Cutting costs this year?

I just booked a room last night in Iowa at a Best Western for 10 days for around $1000 with tax. That is pretty cheap when you think about it. I checked into renting a cabin at a local campground but they raised their rates to $90+ tax a night since the last time I stayed there. Not much if any savings, I get points, internet and a free night at the BW.

I figure I will spend at least $3000 this year on motels alone. My dogs told me they aren't willing to pay half, so I can't split the cost. Next thing you know they'll want $15 an hour. Not much savings to be found. I've talked with my wife about relocating to Iowa or SD but that didn't go well. I tried to get my daughter to go to college in South Dakota. I talked her into applying to SD State and she got accepted but my wife found out about it and explained the concept of ulterior motives to her. After 35 years of marriage I think my wife is starting to figure things out.
 
Put on the pants bro and let the woman know whats up!! lolz

I got buddies in Dakota and there ain't much to do outside huntin and fishin. Wind blows all the time and there just aint much culture. Pluse we got lots a pheazzies here in central IOwa.
 
benelli-banger said:
and season-long license
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That is actually a very big selling point. Instead of being limited to only 10 days during the entire season, you can hunt all season and go any time you want to in Iowa as a non-resident.

The downside is that the season is not as long now that SD has extended their season all the way through January.

I've been contacting the DNR here in MN to change our season for several years. It starts way too early. It should start towards the end of October and finish around mid January. I don't even start pheasant hunting until deer firearms season is over here in MN which is mid November.
 
Smasher said:
Put on the pants bro and let the woman know whats up!! lolz

I got buddies in Dakota and there ain't much to do outside huntin and fishin. Wind blows all the time and there just aint much culture. Pluse we got lots a pheazzies here in central IOwa.
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😳 yep..put on the pants bro..and tell her who the boss..really is😀😜
And then plan on leaving them on for a long long time..cause you will have no reason to take them off!!!😂😅
 
gimruis said:
This is me. West burb house, about 65 miles to good pheasant hunting, all on private land. Except I don't go west like seemingly every single other pheasant hunter on the planet does. A lot of hunters heading to Iowa or SD drive right past some pretty decent hunting for a fraction of the cost and distance. Quite often, I spend more time driving to my hunting spots than I do actually hunting because I can fill a 2 bird limit relatively quickly.

High costs of gas, food, lodging doesn't really affect me. I don't stay anywhere other than my own house and I don't eat out when I go hunting. The only cost is gas in my truck, which I think will go down after Labor Day. If I had to drive across two states and hundreds of miles to hunt like some people here do, then I might re-think my plan or budget.
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Gim.

Your life as a bird hunter is way too easy. :)
 
BritChaser said:
I retired a couple of years ago financially comfortable, praise be, after being broke a number of times during my adulthood. my attitude is now YOLO -You Only Live Once - so, no, I am not cutting back on my outdoor activities. fortunately, upland hunting and fishing are far less costly than some other hobbies.
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Amen Brother....Get all the gusto while you can... My motto also....
 
I'm driving over 5,000 miles to winter in Montana, summer in Alaska.
That will be quite the investment in gas going through Canada.
Once in Montana, I will be driving mostly a Subaru instead of my pickup.
I'm retired, so hunt every weekday (mostly mornings) until the season ends.
Subaru averages 32 miles per gallon.
 
Gas isn't the only thing that it is high, so is everything else. Dog food, hotel rooms, food, clothing, shotgun shells, etc. Gas is only a part of it, don't let it derail your passion. I would cut out the internet, cable tv, cell phone, drinking pop, eating out, etc. But I will never cut back how much and far I drive for the thing that I enjoy the most. I will toss that worthless cell phone (which I hate having by the way) in the trash along with my computer but if gas goes to $10 a gallon I will hunt the same as every year. How much gas I use and how many mpg I get is the least concern in the world that I have. Oh and if you couldn't tell, I hate technology. I use it but I hate it. If it disappeared tomorrow I would never miss it. Give me a rotary phone on a party line any day over this crap.
 
AKSkeeter said:
I'm driving over 5,000 miles to winter in Montana, summer in Alaska.
That will be quite the investment in gas going through Canada.
Once in Montana, I will be driving mostly a Subaru instead of my pickup.
I'm retired, so hunt every weekday (mostly mornings) until the season ends.
Subaru averages 32 miles per gallon.
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Skeeter, If I ever lived in Montana, it would be hard for me to go to Alaska.
 
I will hopefully be getting a cheap pop up camper to cut AirBnB/hotel costs (plus the dogs can sleep inside as well). Also hunting states that have a year long license helps cut down costs
 
I never could figure out the philosophy of spending money to save money. It just never worked for me. For me buying a camper would turn into a money pit affair. The comfort of a hotel bed with my dogs sounds much better. My dogs love sleeping on a clean comforter anyway. Guess I will be burning rubber and having the dogs shed in a hotel room til I go broke. Come to think of it, I got me a Sams Club Credit Card about 6 weeks ago and get 5% back on gas, hotel, and food. Hell I am saving money and never thought about it. Luxury Suite for me in Algona this year. I don't drink but I might buy a round at the Mexican Restaurant.
 
westksbowhunter said:
I never could figure out the philosophy of spending money to save money. It just never worked for me. For me buying a camper would turn into a money pit affair. The comfort of a hotel bed with my dogs sounds much better. My dogs love sleeping on a clean comforter anyway. Guess I will be burning rubber and having the dogs shed in a hotel room til I go broke. Come to think of it, I got me a Sams Club Credit Card about 6 weeks ago and get 5% back on gas, hotel, and food. Hell I am saving money and never thought about it. Luxury Suite for me in Algona this year. I don't drink but I might buy a round at the Mexican Restaurant.
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A camper really doesn't save money, that I know. But it does give you a close place to stay where you hunt. One place I frequently hunt is about an hour and a half from a "sizable town" and the accommodations there are just tolerable if you keep one eye closed. Than there is the problem of how many dogs you have. I'm traveling with my "dog", of course all 4 of them look alike so there is no problem. Than there is the stress with the pup that ate deer poop all day pukes at 3 in the morning. Than there is the skunk issue, etc. etc. No campers don't save money, but they eliminate some stress.
 
Alaskan swamp collies said:
No campers don't save money
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Its probably very dependent on how often you use it. I never thought buying a deluxe Ice Castle for ice fishing was worth it either, then I realized that most people who buy one also use it as a camper in the off season. If you ONLY use it for ice fishing, which is a month or two at the most, then its a rip off. Same with a camper for upland hunting. If you only use it for that purpose, then its not worth it. If you use it more often throughout the year, then it pays off.

The other thing is that you need a place to store it too. Campers take up a fair amount of space and unless you live out in a rural area, sometimes you can't just park it in your yard or driveway.
 
Like most things in life it’s not one right or wrong answer for everyone. Have looked at the camper route and right now for the trips I make it doesn’t make sense. Between fuel mileage drop versus hotel/cabin still money ahead without a camper. 5 years from now the answer may be different. Will continue to do the math and go from there with it.
 
We lived in one for almost 3 months last fall hunting and doing agility. So we got our use out of ours. Yes its cheaper to cook in the camper and way easier than motel rooms. Gas mileage goes about in half and when it gets way below zero its not as nice as a motel room(ask me how I know that). Resale is great, at least in AK we have sold 2 for essentially what we paid for them. Repairs are not any worse than on a house. For us a camper is great because we hunt several states and have time so if it's windy we don't drive that day. If we were to go to one state and hunt in the same place for a week, than head back to work, a motel would make more sense.
 
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