Ok, but then you also need to include the fuel and cost of your vehicle to drive to the store to buy meat. Obviously it'd still be cheaper to go to the store.Yep it all costs and don’t forget transportation and time isn’t free either. Unless it’s a very rare circumstance it’s cheaper just to buy meat but it’s a good justification for the wife.
I count the difference in what I spent to hunt vs stay home and never hunt. It's rather minimal. Some gas, maybe specialty food depending on where we're going and how we get there, butchering supplies, the rifle, the pack.
The transportation, the clothing, the tent(all camping gear) I'm going to own if I never hunt again. They're not specialty for hunting.
I don't take time off work to hunt, so the time is free... I wouldn't get paid for that time no matter what I did with it, so it makes no sense to charge for that time.