Cost of DIY New Mexico Antelope?

[YellCoAR]

What do you think is the lowest amount you will spend on a DYI New Mexico 3 day antelope hunt?

Here is what I spent Leaving from Arkansas.
Tag and license $352.00
Gas $365.00
Dry Ice for meat and cape $20.00
1 Night motel $80.00
So a total of $817.00 is about as cheap as it can be done. Of course after 4 days of camping I felt a night to clean up and rest before the drive home was well worth the $80.00
Hunting is getting expensive even on your own.

 

[YellCoAR]

Oh also my unit only had State land so did not have to buy other access licenses.

 

[Geewhiz]

Was this an otc license or was it your cost+ waiting years to draw?


$817 seams dirt cheap. You cant even hardly take a dump for $817 dollars these days.

 

[YellCoAR]

Random draw public land tag.

 

[S-3 ranch]

I’m looking for a diy New Mexico for 2025
Would love a DM from those looking or have done it

 

[DosAmigos]

Super 8 in Clayton was 149.99 per night. This was last years pricing.

 

[YellCoAR]

M&M Hotel in Des Moines $80.00 cash

 

[Kurts86]

Plus the 30x $100 in tags you have to buy to statistically pull a NM NR unguided tag.

 

[saskhunter]

Do you not eat or drink? Obviously that'll be added to overall hunt cost but, anything <1k is VERY affordable for a DIY hunt.

 

[YellCoAR]

Must of not seen my photo. I am going to eat regardless.

 

[johnbow]

Let's see your antelope

 

[YellCoAR]

 

[YellCoAR]

 

[Boone-In-Wall]

I did a NM antelope hunt this year and it came out just under $1400. I brought my son along so the food costs were a little higher than it should have been. We camped at a state park for $40, but $600 was for food alone. I probably could have done it for $400 if I went cheaper. Fuel was a big one because the unit I was in had a lot of checker boarding so we ended up driving a lot. In summary, its probably the cheapest Western Hunt you could do based on tag price and overall logistics. Note, I was unsuccessful so that cost didn't include meat processing (~$150) and a skull mount ($100) or a shoulder mount (~$400).

 

[YellCoAR]

Where can you get a shoulder mount for $400.00?
Mine will be $650.00. I had one quote for $1,200.00.

Also I wonder why people add in the cost of food to a hunt. You have to eat if you stay at home.

 

[Kurts86]

My 2022 DIY Wyoming Pronghorn trip cost $1,695 with a special tag, flying, rental car, fuel and lodging with 2 other guys to split the cost.

Tag: $667
Flight: $281
AirBnB + Hotel: $249 (1/3rd split)
Rental Car: $271 (1/3rd split)
Fuel: $78 (1/3rd split)
Food: $150

What isn’t factored in is the 10 PP’s @ $30/year. The reality is that pronghorn is a 5+ PP hunt anymore for Wyoming or Colorado and most New Mexico pronghorn tags are 1-5% draw odds with no known time table. At this point a NR NM pronghorn tag is almost a once in a lifetime tag.

I would say that while pronghorn maybe the cheapest western hunt, the decrease in availability of tags and point creep likely closes the cost gap to a deer tag you can draw every year or 2. 10 years ago a pronghorn tag was a bargain easy to pull off hunt and that isn’t the case anymore with fewer tags, more people applying. The cost to apply or buy points for pronghorn likely offsets the tag cost difference of $200 or so to a deer tag.

 

[huntsd]

Every out of state hunt I do cost at least $1k. The majority of the expenses are gas and tag/license

 

[TurkeyReaper69]

I did my trip driving from MS to NM for the same price. Add $40 for camp site fees, I didn't stay in hotel though but spent that in beer and food. Reckon it all evens out though. Guess I was about $850-900 all in.

Didn't even need to use a vacation day either for my trip!