Cutting costs this year?

Last Spring I bought a hi-top Ford conversion van and turned it into a hunting camper/rv. Took out the 2nd row captain's chairs, and 3rd row bench seat. Built a single bed and installed it. Bought a 12v fridge/freezer. Already had camp chairs, Coleman stove, etc. Took it on a 3-week solo trip to ND/SD in Oct, and spent the first 2 weeks in it. (3rd week in a hotel in SD) Worked out great. Was nice having all my gear, clothes, food, etc with me at all times. Took my vacuum-sealer with me, so I was able to clean birds, package them, and freeze them right there in the van at the end of the day. Did make sharptail fajitas one day.
Had no problem going up and down gravel/dirt roads, and even some 2-tracks in a 2WD van. I never checked the numbers, but I think money-wise it came out about the same, getting 16 mpg and paying $10 bucks a night at a small city campground.....or getting 31 mpg in my small SUV and paying $70-90 for a room like I would usually do. I think I drove 7500 miles on that trip. I plan to take it on basically the same trip this year, and once to KS, which I also did last year. And then decide if I want to keep it, or sell it and go back to always staying in motels. I'll admit that after 2 weeks in the van, it was pretty great to be in a nice hotel for a week in SD.
 
No more warning shots. I am the luckiest guy here with almost all of my hunting spots within 10 miles of my residence. I could cut-back to hunt just every saturday or just sundays...nah, every saturday & sunday morning plus the holidays! Well, maybe I will take some of the later holidays off....it is hard to stay ahead of the possession limit by then. Get your pheasant appitite ready fellas!
 
gimruis said:
Oh great. Another political rumor being started. Time to shut this thread down again.
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It’s always the same few that want to talk politics on a hunting site.
remy3424 said:
No more warning shots. I am the luckiest guy here with almost all of my hunting spots within 10 miles of my residence. I could cut-back to hunt just every saturday or just sundays...nah, every saturday & sunday morning plus the holidays! Well, maybe I will take some of the later holidays off....it is hard to stay ahead of the possession limit by then. Get your pheasant appitite ready fellas!
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yes that’s pretty lucky. There was a time I was an hr or so from pretty decent hunting for a mixed bag. But things have been tough in those areas. There are some quail only hunting closer I will be exploring this fall a bit, some pretty close. Now That I will be breaking in a pPinter it will give us something to do.
 
remy3424 said:
I am the luckiest guy here with almost all of my hunting spots within 10 miles of my residence.
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And here I thought I had it good being about an hour from good upland hunting on private land. Count your blessing while you have them. It aint gonna last forever.
 
remy3424 said:
No more warning shots. I am the luckiest guy here with almost all of my hunting spots within 10 miles of my residence. I could cut-back to hunt just every saturday or just sundays...nah, every saturday & sunday morning plus the holidays! Well, maybe I will take some of the later holidays off....it is hard to stay ahead of the possession limit by then. Get your pheasant appitite ready fellas!
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Remy, Please don't rub it in, lol. Most of us have to travels long distances to get our fixes.
 
Was driving back home from Lubbock, TX to the Dallas/Ft Worth area yesterday. Filled up for $3.79 just east of Abilene. Lowest I've seen in quite some time.
 
Sorry fellas. The wierd thing is, there just isn't many locals that hunt here, I don't think I could get you the names of 20 people that would go out pheasant hunting more than a couple times a year. I know our birds number have been building since a couple bad back-to-back winters that were close to 15 years ago now, we had one bad winter since, but our birds didn't get wiped-out in that one, maybe just set-back that year. I think many just quit after the bad seasons and the next generation just aren't getting into it, even if their parents were/are bird hunters. My brother and another friend quit several years ago, more of health & dog issues. I introduced my buddy to this addiction 6-7 years ago, he is now all-in with his own GSP and we go out together over 20 times a season. He is getting better every year, fun to see that happening. I just think I need to find a few kids (young people) to get introduced to this. If the hunters are dissappearing, fewer voices for wildlife concerns will mean fewer legislative incentives to help the wildlife. This is something I (we all) should maybe take into consideration. Sorry for taking a post get off-topic, thanks for putting up with it!
 
remy3424 said:
I think many just quit after the bad seasons and the next generation just aren't getting into it, even if their parents were/are bird hunters. My brother and another friend quit several years ago, more of health & dog issues.
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This is pretty close to what I've seen the past 15 years where I hunt in Central MN now. The few upland bird hunters I knew have all moved on now. Pheasant hunting is much lower in popularity than deer hunting is too, and its not even close. I haven't seen another pheasant hunter in well over a decade.
 
remy3424 said:
No more warning shots. I am the luckiest guy here with almost all of my hunting spots within 10 miles of my residence. I could cut-back to hunt just every saturday or just sundays...nah, every saturday & sunday morning plus the holidays! Well, maybe I will take some of the later holidays off....it is hard to stay ahead of the possession limit by then. Get your pheasant appitite ready fellas!
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Ah but than you miss the joy of exploring new territory. The excitement and anticipation of what you will find. Will this spot be a honey hole or a bust? Will there be a draw that you can't see from the road? The big unknown.
 
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