I went to high school with Liz in Bonners. It’s amazing to see your success! I’m in California now and deer hunting is so freaking expensive 😔 fortunately, duck, turkey and rabbit are cheap and abundant.
Great video. Thank you for mentioning Hunter Safety course. My parents put myself and siblings through NRA Hunter Safety almost every year, with our FFA and 4-H club friends. I’m so thankful for my parents, we had great childhood. God bless you both. 😊🙏❤
I agree with your cost analysis, you make very good points and I have said the same thing to my friends when they say things like, "I need to shoot this buck, we really need the meat". I always reply with sell your 4 wheeler and go buy beef.... save the gas money of travel and go buy pork. But there is one aspect of hunting you did not touch on very much; the value in knowledge gained from experience. Learning how to hunt and becoming a good hunter reduces costs, know how to process your own food reduces costs. knowing how to efficiently hunt and gather may save your life, if it is required at some point. When I was a small kid, almost all the protein we at was wild game. But in the 60s in rural Colorado my Dad and Mom could legally harvest 4 deer a year and 10 cotton tail rabbits a day, plus grouse when the season was open and they did not have to travel hardly at all to get the game. Both my parents were raised on the farm and knew how to process there food. Now I mostly hunt for the pleasure of teaching young folks how to be successful at it. AND who does not like going on a horse ride in the mountains of Idaho with good friends? It is a past time, to enjoy learning.
After 53 years of pursuing protein, absolutely!! 😂 Not only is it very enjoyable imo, but I have several properties that my family and close friends can use. Originally from Wisconsin, it's a family tradition. Not only tradition, but if shtf, I can provide for my family and friends if need be. Love ya'll ❤
Mike....I was pretty late getting into the hunting game but have been doing it for over 30 years now. Many of the cost items you mentioned are legit BUT many are also one time cost items. If you are in for the long haul, you kind of accumuate all the necessary things you need over a period of years. I also learned to process my own deer and again, over the years, accumulated the necessary "tools" to get it done. I now have a grinder, sausage stuffer, dehydrator, butcher paper wrapping roll, knives, etc. This is a GREAT way to get quality meat from the wild. And speaking of quality, the quality of all the cut meat is WAY better than having it done at a butcher. You also know that everything you cut up is YOUR meat and not someone else's who may not have taken the care your venison needed. One other quickie item.....it is not necessary to remove the hide. That can be beneficial in protecting the meat from foreign debris and insects. I like to let the deer hang for a good period of time weather dependent of course (below 50, low 40s to mid 30s prefered). A week or more is fine but make sure the chest cavity is well exposed. (remove the tenderloin immediately). Love both your channels and my wife and I never miss an episode.
I think hunting is a viable way to put food in your refrigerator. Read your freezer. I should say no matter what the cost is it’s still better than what they’re putting in the food that we buy from the store. With that being said, you can’t go wrong like you said there is very organic I prefer to hunt elk, which is very good. I would love to go hunt buffalo someplace and put something in the freezer but in general, I think I’m paying for your own food is better than purchasing at the store just like growing your own food is better for you, but having said everybody’s different this is Scott from Pleasant Grove Utah. Thanks for sharing your life and your outlets with us.
Hunting is pretty much a hobby anymore,but depending how many dear your family can harvest, and freeze or preserve, it’s all the life style you and yours choose. Bless you both, and your farm. 😊❤🙏
You can think of hunting like solar power; yes, the upfront cost is a lot, but over time it pays for itself. I mean, you don't buy a new knife, hoist, rifle, etc. for every hunting season. Chances are, if you run a homestead, most tools you need, you already have.
Hey Mike, in my opinion you can't compare wild game meat to commercially raised, mass produced meat. It needs to be compared to organic, grass fed beef or bison meat, in which case it absolutely is a bargain and well worth the time, effort and expense. By the way, the only way I use the front shoulders of a deer anymore is to slow smoke it whole. After about 5 hours in the smoker at about 275 you have the most tender enjoyable piece of meat anywhere. Just shred it with a fork like pulled pork. All that connective tissue literally disappears. Keep your flint sharp, your priming dry, and stay free! TC
There is far more to it, as a novice without your own private huntable property big game hunting will be nothing more than a pastime. It is completely different if you have your own private property with sustainable hunting, 10 acres isn't large enough to have a resident herd, but can still be huntable for deer that traffic through and feed on your property (depending on the surroundings). You can also make it more attractive by establishing fields with deer browse to attract and maintain traffic. Initial layout is expensive but over time it gets less expensive. The same plants will also attract turkeys, grouse, and pheasant. That kind of layout is actually less expensive than maintaining livestock. Over time I imagine whatever grasses you plant for your sheep to feed on will also start attracting deer and other big game.
Probably not if you pay to have the meat cut and wrapped. Its not that difficult to do your own butchering. I have done my won deer, elk, bear and even beef since I was a kid. Grew up that way. You get back what you put in to it. All that is needed to start is a good knife and a hand meat say. A hand grinder will work too. Upgrade as you go. Those skills may make your life a lot better in the future. It don't get more organic then from your tree stand to the freezer. Learn to can, to save freezer space. Good luck this year...
But you forgot that some of us have had and put the years into deer hunting so my investments are not as high as a beginner and after 50 plus years of hunting deer I still love bow hunting 😊
*IT's always worth it when you can hunt in the back yard!* But.. IF you need to spend Hundreds of Fuel... To go to the hunting spot than... It's more of a sport and vacation time than anything,
I live in northwest Montana As you might know I have been hunting and fishing all my life and I will be 55 this year and yes it has been a long time and I have always cut all my own meat and I have a nice cold shed that I hand my meat for a day or 2 and I cut it up and wrap it and freeze it, Now it not the hard and I will never take my animal to someone and I will tell why because they butcher them like they would a cow or a pig and can not do that when cut deer or elk meat you have clean and wash the meat after to take off the bone and again before you package it and it won't be good meat in my book and I don't not because it is cheap or anything as I do it because its part of me and who I am and I help keep the heard healthy for you and my kids and there kids and it not bad thing it is my part to help mother earth
I am not a fan of bow hunting. RARELY is the first shot a KILL shot. The animal runs away to bleed to death or be maimed for the rest of its life. For survival, yes, no other choice. Firearms are best but then have to rely on the hunter’s skills, again for a one shot kill. I am not a hunter but have no problem killing for substance or defense
