How expensive can hunting get

[fabsroman]

I was watching Benelli's program tonight featuring Ms. Nebraska 2003 hunting for elk in New Mexico. The hunt was on a privately owned ranch that I think was 35,000 acres and if I am not mistaken, the ranch name is Chimo Ranch.

I thought it was a great hunt. There were plenty of nice looking elk and the lodge and food looked really nice. I was actually interested in paying to hunt there, until i saw the price. Hunts at that ranch cost $12,000.

How can mere mortals afford to hunt anymore? This stuff is really killing me.

[McPat]

Here in my little corner of the world, my brother-in-law and I are looking to buy some land...if the timing is right and the circumstances (read means) are right. So far, both are out of our reach. Marginal land is selling for $2500 per acre because rich folks from Chicago and other big cities are buying it up for their own private hunting land. So far we have access to 15 acres of land to hunt deer each year as long as the old lady that owns it is alive. I was ousted out of some good pheasant land when the old gentleman died and the land was sold. Other pheasant land that I had access to hunt in the past was taken out of CRP because the owner was tired of putting up with government red tape and interference. At least that is what he told me. The hedge rows are all but gone and folks are leasing their land to the best bidder. I cannot compete with that. I have a couple of places to hunt, but they are few and far between and dwindling. So to answer your question, hunting is as expensive as the man with the most money has. I feel sorry for my kids and my brother-in-law's kids.
McPat

[Dom]

Ain't that the truth. By the time you throw in your equipment, gathered over years, and unless you have access to private land or some good relatives or buddies, it is an expensive proposition, especially for those just starting out. For the price of ONE hunt for one animal on these hunts out West, Africa is looking to be quite the deal. If all goes well, that's where I'll be next year, Waidmannsheil, Dom.

[PJgunner]

Try the San carlos Apache Reservation in Arizona for elk. $25,000. The Whithe Mountain Apache Reservation is IIRC, $17,000, but on both places, you should see the elk. The latsest world record elk came off the White Mountain reservation about two years ago.
Paul B.

[gd357]

fabs,

I saw the show and about flipped when I saw the price tag as well. The sad truth is that all hunting down the road is gonna cost big $ unless you're a landowner, or want to fight the crowds of weekend warriors on state land. I'm fortunate enough to have access to probably 1500 acres or so of land to hunt on scattered around Ohio, but if it wasn't for a few good friends, I'd be up a creek. It sure doesn't look good.

gd

[Dan Morris]

Guess this is why I hunt public land. No frills, but I go for the hunt, no phones/pagers or computers. No problems or customers.
Counting license/food....perhaps $300 for 1 week of elk hunting.No way I'm paying 3500/5500.
Dan

[fabsroman]

I just might have to start doing more fishing because the oceans are pretty big.

I want to buy some land, but just don't have the funds right now since I just bought this townhouse. This is killing me.

I have hunted a 110 acre farm for the past 20 years, but that farm owner is 91 years old. Something tells me that when he passes away, that farm will be sold to a developer.

I have hunted one other farm, 180 acres, over the past 10 years and the farm owner is currently selling 2 acre lots out of the front field for $175,000. You think you have it bad at $2,500 for an acre McPat, try close to $100,000 around where I live. I am looking at buying something close to the MD/PA border and I am hoping that the prices are a lot better.

It will kill me not to be able to take my dog and my future children hunting.

Edited to add:

At $25,000 for an elk, I might as well line up 30 cows and have food for 30 years. To drop that kind of cash on an elk hunt, somebody must be really rich.

[Steverino]

I think that you are beginning to see more groups like the NRA awaken to the plight of hunting and accessible property for the common everyday joe.

Like McPat has stated, I know first-hand the amount of both public and private land that has been gobbled up by independant outfitters is staggering here in Illinois.

I cannot speak for other areas of the country but here in Illinois, once you get far and beyond the Chicagoland area, there are some good public hunting lands-you just have to be willing to be more innovative and work harder than the next guy.

Let's face it, it's alot easier to hunt less pressured quarry.

With that being said, I will most likely be returning to more public hunting areas further out within the state in the near future as my buddy has sold off his farmland and I don't know how much longer I'll be given hunting privelidges on this land. When I had first hunted it the first couple of seasons, it was almost magical. I saw so many deer in their natural habitat. I knew though even then that I had a great thing and really savored each and every moment. I never saw another human or heard any other noise other than the woods, rustling of squirrels in the autumn leaves, or the soft hooves of a deer.

Since the property was sold last year, I've gone from seeing 4-5 deer an outing to 4-5 in a season, if I'm lucky. They run ATV's and motorcross all over the property field edges etc. Hey, it's their property so I can't really complain, right?

I decided to check out some other public property after last season and booked a weekend trip with an outfitter just to ensure that I'd hopefully be in a position to see deer.

Like most of you, I too dream of owning a small tract of hunting property that I'd hopefully be able to pass down along with the hunting traditions to my own children. Until that time, I'll be scouting and hitting the public spots in the boonies.

[fabsroman]

What kills me is that some of these rich hunters that want to pass the tradition down to their children do not understand that it might be gone altogether in the near future.

I know I get frustrated having to deal with trying to find a place to hunt, and dealing with other idiot hunters that hunt right on top of me or decide not to hunt with me in the same field but set up their own decoys 100 yards away from me.

I have gone deer hunting on opening day in a specific spot only to see blaze orange every 50 yards in this particular wooded area of the farm. Mind you, the farm is 110 acres with other wooded spots, but everybody has to set up around my permanent stand.

As more and more people decide to quit hunting, there will be less and less people supporting it and the "Right to Bear Arms." Finding shooting ranges isn't the easiest thing either, but it is easier to pay a little money at a range and shoot than it is to find a farm to hunt on. Such is life.

As more and more people are forced out of hunting, I am willing to bet that hunting and shooting will be gone. Hopefully, it will not happen in my lifetime or my kids' lifetime, but I am willing to bet that it will happen.

[M.T. Pockets]

Fabs, I share your same concerns and agree that the biggest threat to the future of hunting isn't anti-hunters or gun control activists. It is going to be access to hunting land.

I'm a Firearms Safety Instructor and every year there are some enthused 12 year olds in the class and one of them will ask me "Where can I go hunting ?" and I have to tell them that they'll have to ask permission from a landowner, and I hope they know someone, otherwise they're limited to a 40 acre piece of public land somewhere with a dozen or more other hunters.

I'm in rural Minnesota and just 15 years ago I could hunt wherever I asked. Today I'd say I have access to hunt 25% of what I did then. It is wealthy people (mostly from large cities, far away) who have offered these landowners a premium for marginal farmland. I wish I sold "NO TRESPASSING" signs, I'd be rich.

20 years ago I would go to South Dakota and hunt pheasants. I knew some ranchers and would knock on doors and get permission 90% of the time. I wouldn't even attempt it today, the going rate is close to $200 per day.

Things are changing fast, and only speeding up.

[8X56MS]

Fabs,
you have touched on a sore subect of mine. Hunting, as portrayed on the outdoors channels on Cable, have about zero relevence to the real world.
Guided hunts, being placed on stands by guides, while tame deer are pushed into place, whispered conversation, camera men, etc, etc. The whole thing gives a distorted view of hunting. As you mention, special hunts, on "ranches", taking trophy animals on every show, make it seem like any average joe can participate.
They never mention what rifle they use, or the load. There is never any mention of the performance of the bullet, or how well the shot was placed. They never have to track wounded game. They never have to clean the animal.

I have stopped watching.

I have been able to hunt some pretty good Public Land in Florida. The best deer I have taken came out of Lochloosa Management Area in Alachua Florida.
I also have access to several farms, and have been lucky to get invited to hunt with some friends on their club land in Georgia. I have old family land in the Virginia mountains.

[fabsroman]

8X56MS,

If I were to get started on the hunting shows, I would go for quite a while. When I bought this place last year and subsrcribed to DiretTV, I got the Outdoor Channel for an additional charge. I have watched the hunting shows off and on over the last year and pick up on more and more fact things. For instance, I love how the camera man is at the dead animal all the time when the hunters walk up to it, and how the hunter acts surprised to find the animal as he is walking up to it.

How about when the camera man is right next to the bird for the retrieve? I saw a little german haired puppy fetching a pheasant the other day on TV and it reminded me of how I threw a dead pheasant for my dog Nitro the first time we hunted upland and filmed him retrieving it. Off course, my video shows me throwing it.

Please, just film half an hour of freaking hunting, regardless of whether or not something is shot.

Furthermore, how about giving some instruction on hunting. Where to hunt, how to hunt, how to call birds, how to set decoys, how to use a duck boat as a hunting rig, etc. I don't want to see one slaughter after another, I want to see how things are supposed to be done and how I can do them.

I have been contemplating recording my own show that is an informative show. That way, I can help the everyday Joe on hunting and shooting. What I really like is the Tom Knapp segment of the Benelli show wherein he shows people how to shoot a specific target. Show some more about that.

Okay, I am going to stop here because this is a sore subject of mine.

[Lilred]

And I thought I had it bad...spent 147$ on me and hubby's licenses last night...:rolleyes:
I bout fell out in the floor over thatun..caint imagine spendin 10 grand..

[grayghost]

What each of you are saying is very true. Prime land with mature big game commands more and more money each year. I recently spoke with the IL DNR and was informed there are over 400 registered guides in the State. Surely more will come. Ditto on the entire midwest. Big Whitetails bring in big money. And being fair, I think many of us would do the same in their shoes. The same holds true for all big game in the US. Not only Elk, but a trophy Mule Deer or Antelope hunt is getting higher and higher. Not to mention the tags. We are still lucky in TN. A nonresident can buy big game tags over the counter (whitetail deer, bear, boar and turkey) and we have a lot of public land (most require a permit, around $20). Our out of State licenses are very reasonable; your allowed 3 bucks per season and this year you may harvest up to 3 does PER DAY! Check with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency for details. Not only are tags, guides and hunting costs soaring, look at the cost of guns, ammo and the assorted paraphernalia we "must have." Nothing to spend $1,000 on a rifle; $1,000 on a scope; ditto on binoculars. Ammo can run $50-$100 per box of 20; camo clothing into the hundreds of dollars. I said 30 years ago that we would get priced out of the hunting sports. In many cases it is well worth hiring a competent guide; money WELL spent. I've spent far too many days in the wilderness chasing ghosts, only to wish I'd used a guide. They (usually) know where game can be found; how to get to it, and most importantly, get it out. Don't read me wrong, I enjoyed my "do it yourself" hunts, and most were successful. My hats off, and recommendations always are given to a good outfitter. But because there are those that can afford to pay megabucks, we're going to see hunting priced out of reach (at least the prime land/species) for the most of us. Greed finished the Roman's; guess that's what our reality has to look forward to. I personally do not blame the guides and outfitters. They work their ass (good one's at least) off to provide their clients with a quality experience: game or no game, they want us to have a great time. Their expenses; hired help, food, animals, gear and especially land leases are skyrocketing. But some always find a way to scalp. Many times these can be the least competent of the lot. Hopefully, we can get the big game/bird Foundations and game oriented "hunting clubs" to realize it's setting aside PUBLIC land that is needed, not fancy new headquarters, museums and private members ranches. Else we're reduced to hunting Grasshoppers with rubber band guns. Good hunting, grayghost

[GoodOlBoy]

I spend about $50-$60 for my combo license, and probably another $30 or so on ammo. . . . . Thats about it. I hunt the way my grandfathers did. My land, and my relatives land, and scurrying about the national forests. It is hard for me to afford $100 a year, much less more. This GoodOlBoy (like so many other hunters) is also a poboy. This isn't to say I have not had my $1000 new rifle years. . . . but those are few and far between in my neck of the woods.

GoodOlBoy

[Terasec]

For $12,000 can buy your own piece of land
i paid $20K for 48 acres
its not a 35K acre ranch but suits me fine
then again,
those who can afford $12K for a hunt probably do have their own land somewhere
and i'm sure its nice than my 48 acres

[kt]

this thread makes me sad. its bad enough losing land that the average joe can hunt. in the area i hunt the big threat is industrial parks and business. areas that have been farmed for the passed 70 yrs are becoming ware houses and complex office buildings over night. i recently wrote an article for PA game news about the situation. if published i will post a link. every year with our proximity to NY my area is getting built up. i think about it every day, and every year spend a bunch of days trying to hunt as much as possible on land that has been a part of my life for 10 yrs or more. i wish i had the answer. Im sad
kt

[Blktail]

Please don't look to Canada for your hunting adventures. We are already being squeezed by rich Americans, both in the real estate and hunting markets.

I don't think rich Canadians play to big a part in your lost opportunities. Maybe everybody should stop having children until we can all afford to hunt again. Sounds stupid, but it is pretty close to the truth.

[Hawkeye6]

Fabs:

Perhaps this concern about the future of hunting has been with us for a while. 50 years ago, on of the feathured articles in Field & Stream was " Is Public Hunting Doomed?".

I'm not downplaying your concern since I share it, but let's ask ourselves what is causing the concern and what can we do about it?

Hawkeye

[skeeter@ccia.com]

Hawkeye..answer...and is answer to lots of the problems in this world today...GREED....HURRAY FOR ME AND F!!! YOU....This is the phrase a friend of mine told me he was told by his grandmother. I had to keep reminding when the I was acting more like a D. Sad thing is, he ended up living that line and no longer is a good friend or hunting partner. I don't know how old most of you are but believe me the older you get the more space you loose for hunting...I lost 13 of my spots in just one year due to housing, roads or just the 'keep out ..MINE' thing...one guy even named his driveway as "my lane"....As I drive over pothole given roads to another hunting spot this year to scout, I find out they are putting in another road there also...and yep the Keep out signs go with it...Where I shot my 8pt last year was sold and the new owner has signs already there...boo.. If you want to get that tract of land you better get it now because #1..they don't make any more and #2 the price just goes up... There is nothing we can do to stop greed. Not without ending up behind bars anyhow..I think we that watch those outdoor shows with the fancy pants and high $$ hunts are supporting their need to lease our land..is their job to film....I do not watch them anymore....I don't belong to their programs or buy their magazines...or display their bumper stickers that show I belong to their organization..Is my way of doing something..but there are those that just don't get the point...Another problem we have mostly in the NE pa area as I go there bear hunting (I'm from the west border by ohio line)is the clubs you must belong to to access anywhere...boooo...My boot is to them and where they sit.....Greed