Rising Costs

I'm blessed to be able to hunt so close to home, but I've considered this before and like most on here, I've settled on the fact that as long as I am physically able to hunt, I'll make it happen. I do the same with air conditioning. I don't care how much it costs, my house will never be warmer than 65 degrees in the summer. :)
 
Upland game hunting will be the last thing to go for me. I'm retired so my income is pretty much "fixed" so I'll have to cut back somewhere else. I'm old enough to realize the end is nearer than the beginning. I enjoy it too much and will hunt until I physically can't.
 
McFarmer said:
Jebus, do you keep it at 65 in the winter ?
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I keep my thermostat at 65 in the winter and I live in the western portion of the Twin Cities. 75 is WAY too hot.

If I could keep it at 70 in the summer, I'd do it. My AC can't keep up on days when its humid and warm above 90 degrees though, even when it runs non stop.
 
My primary spots are right about 2 hours from home. Some sections are very large...so having a second vehicle is a plus, but it is usually just two of us. What we usually end up doing is pulling our SXS as riding together is half of the fun. We both have younger kids, so the wife likes it if we can be home at night. That really increases the price if we want to hunt Sunday as well as Saturday. I've got a 38 gallon tank on my truck, so a night in the local motel at ~$60/night will save a bunch on gas. We will probably go that route more this year...which in turn will also save 6 hours of driving for the weekend. We will make some adjustments, but won't stop hunting that's for sure. My bigger concern is every other weekend this summer going 5+ hours to fish...pulling the boat...and then burning 100 gallons of fuel in a weekend on our outboard. Gotta pay to play $$$. Does it suck? Sure does. Grin and bear it.
 
Fuel prices surging in Southern Illinois
$4.79 diesel and $4.19 gas. At this rate $ 5 and $6 is just around the corner
 

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I don't use much gas in the winter. I have bought exactly one tank since Jan 1. That will start to change in April when I start turkey hunting and fishing again.
 
It will impact my hunting and fishing. No out of state hunting for me this year. We usually take a week long vacation or two during the summer. Our vacations this summer will be in state.
 
will not change our hunting plans. will be making two long trips. one 21 hours each way and one 17 hours each way. will be a total of 16 days in the field between the two trips. have "free" lodging for one and found a really good deal for the other so that will offset any added fuel costs.
 
carptom1 said:
You know that was one of the reasons I got her. Let me know if you ever want to give it a go. I have to adapt and hunt what’s available closer. The Dakotas are a long way from us
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Sounds good tom. I really enjoy chicken hunting I don’t know why I didn’t do it sooner.
 
Coming from Northern Michigan, my drive is just under a 1000 miles and fuel is my highest cost in every trip. I'm pretty fortunate the house I rent is a friend of my and it is $40/night/person. I will be more diligent is mapping out my hunting spots both public and private so i'm not traveling from one end of my area to another. I'm fortunate I don't have to pay a trespass fee for the private. I do make it a point to eat at a local bar each night so i do travel to eat up to 30 miles one way that might be reduced. I will either bring meals or by groceries and prepare at the house. When I hunt solo, my trip is typically between $800 to $1000, if my son is with me we hover closer to a grand. I could go to a preserve and hunt alot of birds for the cost of my trip, but these trips are what recharge my batteries annually.
 
Miforester said:
Coming from Northern Michigan, my drive is just under a 1000 miles and fuel is my highest cost in every trip. I'm pretty fortunate the house I rent is a friend of my and it is $40/night/person. I will be more diligent is mapping out my hunting spots both public and private so i'm not traveling from one end of my area to another. I'm fortunate I don't have to pay a trespass fee for the private. I do make it a point to eat at a local bar each night so i do travel to eat up to 30 miles one way that might be reduced. I will either bring meals or by groceries and prepare at the house. When I hunt solo, my trip is typically between $800 to $1000, if my son is with me we hover closer to a grand. I could go to a preserve and hunt alot of birds for the cost of my trip, but these trips are what recharge my batteries annually.
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I agree, it is the adventure. Not just killing something.
 
For people so interested in chasing pheasants that they frequent a bbs specifically tied to that pursuit, the higher costs would likely have little effect on their participation in the sport.

For the other folks that aren't, shall we say, obsessed as some others it will make a difference. The whole operation will be much more costly. LA supposedly has fuel prices over $5/gallon right now and it could easily be more by Fall. Some prognosticators are saying maybe $8 or more. Hotels will go up, every item that moves to stores by truck will go up. Shotguns, ammo, boots, jackets, pants....all going up.

I personally don't count food expense in my pheasant hunting calculations. We all eat food daily, pheasant hunting or not. While it's true there's usually more dining out during a pheasant trip I don't feel it's significant. I dine out when home too.

For those that don't spend every other month of the year waiting for pheasant season, these costs will deter them. How much? I don't know. I do expect to see fewer hunters afield this Fall.
 
Can't wait for lower costs in retirement!! Perhaps the best piece of advice I read before retiring was - there are two stages in retirement - 1) Active years - when you can physically do those activities you enjoy - hunting, golf, travel, etc; 2) Inactive years - no longer physically able; it really struck a chord; so maximizing days afield is the mission, upland, waterfowl, turkey, and more fishing. Clearly a number of guys on this site know this full well.
For the younger guys, it can be a real challenge balancing the cost of raising a family vs the increasing costs of our joyous outdoor pursuits. Speaking from experience, you cannot recapture any lost trip or year afield. Missing a trip just drove me crazy, so I hope it works out for you financially.
P.S - Gas dropped to $1 gallon in April 2020..............hard to believe & not long ago
 
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