Hunting for food...does it justify the cost?

[firemenlovechicks]

This all sound great. But how much time do you usually spend in the woods before you get one deer?

All I am saying is if you spend 40 hours hunting and catch one deer at 5.00/hour thats 200.00 for one deer.

At this point you'd be better off getting a second job and buying the meat yourself (if this is the case)

other than that it seems like you guys have really figured out to cut corners on butchering and amo. Pretty impressive.

Still wondering about hit/miss ratio

Sorry, but if you're trying to "catch" deer, You're doing it wrong.......lol :/

 

[hqueen13]

This all sound great. But how much time do you usually spend in the woods before you get one deer?

All I am saying is if you spend 40 hours hunting and catch one deer at 5.00/hour thats 200.00 for one deer.

At this point you'd be better off getting a second job and buying the meat yourself (if this is the case)

other than that it seems like you guys have really figured out to cut corners on butchering and amo. Pretty impressive.

Still wondering about hit/miss ratio

Sorry, but if you're trying to "catch" deer, You're doing it wrong.......lol :/

Maybe that's why it takes 40 hours!!
Reality is that for most of us the deer are so over populated it doesn't take that long at all!
I only WISH I could shoot around here... shooting off the back deck would be easy peasy!

 

[k15n1]

This all sound great. But how much time do you usually spend in the woods before you get one deer?

All I am saying is if you spend 40 hours hunting and catch one deer at 5.00/hour thats 200.00 for one deer.

At this point you'd be better off getting a second job and buying the meat yourself (if this is the case)

other than that it seems like you guys have really figured out to cut corners on butchering and amo. Pretty impressive.

Still wondering about hit/miss ratio

Sorry, but if you're trying to "catch" deer, You're doing it wrong.......lol :/

Sometimes there just isn't work to be had. And who's going to hire you for just a few hours?

 

[Tatter]

I'm not one to sport hunt as I don't do sports. I live in 37 acres of prime whitetail, rabbit, squirrel, turkey and grouse woods. When I hunt, I go deep into the woods, sit for a few hours and bag what I need to. I know where the deer will be at what time of the day and most of the time, around 4pm the herds move towards the food plot I have on the 3 acres of field. Set up on a hidden runway in the pines and wait. I've been able to bag deer within 3 hours, though sometimes have to wait a good bit longer...all depends on the animals stomach and mood. Some of my neighbors use calls and others use scent...don't need it where I sit and wait, just sit in ambush I only hunt when I need to, never do it for fun or for sport, killing should never be looked upon for sport anyways. Its a chore that sometimes needs to be done and its nothing more than that. If I don't need to fill my freezer, I'll bag a few grouse or a turkey (I don't eat rabbit) that come in handy for the holiday meals.

 

[dinesh]

Actually, professional hunters hunting animals for food, but this does not mean that all the sport hunter hunt animals for food. Have you ever known about hunting in Nepal . The government of Nepal has allowed to hunt some kinds of specified animals in some national parks in Nepal. However in limited numbers.

 

[BACOG]

is it worth it?

Absolutely. As for the time it is my time to unwind and get my head screwed on straighter. Cheaper than a shrink.

 

[Flytyer24]

$ per pound it would not make sense but this is my two cents...

I am insane about hunting and spend 80+ days a year hunting and fishing. I put a lot of it into my personal recreation category. I also believe the pursuit of wild game keeps my soul and mind calm.

The meat is not comparable in anything store bought as far as health or taste. The satisfaction factor is huge... When I catch a trout on a fly I tied from a turkey I shot then eat it.... That to me is the pinnacle.

Other things people don't think of is the benefits of the money spent. The license fees go to fund state wildlife agencies which I know from personal experience are under funded. Also a little known fact,

All fishing and hunting equipment has an excise tax built into the price that we never see. These funds are allocated under the Pittman-Robertson (hunting) and Dingle-Johnson act (fishing, and that is the real names of the guys). These funds pay 75% of all state Biologists salaries. These funds also pay for a large portion of wildlife restoration in states.

So all is not lost HUNT ON!

 

[Beekissed]

Excellent point and information! Thanks for the input, Fly, and welcome to the forum!

 

[Nrubua]

You have to realize that you aren't going to kill a deer each and every time you go out to the stand. If so, it wouldn't be hunting. Get outside and enjoy the God's creation. And don't miss

 

[Arkantex]

We lived off of deer meat growing up. My dad paid 300 a year in hunting camp fees, then ~30 for his liscense. We didn't have to get a liscense until we turned 16. Between my dad, two brothers and myself, we would fill our freezers up. We processed our own meat so there wasn't any other fees on top of that. Usually that would last us until next deer season. So, for $330 my family of 5 had meat all year round and alot of fun getting it. I pay about double that for my family to hunt now a days. I don't care if it costs 10x that much for me to take my family hunting though. I will do it. Some of my fondest memories growing up are of dad teaching us to hunt, skin out and process deer, turkey, squirel, duck... etc...