How much does it cost you to go hunting for a day?

PeakXV said:
Okay we're in the dog days of winter now, time for some basic accounting. It would be interesting to see how the numbers breakdown across the country for expenses per diem.

Obviously game hunted, distance to grounds, & style of hunting will vary greatly & add to or subtract from the total.

Here's my numbers for 2010(grouse hunting only, walking all day but must drive (to covert) 120km round trip):



3 gatorades - $6.00
2 powerbars - $5.00
homemade sandwiches $2.00
gas/mileage - $15.00
hunting license(s) - $4.00($40/10 hunts)
hunting boots $10.00($100/10 hunts)
3 boxes of shells - $4.00(40.00/10 hunts)
residual small stuff - $2.00

----------------------------------------------------

= $48.00 / day of hunting
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I think you have under estimated your cost by a large margin.
...4x4 cost divided by yrs and then hunts + maintance
...rifle cost ?
...did you buy a boat or quad for hunting???
...how about a tent and camping gear.
...video's, magazines, etc,
etc, etc, etc
I'm pretty sure my first moose cost well over 30 grand...lol...but man did it taste good!!!
 
One calculation I see you are missing here is the money gained in meat that you take home! Depending on the game you are hunting you could save quite a bit by not buying meet from the grocery store!
 
slick39 said:
One calculation I see you are missing here is the money gained in meat that you take home! Depending on the game you are hunting you could save quite a bit by not buying meet from the grocery store!
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Trust me. It is cheaper to buy beef if you amortize equipment and expenses and so on. But it really doesn't matter because the venison is worth every cent and the benefits it has for my health, sanity, and spirit is priceless.

If I can afford the gas I'll drive a little further then walk all day and if I'm broke I'll just stay closer to home base. I'm blessed to live in a place where I can start hunting in less than ten minutes from the house. Hell I could ride my bicycle to some hunting spots.
 
Who cares what it costs?????

The time spent in the woods/mountains is priceless. I don't think I could put a dollar value to it. I know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that I'm going...END OF STORY. Whatever it costs is worth it. I know I'm going to spend a minimum of 20 days dedicated to bears this spring, this includes baiting runs, setting stands, etc. I've got a non-trophy sheep hunt planned for Sep, with my daughter. I've got a Mountain goat hunt, and Bighorn sheep hunt planned for Oct (3 weeks), and I've got another three weeks booked off in November for WT and Mule Deer hunting. And it will all be SOOOO worth it. Not trying to brag about my time off, but this is me.... I live to hunt, and my spouse supports me in my most favourite outdoor pursuit. Yes, I am a lucky guy.

Gord:)
 
If I had to break down my spending cost on hunting I could be doing it for awile.
Sure it cost every time you venture into the wood but it's worth it, whatever the cost pre day equals.
 
total cost per day depends on what i hunt,for waterfowl it runs about 20-25 bucks a day.for deer last fall it was around 30-40 a day.my major expense last fall was bears,with the cost of new broadheads,a new trail camera,1000-1500 bucks in bait/fuel cost divided by 20-22 days of hunting it ran about 50-75 bucks a day.but worth every penny,now if i can just convince the wife it is worth it.
 
$40 for my insulated rubber boots that get worn daily in the barn every winter for a year half
$15 for a box of shells
5 mins of walking to get to the bush
clothes are all barn clothes worn year round for nearly 3 years now
tag wasnt much seeing as im out nearly every weekend and couple times a week

i dont think it costs me more then 20 cents total a year to hunt rabbits and grouse
 
Derek V said:
$40 for my insulated rubber boots that get worn daily in the barn every winter for a year half
$15 for a box of shells
5 mins of walking to get to the bush
clothes are all barn clothes worn year round for nearly 3 years now
tag wasnt much seeing as im out nearly every weekend and couple times a week

i dont think it costs me more then 20 cents total a year to hunt rabbits and grouse
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Winner!:D I'm sure there others like you too, but they're so far in the woods that they don't have an internet gizmmo/link yet & if they do don't have time to use it. The fact of the matter is you don't need to spent alot to enjoy a good hunt ...... & of course location, location, location is king!
 
Many (over 40) years ago my father was taking a lot of flak about the cost of a single mallard that he shot after a weekend where he and my mother took the truck camper out for a two night stay near a favorite duck hunting location. It was very early in the season, weather didn't cooperate, and one mallard was the only game shot.

My father used the approach I see here in many posts. He answered that the duck cost only the price of one shell, since he happened to be already out there standing in that marsh in his chest waders when the duck flew by, so the cost was next to nothing.

The only difference is, he knew it was a joke.
 
Mine vary from 100 bucks (mostly gas) for local stuff, to a couple thousand a day. From that I guess I could figure out an average that wouldn't reflect either.
Resident tags and a bit of hunting ammo don't amount to much more than a rounding error.
Equipment costs are a funny thing. Sometimes it seems like it would be cheaper to sell all my junk and put the money toward guided hunts. The same thought has occurred to me for fishing, sell the boat and just do a couple low buck fly-ins a year.
 
rral22 said:
My father used the approach I see here in many posts. He answered that the duck cost only the price of one shell, since he happened to be already out there standing in that marsh in his chest waders when the duck flew by, so the cost was next to nothing.
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No, he needed gas, waders, cushy confines of a camper, some good tucker for he & the wife, (maybe a good bottle of scootch) & a shotgun shell. ;)


Even today many hunters don't need such luxury to get it done.:D
 
sfa unless you count the calories I burn hikin out back to the bush along my alfalfa field...oh and a few cents for a cartridge I loaded...
If you want to get technical I bought a 3xl red fleece at value village for $1.99 a few years back.
 
Alright, I'll play your silly game; how much to hunt?
let's see.
Tree Stand $300. Should last 20 years. 3 months at least 4 days a week (except Sundays) hunting. That's at least 50 days hunting. 50 x 20yrs is 1000 days so the stand will cost me about 30 cents a day.
Ground blind cost me $150 use it maybe 10 times a year, should last 10yrs, so that's a buck and a half a day.
Gas is about $60 a week, and that includes getting to work.
Early season (September) gets same boots I work in and they are supplied free. Clothes are same thing I wear every day in or out of the field. No real-tree, scent-killer clothes here. just old combat pants from surplus, flannel shirt, light jacket.
By October, I have added long underwear, heavier socks (again company supplied), a Helly Hansen toque ($12) I have had for 6 years, and gloves ($10).
By November I am in Mukluks (surplus), surplus arctic pants, fleece jacket (worn all winter), gortex jacket (company supplied). By December I am bundled up in surplus arctic kit that I got 10yrs ago and am now hunting coyotes, walking 20kms a day in mukluks.
Really, I would estimate my costs to be VERY low. Maybe around $5 a day and maybe $10 for gas.
I won't count the rifle since I would have that for shooting anyway. Tags are negligible because I do so much hunting, but they would cost me about $1.50 a day.
 
$100


That is the simple answer to your question. It costs me $100 daily to go hunting on a day trip from home, not counting all the stuff I've invested in; truck, rifle, ammo, licences, clothing, optics,etc.

Longer trips might cost less daily due to the fact that I'm on the hunting grounds and not driving that much, but that is offset by the fact that I've probably driven 300 km to get there.

Never mind the lost earnings by not working.
 
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