt.Met another hunter in Ft. Worth and he has invitedme to Texas in Feb. 08 for a hog hunt, going to Nebraska for a deer hunt with some other hunters this September, and to Colorado this Oct for an elk hunt. All this is costing me/ us is our transportation, tags, and food. 3 hunters are coming here for a turkey hunt with me next spring and staying with me.This is what it's all about.Standing together and sharing your hunting spots with other hunters who appreciate it.


Spudrow from Missouri

RE: High cost of hunting
 

LOL Spud ...if you THINK hunting is gettn expensive you best not get into Golf ....or riding a Harley :D

dd

RE: High cost of hunting
 

LOL yourself. Golf doesn't interest me in the least and my back won't let me ride any more. Now I do like corvettes!:D

I have been hunting for over 45 years and just don't like being hosed or ripped off. I feel sorry for these younger hunters just beginning. I know what you mean though, every thing is just getting out of hand. It'sbaseball, football, basketball, etc not to mention the arts, etc. I can combat that by not attending games, plays, or musicals. Hunters want to pass along the tradition, firearms, bows and so forth. The rich boys are ruining it for everyone.Just my opinion mind you.
I think when people are born they should just be given a trophy and then maybethey could get over it.[:-]:)


Spudrow from Missouri

RE: High cost of hunting
 

How about a round of golf at pebble beach?





PEBBLE BEACH GOLF LINKS

Resort Guests
$475 incl. cart

Non-Resort Guests
$475 + cart

That's for 1 round of golf and all you get to take home are some memories and a few pictures. You better bring some extra golf balls though, you'll need them!

RE: High cost of hunting
 

What really sucks is they get so much money pooled together that they lease up all the farms in an area offering farmers more money than the average joe can afford! Which leaves the guy who wants to drive out and seek permission SOL! It's very frustrating! Some people are hogs! POWER OF THE ALL MIGHTY DOLLAR!

RE: High cost of hunting
 

Tell me about it. I played Pebble Beach late last summer and with lunch and a couple of beersit was just over $400. I feel for you guys down south. More people and less and less hunting space every year. That's one thing we have up here in Canada is lots and lots of space. I hunted private land during bow season but during ML, the only other hunter I saw was my son and that was on an area of approx. 10 sq. miles of public land.During rifle we hunted another area of 30 sq. miles of public land and in six days hunting we sawonly 6 other hunters andall of those were as we were driving out.The deer density is much less than down south but the deer we do see are usually fairly large. Also since they do not get the hunting pressure they are less skiddish during hunting season.

RE: High cost of hunting
 

No one has to tell an Illinois resident about the ever increasing cost to hunt!!! As mentioned above, the prices you mention seem dirt cheap compared to anything here in West-Central IL ! :(

However, it's all supply and demand. Everything else in our lives continue to cost us more and more so it's certainly no surprise that our hunting is going in the same direction. It's certainly not a poor mans sport these days.

RE: High cost of hunting
 

You 2 Pebble Beach fellows must be doing real good as they say!!!![8D]:)


Spudrow from Missouri

RE: High cost of hunting
 

What does golf have to do with any of this?!

Golf?!

Sure I play golf but it is nothing compared to hunting.

If a guy is gonna hunt holes - I don't recommend a golf course!

RE: High cost of hunting
 

LOL. I guess they were just showing the increase in the cost of other sports too.

Spudrow from Missouri

RE: High cost of hunting
 

Uncle matt,
If you look at the relationship of hunting and golfhistorically, hunting and golf were the sports of Kings. Only the privaledged few were invited by the King to participate. So to all those peasents that bash our sport, bow you unworthy knaives. And yet another reason why here in North America we should feel very fortunate to enjoy this activity. But many are correct on this post stating that as long as there are the hunters that are willing to pay the big bucks for a hunt, prices right across the board will continue to rise. I knowthat 20 years ago there were farmers thatcouldn't get enough hunters to take care of the deer on their land (the privaledge to hunton 2 of the farms I hunt on is directly related to the elderly farmers angry at the deer eating their veg. gardens). Now with financialresposibilities mounting on the family farm, no wonder many of those same farmers that let many hunt for free are now charging for huntersharvesting on their land.

RE: High cost of hunting
 

Mohunter have you checked into the price of decent hunting land? It will be a big reality check in terms of whether or not hunting is expensive. My hunting was dirt cheap too, when i lived with my parents and lived a few hundred yards from a creek bottom where POSTED signs were rare. But, a lot has changed in 20 years.

Of course, if folks feel crowded out of deer hunting, there is less fuss in terms of small game hunting. At least you can hunt squirrels in september before the deer hunters expect you to vacate the woods for the next three months[:o]

RE: High cost of hunting
 

I guess ifyou don't count the cost of the property, yearly taxes, interest, and insurance? Hunting land is extremely expensive now. You should be aware of that since you live in a prime hunting area.


Spudrow from Mo

RE: High cost of hunting
 

HIGH COST OF HUNTING----- AIN'T THAT THE TRUTH!!!! I laugh when I hear Jackie Bushman say, take a kid hunting!! Because pretty soon, unless you make a 6 figure salary, you will not be able to afford to take your kid to the woods!!!!!!

I started hunting in Pittsfield, Illinois (Pike County) in 1984, where a neighbor of mine had a cousin who lived in Pittsfield. A group of friends, including the farmer got together and rebuilt an old abandoned farm house on the property. I'm talking about completely rehabing it, payed for a new roof, siding, plumbing, electrical, cabinetry, tv's, radio's and microwave. Everyone spliting up the cost equally and almost everyone donating one thing or another. We made it a home away from home, naming it the "Hilton". All the neighbors used to come by in the evening and have a drink and shoot the breeze. We used to be able to hunt anywhere!!! With the popularity of Pike becoming nation-wide, everyone started seeing $$$$$$$ signs!!!! I'm talking about families breaking apart and not talking to one another due to one half wanting money in order to hunt!!! It was sad, and I thought it would never happen to our group! But I was mistaken,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, the writing was on the wall! About 9 years ago, we started to see stuff come up missing, like toothpaste, soaps, and little stuff like toilet paper. But we all just thought 1 guy or another had misplaced it. Little did we know the farmer(we thought of as family) was charging people to hunt on the weeks we were not there. He would always call and ask the dates on which we would be hunting so he could get the "Hilton" ready for us! He was just calling to find out what dates he had to lease out the property. We started to see fewer and fewer deer each year, and blamed it on the hunting pressure surrounding the property, and thats when I bowed out, and left Pike County forever, it was a heart-felt good-bye, because I put alot of time and work into it, but something was wrong andI felt it... The next year my friend who kept hunting there, who told me I was a fool to leave after putting all that time and money into the place,found out why we were seeing less and less deer... See we were mostly tradesmen who made modest livings and worked on a schedule and adjusted it according to the firearm season each year, putting a week in for bowhunting. Well my friend had just switched careers and became an electrical salesman, so he could spend more time in the woods. Well at least he thought he could, becasue that year he wanted to bowhunt a lot more and thats when he found out he couldn't come down at all except for firearm season because the rest of the time had been leased out to some guys from Pennsylvania, Chicago and New York. That's when $hit hit he fan!!!!!! All the time, blood, sweat and money spent on that place was for someone else! I could have understood it if this particular farmer needed the money, but he is financially-set... He has a total of 160 acres that are hunted every day of the deer season.....

I think this philosophy is apphauling, because you are getting fewer and fewer people involved in hunting, because they cannot afford it. Hunting is going to be a thing of the past, like it has in England, where only the rich can afford to hunt, because you have to belong to a hunting club in order to hunt....... The NRA should be extremely concerned, because I got involved with firearms do to the hunting sports, and the fewer and fewer people who become involved in the hunting sports, become less involed in the 1st ammendment rights. Realistically if an individual stops hunting, what is the likelihood his children or grand children will pick it up! Odds are they won't.... It's a snowball effect, so next time "Jackie Bushman" or another celebrity says, take a kid hunting, ask them where? Because if you don't own your own land, pretty soon you won't be able to.... And if they say Public Land, then my response would be, "that's the perfect way to get them out of huntig". Sitting for hours and not seeing anything, but some other guy tromping through the woods scaring everything within ear-shot away, in not the way i want my kid to see hunting....

People are scratching their heads and wondering why their kids just sitting in front of the tv playing video games, that's because your gonna need money to take them hunting!!!!! The hunter stereotype of being a simple minded Redneck, is going to be a thing of the past.........


P.S. The time we spent at the Hilton during the "Firearm Season" we all payed 350.00 per man to pay for the utlities and help with the taxes. Any other time we came down we would pay $30 a day,per man,to help with utilities and up keep. So, we never really stayed their for nothing!!!!

Think about it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!

RE: High cost of hunting
 

You need alittle more than 10 acres, especially if you are going to live there to. Plus, there has to be animals there to hunt in the first place. our farm is about 10 acres and theres noway that is enough land to hunt especially if your bowhunting.

RE: High cost of hunting
 

i think paying for the season is pretty fun :) but then again I have no bills haha.

RE: High cost of hunting
 

Mohunter,

I would assume that since you are referrring to land that "we" have, then it is actually your parents (or other family members') land and not ground that you had to acquire. In many places, 20 acres of land would cost 60,000 to 100,00 at least. Most people can't go 100K in the hole, then have the expense of building a house on the property. So, yes, it is damn expensive. Also, you are apparently blessed with living in an area where there are still quite a few folks that will let you hunt on their land. But, trust me, that can change very quickly when people start buying/leasing land and posting it. Twenty-five years ago I thought the same way that you do now, and i wish that it was still like that. But, in many places, its not.

RE: High cost of hunting
 

Here's a little b**ch for you all. Since my oldest son has been hunting (4 years), I've also been taking some of his friends with us (as long as they have completed the hunter safety program and I have taken them to the range a few times). For the most part these kids didn't have a dad or anyone to teach them the sport. Well a couple of years ago one of my son's friends harvested a nice 4x4. Hey I even butchered it for his family. Last year while we were stopped for lunch a truck drove up and out of it hopped the kid (4x4 shooter), his uncle, and 3 of his buddies. What a kick in the nuts that was. I've hunted that area for years, yes and I know it is public land, but basicly the guy used his nephew to find a new hunting area. (this is a large area, maybe 7-8 sq. miles and they came tomy exact spot) What has this to with the cost? Well how about the time and effortthat went into scouting that area. I couldn't even give you a dollar figure on that. Good thing that wasn't one of my top 5 areas or I would have been real pissed. If people are going toinfringe on you in the big open spaces of Canada, I couldn't imagine how hard it isin the U.S.That'sthe cost that whitetailcrazy mentioned. Time and effort must be considered in the equation of cost.

RE: High cost of hunting
 

I had a similar problem as whitetailcrazy last year. I had some private (family) land, 125 acre tract,and Ilet a couple of close friends hunt there with the understanding that it was a private "honey hole". One guy rarely hunted, the other hunts every day, and he has thousands of acres of land to hunt. I felt that something was going on during the week while I wasn't around on the private tract, so I put up a camera on the road going in the property.Pictues showed thathe was carrying everybody he wanted to into the property while I wasn't there. It broke a 30 or so year friendship up, but maybe it was the best thing that could have happened.

RE: High cost of hunting
 

Its getting ridiculous when it comes to the cost of hunting.The costof a license goes up every year as well. In Maine I think 3-4 years ago a bear hunting license was $7.00. The next year it went up to $27.00. All this money they claim is needed to preserve wildlife and "our" hunting land.Well Ill tell you what I dont know where they are spending the money but it sure isnt for sportsman. Its definately a greed thing.And when it comes to people posting land[:@]we wont get into that.

RE: High cost of hunting
 

There are plenty of alternatives to "pay to play" for those willing to do the legwork, and nobody can hose you unless you open your wallet. The only way I would personally consider an outfitter would be if I were hunting in a different state on unfamiliar territory and had reasonable fear of getting lost with little chance of being found alive, not much chance of that in farm country where the nearest road is probably just over the next rise.

RE: High cost of hunting
 

Spudrow,

Your not alone, They are doing the same thing here in Michigan. Right now, our legislature is debating a bill that would tripple all of the hunting and fishing license fees over the next three years. I don't know about Missouri's DNR, but in my opinion, the agencyhere in Michigan has done nothing to improve our deer and wildlife populations. Sure, we have a big deer population but the buck to doe ratio is rediculous. In addition, once you get above the bottom 18 or 19 counties, there aren't that many deer.

I wouldn't mind the fee hikes if I felt like hunters were going to benefit from it. Sadly, they will not. The additional money will be squandered just like it is now and if 5 years they will be telling us that the DNR fund is still broke.

RE: High cost of hunting
 

I do not mind license fee's going up as long as the monies are used for F & G purposes. In my state (MA) we have a land stamp program, $5.10 on each hunt/fish tag. 100% used to buy new public lands.

We don't have the amount ofdeer to attract leases and outfitters. But I can say that allot of our public lands are underused because the limited deer availalble. However, its their for people who have thedesire to scout and scout hard.

Figuring that if I take my girl out to dinner, drinks and a show. I'll pay 3-4x the cost of a resident sportsman (hunt and fish) tag thats good 365/24/7.

Its not that expensive to hunt for those who have the desire to just getout andhunt.At least here in New England. And my state is one of the most populous in the nation.

People pay the big cash for the bigbucks. Not just to hunt.

RE: High cost of hunting
 

i no that hunting is expensive, but everyone needs a hobby or something that they enjoy doing, so you have to look past the bills of equiment and just do what you love to do!!! I do no that when buying land that may be a diffent story if you have a family to worry about beacuse they come first.thats my thought on this subject.

RE: High cost of hunting
 

Nevada is just as bad guys . Sure we have millions of acres to hunt , public lands . I spent 200 bucks 3 years ago when I hunted deer last before I got to the range to check my rifle and get proficiant again . License is 27.50 duck stamps 25 more 10 more for "upland game" (Pheasent is upland?) you get a 3 dollar break if you buy a combo 40.00and get a fishing license but you have to but a trout stamp 10. 35.00 to apply for a deer tag 55 for pronghorn 75 for elk 100 for bighorn,mountain goat. No no garentee of getting a tag F&G keeps 15.00 of every tag app.even if you don't draw. One more you have to apply in April for a draw in June so you can hunt in Aug Sept and Oct or Nov for big game . You have to buy your License before you apply . Non- res can buy the lic.with the draw (125) and if you don't draw F&G only keeps 10 of the Lic.fee .