Scared to hunt ...

[howabouttheiris]

Question from Austin, TX.

I spend too much time punching holes in paper.
I would like to attempt to do a hunt. Thought of going for a deer, but am terrified of the cost.

Looked at 2-3 sites and see stuff like...

$2,000.00
Plus Kill Fee
140-159 pay by inch
160-169 $8,500.00
170-179 $12,000.00

Being a newbie and totally unable to grade a deer at 1 yard with a ruler (let alone at 200 yards), I am setting myself up to be one shot away from loosing my truck and walking home.

It appears to be a sport with a base from lower thru upper class. How the heck do folks with kids and bills do it?

Even a "everyone would pay you to come and kill a hog in Texas" hunt costs about $1000, unless it is graded to be too big and then you are walking home again.....

Is there something I am missing?

 

[DOGCAPPER]

Join a gun club...Ask about hunting trips made by others...Plan your own hunt from information gleaned or join in on one of their trips.....Work on gun handling skills...Keep your mouth shut most of the time be prepaired to pay your way...LT

 

[kjcpoint]

Public land? Do some scouting, talk to game wardens in the area. Get yourself some good maps and lace up your boots.

Find a farmer or landowner and offer to help out on weekends or whenever you can.

Kyle

 

[TheSnake]

Find a buddy that can take you hunting or find an annual lease to join. Find the right lease and you can hunt deer, pigs, dove, coons, rabbits etc. Not all leases are in prime 200+ inch deer country and some can be had for less than you think. You live in Austin and there is good hunting all around you and some really nice hunting west, southwest and northwest of you. Your deer don't have to have head gear either.

Like Kyle said, do your homework and it will pay off.

 

[Larryh128]

What state do you live in?

 

[CanusLatransSnpr]

Good luck on your hunt plans! I live in Michigan and have never considered taking a guided deer hunt but, a couple of guys I work with have and they are very expensive. There isn't much public land here in Michigan and it is getting tougher to find a landowner willing to give you permission. I just found out yesterday that a piece of property my family has been hunting for 50+ years is being sold to developers. Good luck again!

Mike

 

[5spd]

I would never pay to hunt any game myself in NA.
Public lands/blm/state/national forest lands & some private ranches is where I hunt.
Just takes some research, hook up with a friend that hunts public areas and start asking questions.
Its not all about shooting a "trophy" to me like it is to many others.
This also depends on the state you live in or where you may want to go.
Tons of hunters come to WY and do their own hunts on public lands, simple easy & the costs are way below that you listed.

 

[TheSnake]

What state do you live in?

Most users have their city and state in their profile or at least their state.

 

[howabouttheiris]

Sorry all..... Austin, TX.

 

[howabouttheiris]

I assume everyone as made the assumption that I am a cheep ass and just whining about the cost.

Here is an example.... Tx prairie dog hunt. $450.00 (cut n paste from a webpage)
Claim that you will shoot 600+ rounds in 2 days. I am sure it would be a great experience.
No available 1 day option.

I have the patience of a flyfisherman and would happily sit on a rock for 8 hours to shoot 1. I do not need the best place, just any place.

 

[Larryh128]

You need to look further away from home. Texas doesn't have a bunch of public land but some of the neighboring states do. As previously stated, guided hunts are expense. There is a show on either the Outdoor Channel or the Sportsmans Channel called ON YOUR OWN HUNTS. This guy hunts all over UN-GUIDED and is pretty darn successful at it without spending your pickup. Tune in & get some ideas. New Mexico or Arizona has a lot of public land. Usually going onto a state DNR web site will be a good start.

 

[WyleWD]

I assume everyone as made the assumption that I am a cheep *** and just whining about the cost.

Here is an example.... Tx prairie dog hunt. $450.00 (cut n paste from a webpage)
Claim that you will shoot 600+ rounds in 2 days. I am sure it would be a great experience.
No available 1 day option.

I have the patience of a flyfisherman and would happily sit on a rock for 8 hours to shoot 1. I do not need the best place, just any place.

Never thought I'd read a post like this from Tx. I agree that some of the trophy hunts and prime leases are COMPLETELY out of $ight though.

Here is an example of what a partner of mine did. He did some research and found that this one area of a given state had a high prairie dog population. So he called up information for that county and got the phone numbers of all the feed and grain stores and a farm impliment sales store. He politely introduced himself, and asked if there were any ranchers in the area that they might know of that would like to have someone come out and shoot Pdogs. In a few days he had 3 phone calls from ranchers. All of them had different rules, and some asked for 30 -60 dollars a day per person to shoot them. Long story short, the one rancher we went to .... 6 shooters could shoot all day long and not move and not have to take a shot over 400yds. The place was loaded with them. We helped him haul hay one day and feed cattle one evening. Last evening we were there he invited us to the house for dinner.... Steak.... all you could eat. We went back there 6 years in a row before the neighbors petitioned him to poison them.

I'd think a fellow could do the same thing with wild hogs down there from what I see and hear in the media, but..... you're there closer to the situation than we are. Bottom line is as the others stated, need to do a little leg work. WD

 

[kjcpoint]

Google earth is very helpful for finding pd towns.

Kyle

 

[drumcorpschamp]

Original poster......at the end of your thread you typed "is there something I am missing"?

I think there is. Please allow me to digress for a moment.

Hunting for me, has always been an activity enjoyed with family and good friends. Enjoyed for the good times and camaraderie that come from sharing the time and experience with people I want to be around. Yes, I have taken game animals small, large and winged over the years, but the fond memories are what keeps bringing me back.

I've never taken a trophy that anyone would bother taking a tape measure to, but the smiles and claps on the back for doing it among friends is worth more than the mounts on the wall.

Original poster........if you want to go out and slam a monster buck and that's it, break out your checkbook. Bring a photographer with you and hire a taxidermist, because that's all you'll have after the hunt is over. Just you, the pictures and your monster mount on the wall.

If you wish to develop a lifetime of fond memories.....find some friends and go hunting with them. Who knows....the bug may bite you and the pursuit of that monster buck "the hard way" may become your life's next passion.

No disrespect meant toward the original poster. This thread just struck a chord with me and I felt compelled to add my two cents.

Best of luck in your endeavors,
Jerry

 

[howabouttheiris]

"if you want to go out and slam a monster buck and that's it, break out your checkbook."

That is exactly what I DO NOT want to do. BUT I feel that I am not the one who makes that decision. I pay my $2000. Guide puts me on a deer. I get a poke on the shoulder. He says shoot the deer. I shoot. Then I get told that I owe another $12000.

I am totally defenseless to protect myself. I cannot find the 'spend 8 hours, pay $1000, shoot a doe with a gimp leg' webpage. That is the one I want.

I am not from Texas originally, I do not have family land, I do not have friends with leases, my searchs show public land appears to be limited to shotgun dove and bow hog in most cases, .....

I have paid for bass fishing guides in the past.... Never once did I catch one so big that they added 600% to the price!

 

[howabouttheiris]

Think I may have a break-thru ... if any of the postings are current or available.

http://www.leasehunter.com/

Has single day leases for several TX properties.... Hogs (for example) without trophy fee, max 2 for $50-100 per day.

 

[FryeGuy]

you could check with some of those "trophy" farms, they may let you come and shoot does for cheap. they may also have "cull" buck hunts. I have seen some "cull" buck hunts on TV, and I thought they were as much a trophy as any others were. mature bucks, but maybe just 8-ptrs. I can honestly say I have never paid to hunt whitetails, but you should seriously think about finding public land in the states near you. even with an out ot state lic., you could probably get in some great hunting. I know Va. is a long way off, but there is tons of national forest here. There is a ton of public hunting areas in TN as well.

 

[bowfisher]

You don't want to pay for a hunt anyway. Paying to shoot a trophy deer that somebody else scouted, found, put up stands for etc....is like paying for a hug from a whore.

Either it's real or it's not. There's plenty of ground to hunt in TX. Get out and talked to country folk about hogs. Let the free range hogs teach you about hunting. You will appreciate it more. There's too much emphasis here about shooting. Hunting is totally different. The whole equation result for an apex predator like us is hunting -90%, shooting-10%.

PD's can be had for free, but it's not easy and takes time. If you are short on time and long on cash, find a good guide. If it's the other way around, get in your truck and lay some tracks.

 

[CPorter]

If you get the public hunt option on your hunting license you get a booklet in the mail with all the wildlife management areas (WMA) and it explains what all you can hunt, when and with what weapons. If you want you can research those at the Texas Parks & Wildlife website before you get the license. Leases can be found on line at sites like Craigs list and you should be able to get a decent lease for under $1300 a year. On that lease you should be able to hunt any deer your license cover plus varmints, predators, hogs etc.

 

[GlennGTR1]

First, get out of Texas. I hunt here in Washington state for Deer, elk, bear, and cougar. Cost for tags around $100 for everything. Then find public land in the off season and start hiking, shooting and looking for game and game sign. Find a hunting friend. A trophy buck is only worth it if you earned it, if you paid for it you didnt earn it. Here I thought Texas was full of rugged individuals. I have not spent $2000 hunting in the past ten years and usually harvest nice blacktail bucks. What ever you do, dont be a bubba.