How do you guys go on these cool hunts?

[sodaksooner]

I've seen those cancellation things. That's legit?

Always skeptical of a deal that seems too good to be true.

Guy I know picked up a Kodiak Island brown bear hunt for just over $3k and his travel. Buddy had won it at auction and had something come up last minute and couldn't go. The mount cost significantly more than the hunt did....lol. That said, he does really well in real estate and can pretty much afford to go on any hunt he wants.

As far as me, I go the cheap route. Self guided, camp. I can do Elk in CO for less than $2k and that includes the tag.

 

[Kurts86]

Please tell me which industries do I can start looking

Tech, Finance, Consulting and dentistry have better work life balance with high income potential. Manufacturing and medicine have horrible work life balance even if they can be lucrative.

 

[rkcdvm]

TD/LR: Keep your family first. Communicate well. Don't make a down payment on a hunt that also puts a down payment on a future ass chewing by your wife.

I don't go on many cool hunts but the ones I have been on involved long forethought , planning, working extra (major help ) , and making sure my wife is aware of what I am planning. Sometimes she wants to come along and that will obviously increase cost. When I work extra, some of that goes into the "hunt pot" and some of it goes into the "couples pot."

One of the most important things I didn't think about when I would be working extra for these trips is that not only am I away for the trip, I am also away while I'm working extra so I can take these trips. So we both lose quality time with each other twice. Making her THE priority has definitely made it easier to say I want to go hunt Alaska and she be ok with it.. Now she comes along and those are the best hunts ever.

A friend of mine also guides hunts and helps as a packer for outfitters sometimes. Part of his payment is that he can go hunt with them. Being in Alaska, that may be something you can do. I've had a lot of ranchers let me hunt on their property because I walked up to them and asked if I could help out around the ranch in exchange for the ability to hunt. Some of those relationships can go a long way too. My current whitetail gig costs me about a day helping plow a wheat field . In exchange I get to hunt about 2 square miles of property. I've had that gig for more than a decade now. No bottle of Crown Royal required.

 

[LCguy]

Every hunt is a cool hunt. My fiancée likes to travel, so it's not realistic for me to use all of my vacation time to hunt because I enjoy the trips we take together. You have to decide what's important to you and then make the best of what you have. I'm lucky that I can draw, at the very least, a muzzleloader cow tag, and muzzleloader mule deer virtually every year. Could I apply in more states/places? Sure. But I would've missed out on great trips with someone I love. Also, stop comparing yourself to dentists, doctors and other wealthy folks, which this site is full of.

To me, hunting in different places isn't important but if it is to you, make a plan. Maybe offer to take your wife and spend a week with her doing tourist stuff in the state of your choice and another week hunting after she goes back home. My advice, as someone who isn't rich but makes a good living, is open a HYSA at a local credit union and put as much as you can spare ever check. It will compound quickly with no risk.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

I actually have a YouTube channel which is the reason for asking the question I was hoping the channel would pay for trips but what I realized is I need the trips first so the channel can have videos and I need money and time for the trips

This makes me feel a bit disgusted. The last thing this world needs is another monetized channel for hunting. But that’s just my opinion. It’s your choice as to how to sell your time, your soul, etc. I personally wouldn’t want to turn something I view as quasi-sacred into a job or side hustle.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

I guess I'm not one of the cool kids. I hunt as much as I want here in WA, hunt my place in MO every year and every so often my home state, WI. Could I afford some of these exotic hunts? Yes. Do I want to spend that much money to kill an animal? No. I'm just waiting to draw a sheep or moose or elk or mule deer rut permit here in WA or a CO elk permit. Any of those would be "cool" to me.

 

[MuleyFever]

I actually have a YouTube channel which is the reason for asking the question I was hoping the channel would pay for trips but what I realized is I need the trips first so the channel can have videos and I need money and time for the trips

Oh boy

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

A lot of it’s just where you are in life too. As a lot of guys get into their late 30’s and 40’s+ they have a lot more disposable income. Dropping 5-10k on a hunt is a lot different for them than if they were in their 20’a still climbing the career ladder.

Is it selfish? Maybe, but at the same time my wife knows it makes me happy and likes to do things for me and I would do the same thing for her talents/hobby’s/interests. Do your homework, talk to your spouse, set a goal, and start setting some money aside each month until it becomes a reality.

This right here

Also, I wouldn't get too hung up the DIY vs. guided debate. Here's the reality... As a NR, if a guided hunt with higher probability for success costs me $5-6k once every few years, that's essentially the same cost as unsuccessful DIY hunts every year. It's also less wear and tear on your vehicle and the relationship with your wife.

If you can find a guided shoulder season hunt for a cow elk (they are out there) that doesn't cost you points you're accumulating for a BOAL hunt, and you can get into it for less than say $5k all-in, it may be worth it.

Another option is to set a budget, and once you've achieved the savings, start applying to every unit you've ever wanted to hunt in the random. As long as you can live with the non-refundable portion of these applications, you're chances of being drawn are stil better than had you never applied at all.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

There's no adventure I've ever been on that's better than my family at the end of the day.

Adventures with your family.

 

[Roddyscott]

I hunted very cheaply until my kids were grown and gone. I also had a side hustle and a wife that worked. I went to Africa last Aug and headed to Alaska the end of Aug this year.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

I agree with the guy saying shift your content to what you’re capable of doing.

If this is a route you want to go, I would be doing a deep dive on “Outdoor Boys.” That dudes ROI had to be insane.

It's been good enough that he was able to quit his attorney job several years ago. I know him somewhat as we worked together briefly on a Carp and Catfish rod promotion for his signature Whisker Seeker fishing rod. He had a huge following on his fishing channel as well as the Outdoor Boys channel.

As an aside, I'm family friends with the founder of Whisker Seeker and used to do a fair amount of writing for his website. Great guy and poster child for entrepaneurship (sp?).

The youtube thing isn't near as sweet as it once was. Regardless, the channels with hundreds of thousands of followers or more have several things in common. Consistent delivery of tons of high quality content created through massive amounts of editing. This takes a ton of time, and many hours go into a 20 minute video. Most people simply don't have the time to do it unless they go all in...

 

[Jimmy]

You could go the Jake Paul route and fight old people on TV.

 

[woods89]

I actually have a YouTube channel which is the reason for asking the question I was hoping the channel would pay for trips but what I realized is I need the trips first so the channel can have videos and I need money and time for the trips

You aren't going to like this, but I wouldn't be surprised if you'd be much better off spending the time you're spending on your channel thinking about and working toward advancing the career you have. We have way too many Youtubers, and not nearly enough people with real skills. Those skills can be techinical, or managerial, just work on becoming way better than average. I can tell you as someone who's run a business for the last 12 years that if you become highly skilled in your industry, opportunity will come, either in the form of promotion at your current employer or from someone outside noticing.

Also, on forums or social media, it can seem like people are hunting more than they are. Kind of the nature of the platforms.

 

[Hnthrdr]

You could go the Jake Paul route and fight old people on TV.

I respect that more than the constant pimping of our wild lands and animals …. Tbh

 

[coyotekilla]

Sometimes in like you can't see the forest for the trees... my that I mean every hunt is special. To the Alaskan that hunts caribou to survive winter, a Pennsylvanian ground hog hunt sounds amazing. I think alot of times we that live in the mountains to go to the beach on vacation while the beach people go to the mountains...

Doing something new is exciting yes, but you don't need to spend thousands to do it. Take a hike, bring a camera, if you can take its Pic, you could of taken its life... im by no means an anti hunter, just a pro outdoors person.

Just a pic I snapped for my local game warden who wanted to know if ive seen turkey lately.

 

[Huntndog]

I served in the ministry for 35 years . We started with nothing . I made 15,000 and housing my first year. That was 1986. Since then I have hunted Africa twice , New Zealand once and elk hunted six or eight times. Mule deer this year , Newfoundland moose next year. I also fly fish Belize ,Chile etc. and intend to keep it all up until I give out.
There are three things that have made this possible.

1. Work with your wife .Plan and dream together . She may not go on all the adventures and you may be staying home when she goes places with her friends ,but she will be essential in getting where you want to go.

2. Get out of debt. We put our house on 15 years and saved $100,000 in interest.Every penny you waste on interest can be saved and work FOR you in the long run.

3.As many have suggested ,get a side hustle. We began a boarding and training kennel for dogs ,over twenty years ago. It started with keeping a couple of dogs in the basement and training ONE dog the first year. Over time while both keeping full time jobs
we grew the business without debt. Just prior to Covid I was training over 300 dogs a year and we were kenneling thousands. We still kennel as many as 60 plus ,at times.
We do not have employees.
It has been a gold mine, and we worked very hard for a very long time to make it that way.

Maybe you are allergic to dogs . Who knows? The point is ,as many have said, if you want something badly enough , this is America , go out there and grab it.

 

[Maverick1]

True, if I only had a lighter, stronger, more tricked out, more custom rifle! I would have for sure killed that BOAL!!!

Why shoot it when you can steal it? Isn’t that the WKR way?!?!?!…….

 

[Jimmy]

I respect that more than the constant pimping of our wild lands and animals …. Tbh

There are more youtube channels and podcasts than people could ever listen to. I shake my head when someone comes out with the same exact content as 10,000 other people. Be original! Creative!

 

[Maverick1]

I actually have a YouTube channel which is the reason for asking the question I was hoping the channel would pay for trips but what I realized is I need the trips first so the channel can have videos and I need money and time for the trips

So you started this thread to have YouTube video clicks fund your hunts? Or you started this thread because your YouTube channel wasn’t getting enough clicks?

 

[tboltz34]

I figure about a $1000 per trip out west, a little more for elk and a little less for deer and antelope. Plenty of fun can be had with only the tag and gas money. Assuming you have all the gear to camp. I slept in my truck for four years and did two (even three) trips per year.

Not everyone is in the same situation but most people I know tell me "I wish I could go on those hunts" and then mention money. Every one of these people have thousands into their Mathews bows, Sitka clothing, etc. In my mind, if they are buying a $2,000 bow every 4 years, it's not a money thing. It's a priority thing and the priority is having the equipment over using the equipment.

A lot of times, the hardest part is deciding to go.