How do you guys go on these cool hunts?

[NRA4LIFE]

Did anybody suggest selling feet pics?

I won't post pictures of my feet. I don't want anyone to throw up.

Back on track. Try setting a small amount of money out of every paycheck into a high yield savings account, and tell your wife. At some point, you'll have enough for some kind of cool hunt.

 

[Maverick1]

I hate that I love this forum and I got some really helpful advice from some people on here if it’s that bad I’ll just not post anymore sorry for seeking advice.

Anyone that’s been a member here since 2021 can’t start a thread like this and then turn face to play the victim with the responses above. Especially since - after 11 pages - it comes out that making money on YouTube has an angle to the whole thing.

 

[Rich M]

I need some help and I don’t know who better to ask than the guys doing it so here goes. How do you guys achieve the time freedom and the financial freedom to go on these cool hunts. I’m in Arkansas working at a factory I have no kids but I have a wife and a mortgage and I pretty much only get to hunt what’s local to me like whitetail and ducks. I’m looking for adventure.

I read a book in 1978, decided wanted to go out west to hunt antelope and mule deer.

Booked a combo hunt in 2006 and lost my job. Had to cancel and lose deposit.

Went in 2017 and shot 2 doe antelopes. Had 4 shot opps at bucks but no tag. That was a mistake trip - poor company and had only doe tags.

3 middle aged guys went in 2019 and shot a 160-inch muley. 1 guy left early, other guy missed 2 and passed on No. 3.

Same 3 guys went in 2023 on a guided antelope hunt - finally got antelope buck - all 3 of us each got a buck. Figured the $ was worth the years of my life that would be wasted trying to get enough points for a good hunt. We actually tried for 3 yrs to get a certain unit. Went up a point every year. Screw that.

Same 3 guys are talking about 1 last hurrah. Need some points and/or some motivation. One guy is real close to retirement, I bought retirement property, other guy is buying property. This trip might never happen. But we're buying points just in case. In the interim, we hunt each others places for boring stuff like ducks and whitetails.

Trying to figure out what we want to do. I want to go AK fishing, one guys wants to go AK caribou (too $ for me), one guy wants a muley hunt, one guy's wife wants an antelope. I wouldn't mind another antelope hunt or maybe cow elk or meat buffalo. Trying to figure out AK fishing - probably do that and this hunt the year I retire. Grab lil momma and a camper - hit the road, come home a year or more later.

You do you.

In my opinion, the whole youtube thing is over-saturated. I won't click those links. Most of the videos all look alike - some guy talking for 30 minutes and showing 5 minutes of whatever he's doing. No-thanks. The guides we used in WY are the real movie makers - they live this stuff and then make movies for folks to drool over. Trick is to realize that most of them have real jobs the rest of the year and only guide during hunting season. The fellow we had was a licensed builder/contractor but he liked guiding. Real nice fellow.

Bottom line is you need some burn money. Keep working and when you have enough to go on the trips you'll know. You may have noticed the long gaps and then the quicker paced trips I mentioned.

Young guys have desire but no time or money, middle aged guys have money but little time, old men have money and time and are usually trying to just get it done while they can still stand upright. Pretty much the way of it. Guys who go all the time and say they hunt 2-3 months a year usually have a business someone else is running for them.

 

[WRO]

Don’t follow me for financial advice, I’m blessed to have a great wife who realized about a decade ago that it’s never going to any better. I do side jobs, take my kids on most hunts, and work remotely which gives me a lot of freedom.

That being said, I’m going to work until I’m 70, but I’m only 1 animal away from my super 10. I hunt 4 states a year to the tune of 40+ days.

Set your priorities and send it. You can hunt like a mad man and still have a happy wife and life.

 

[SloppyJ]

I go to Arkansas often to hunt whitetail on public land. My second and third biggest bow bucks came from there.

I sent an arrow through the brisket of the largest whitetail I’ve seen on the hoof while hunting in Arkansas.


Those hunts would be free for you essentially. Minus the time away from your family.


It’s an adventure for me because I make it one. I paid money to hunt in Wyoming by horseback for elk. It was amazing. But I have just as sticky of memories from my Arkansas public land whitetail hunts with good friends.

Shhhhhh!

 

[FranklinBluth]

I hate that I love this forum and I got some really helpful advice from some people on here if it’s that bad I’ll just not post anymore sorry for seeking advice.

I think it's fair to say we all pull for the young guy getting started in life trying to chase dreams of hunting big game. And you got pages and pages of earnest advice on how to get there.

But when it turns out the question is "how can I monetize this hobby" it elicits a very different response from people.

I don't think it's out of bounds to ask about your channel, but I'm much more willing to help a young cash strapped guy than a youtuber looking to make a name for himself.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

I don't think you did anything wrong. You just mentioned your channel because someone else mentioned filming your hunts.

You asked about making more money and how to become able to take more hunting trips.

One of the guys who thinks there's something wrong with you mentioning that, thinks shooting his biggest buck of the year outta the road is ok. Whatever

Hike your own hike, don't worry about the naysayers

Out of the road? No. On a hill in the middle of my farm. We hunted the mountain all day and my brother got his buck. I drove the truck up to the wood line to pick it up. While I was driving the truck down from picking it up, I was blessed with a beautiful buck that put his to shame. If you are going to disparage my enjoyment of a bit of dumb luck, at least read the post and get the details straight.

And, no, I don’t feel bad for being disgusted at the monetization of hunting. I won’t participate in that and I don’t consume that content. But I also said that if he wants to do it, go for it.

 

[Trapperkid]

I think it's fair to say we all pull for the young guy getting started in life trying to chase dreams of hunting big game. And you got pages and pages of earnest advice on how to get there.

But when it turns out the question is "how can I monetize this hobby" it elicits a very different response from people.

I don't think it's out of bounds to ask about your channel, but I'm much more willing to help a young cash strapped guy than a youtuber looking to make a name for himself.

This is understandable I simply want to tell stories and have on film some of the craziness that has happened on my adventures during this time. I asked the question not out of greed trying to make money but out of true lack of knowledge on how to go about these cool hunts as all week long I had been thinking about how I don’t ever do any of the western hunts I’ve always wanted to do like black bear and antelope and mule deer and elk that everyone here seems to do. I legit am just today trying to figure out how to acquire preference points and enter draws. The channel is a dream of if I show people all the fun I have out here ( I’m no good at it) and people watch it a bunch I could possibly pay for these cool hunts simply by showing the world these adventures and in the end have a collection of one man’s adventures in the outdoors.

 

[Hnthrdr]

Everyone should be a tad disgusted at the monetization of hunting… heck half the reason this discussion is being had is that “western hunting” has become wildly expensive…. Huh I wonder why that is?!

 

[Q_Sertorius]

This is understandable I simply want to tell stories and have on film some of the craziness that has happened on my adventures during this time. I asked the question not out of greed trying to make money but out of true lack of knowledge on how to go about these cool hunts as all week long I had been thinking about how I don’t ever do any of the western hunts I’ve always wanted to do like black bear and antelope and mule deer and elk that everyone here seems to do. I legit am just today trying to figure out how to acquire preference points and enter draws. The channel is a dream of if I show people all the fun I have out here ( I’m no good at it) and people watch it a bunch I could possibly pay for these cool hunts simply by showing the world these adventures and in the end have a collection of one man’s adventures in the outdoors.

And you had eleven pages of sincere advice telling you how to avoid playing the expensive and frustrating game of preference points and draws before you mentioned your YouTube channel. Just go hunt.

Enjoying hunting does not require a rare or expensive tag or gear. It just requires going hunting.

The whole hunting influencer thing is a toxic cycle. Going on expensive hunts so you can make content to pay for expensive hunts so you can get sponsors to pay for you to pimp their expensive stuff while making content to go on expensive hunts and convince other people that what they want to do is buy stuff they don’t need to go on hunts they can’t afford. There’s a reason a number of those guys eventually get caught doing something shady, because the product they are selling demands constant attention and new content and they had to sell part of themselves to get there. It’s like doing coke so you can work harder so you can buy more coke. Just break the cycle by not starting it. Enjoy the opportunities you have and plan for the things you want.

 

[Ucsdryder]

Everyone should be a tad disgusted at the monetization of hunting… heck half the reason this discussion is being had is that “western hunting” has become wildly expensive…. Huh I wonder why that is?!

You’re just jealous!

 

[HuntHarder]

Tons of comments in here feel like excuses for why someone is not as successful as others in life.

OP- work hard early in your career to set yourself up to have plenty of discretionary income. There is often lots of personal sacrifice. Some guys are willing to, some guys choose not to. I devoted almost 4 years of my life to my profession, basically putting it first. My wife and I knew it was going to be a rough 4 years, but in the end, it would be all worth it. Fast forward 12 years and I live a pretty comfortable life and have been on some hunts many dream of going on. I still choose to not live my life above my means and have money for things I enjoy in life. I still live in my same house I bought in 2009. This affords me the money and time away from work to do the things I enjoy. I could work more hours and make considerably more money but at my stage in life, I look for a balance, leaning toward family time and experiences.

To each their own, but I rarely look at other people and assume they are in debt. I just don't care if they are, that is their choice and the only real reason to constantly say things like that are to justify your current situation.

 

[aMurderOfCrows]

This thread reminds me of something Joel Maxfield said in a video I saw last year or the year before when the opportunity for a big hunt came up. “Honey, how attached are you to your half of the 401k.” Thought that was hilarious.

Doing some kind of side hustle can be worth it. Handy man stuff, trades stuff. I’m an electrician and there is quite a bit of money to be made for pretty simple stuff. $100 an hour for 20-25 hours a week adds up.

 

[wind gypsy]

These cool hunts are harder to do because so many people were determined to do them so they could show off how adventurous they are. Lots of hunters wouldn’t be competing for these things if it wasn’t to feed their ego and show off how ‘core they are. Even if it’s just for social media likes and back pats. There’s a vibe attached to it and you’re throwin it off. That’s why you’re getting the reaction you’re getting.

 

[getcervid]

Some people have hinted at this, I’ll expand on an idea.

If you’re young (20s, and even 30s), you have a unique oppurtunity to build and accumulate wealth. Every year, your dollar is worth less and has less time to grow. Exponential growth is a huge boon to those who can save young.

If you’re making something like the nations median household income and planning on a “typical” career/retirement timeline, it is way easier to save for that now than later. Your savings multiplier is ridiculous in your 20s.

Starting at age 20:


Staring at age 40:


Your first $100k in savings/retirement will take about as long to accumulate as going from $500k to $1M. The sooner and more aggressively you start that journey, the easier it will be to fund and spend on fun, “expensive” dreams that you want to do in the future.

Spending $10k on a hunt when you’re worth $50k just isn’t the same as spending $10k+ when you’re worth $1M.

Spend a couple years buckling down on your budget, savings, and investing. Hone your skills and fitness. Watch your net worth grow, and start rewarding you and your spouse with fun trips, dream purchases, etc.

Cut expenses ruthlessly on anything that does not contribute to a handful of your biggest goals.

Consider whether you want to have a career/youtube channel that tends to put pressure on an already scarce resource- public land and wildlife.

 

[RME]

You just smashed any good faith you were getting with one post.

Yep!

 

[Hnthrdr]

If more people were content with hunting because they love it and not needing to make videos/ content I 1000% guarantee it would be easier to get tags and less expensive to hunt. There is not some insane influx of sportsmen in the U.S. since 2015 difference is insane numbers of hunters hunting 2,3,4,5 states a year wonder what that coincided with?

 

[WRO]

You want to make cool YouTube, do cool stuff around home, doesn’t even have to be hunting related.

The hunting space is already jammed with crappy content so much that I rarely watch it anymore.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[NRA4LIFE]

You want to make cool YouTube, do cool stuff around home, doesn’t even have to be hunting related.

The hunting space is already jammed with crappy content so much that I rarely watch it anymore.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah, I agree, show me how to fix odd stuff.

 

[Marbles]

I used to live in Arkansas. I found a job in Alaska and moved. Didn't hunt the first year due to the cost of non-resident tags.

My hunts are still limited to cheap access options and the primary payment is sweat equity, but I can hunt deer, caribou, brown bear, black bear, moose, goats, and sheep reasonably. My problem now is time as my family comes first.

I don't have a side by side or a wheeler or a snow machine or a boat; they all cost too much. I did add a pack raft to my kit to expand options this last Black Friday.

No kids helps (I have kids). A wife that works helps (mine takes care of the kids).

Having gotten my master's degree helped a whole lot. If I was willing to leave my family for weeks at a time that would significantly increase my pay further, but I'm not willing.