How do you guys go on these cool hunts?

[Trial153]

Early on I
knew bow hunting was a priority in my life and I was going to find a way to make it happen as often as could.
I used to sit on a train going to HS in NYC and read Petersen’s bowhunting or Bowhunter magazine, dreaming of putting myself in those far off places.
Freshmen year of collage,
I bought a new truck, filled it with gas’s , a bow and some maps… drove 1700 miles to go kill an elk after ditching a week and half of classes. The next sept I found myself bow in hand on the tundra hunting caribou.
It wasnt hard to me to conclude that the things i wanted to do in life would take three things, effort, time and money.
I was fortunate enough grow up with a family, and in environment that making money wasn’t a big deal, was it easy no? But it wasn’t a mystery and I Never saw it as an obstacle. It was there it make, all you had to go was go after it.
Had my own business as well a working for my family’s business all through college.
Got degree in wildlife biology. Had a job offer soon after graduation.
I remember going to the second interview the following day; and listening to the offer i got… and when they offered me a yearly salary that i was making for myself in couple months ..I knew right then that just because i was interested in something didn’t make a good way to earn a living, bow hunt or have the time and money to live a life that wanted to live.

Since then the choices i have made, good and bad have mostly stemmed from what i wanted for myself and my family. I also realized that the safe road isn’t for me, I am willing to stretch and be uncomfortable to achieve some of the things I want.
For my part i am acutely aware that I have one life. I am beholden to myself first, my family and be decent human being to everyone around me. After those three things I have but one life to live. And when it’s done, it’s done. I am going to squeeze the most I can out it.

 

[Jpsmith1]

I doubt ill ever have the funds to go on a super expensive hunt. Mainly due to im the primary bread winner. But with that said, id take the life that my wife and I have over anything. Even with all of our very very dark low spots we've dealt with, id rather have this then a 50k Sheep hunt.


Now, if I can get my business to work and I make some good money. Ill send my wife to the Florida white sandy beaches so I can go and abuse myself up in the Yukon or the NWT because I thought Sheep hunting would be cool.

I think we're in the same boat. My wife never needed to hold a job because my income was enough and having her to raise the kids was more important.

 

[Rich M]

I’d take my wife over any hunt ive been on or could plan. Good wife trumps the rest, money or no money.

 

[bigry26]

I will save up about 1k and use that for a deposit. Set your date for a year out and budget for that over the year. I hve been to South Africa and Spain. My wife and I are headed back to South Africa in May. Then we will be starting to save for a hunt in Scotland in 2-3 years

 

[buffybr]

Gotta be a big chunk of us who live in elk country and get to go yearly.
Don’t try and compare yourself to that. Our resident tags are cheap, self guided is cheap.

I resemble that remark.

I've chosen to live and work in elk country. I now live on 10 acres that are about 5 miles outside of Bozeman. (My annual property tax on that land is almost 1/2 of what I paid for that land 48 years ago.) I've killed 3 of my 35 elk on that land that only cost me a $10-15 resident tag. I killed all of my other elk witnin 100 miles of from where I've lived in Colorado and Montana for just the cost of a resident license and a tank of gas for my pickup.

I've lived in Montana now for 51 years. I was lucky enough to come here when there hunting pressure was only a fraction of what it is now. In the late '70s and threw the '80s I drew a bighorn ram tag, 2 mountain goat tags and 2 moose tags. I didn't fill one of the goat tags, but I did fill all of the others along with a couple of Montana Unlimited bighorn ram tags like the elk tags I mentioned above for the cost of a $25 resident tag and a tank of gas, and all on DIY hunts.

I was able to get 8 of the animals required for the GSCO Super Ten on DIY hunts with 7 of them on solo DIY hunts here in Montana. My only guided hunts for that award were a $3K mountain lion hunt in western Colorado and $10K Muskox hunt in northern Northwest Territory. My 1st caribou was group DIY hunt in Alaska in 1980 where our biggest expense was the cost of the flights.

In 2000 I divorced a woman that had just married me to support her and her 2 kids. I almost immediately went from living paycheck to paycheck and no savings account to paying off my house and actually having a little extra $$ at the end of each month.

I went on my 1st African hunt with some friends who had bought the trip at a Safari Club auction. My cost for that trip including airfare, 10 days hunting, and bringing home 9 animals was less than $10K.

I, like others have mentioned here, am a DIY guy. I'm able to do many things myself instead of paying someone else to do it for me. For example 35 years ago when I added a 2000 sf addition onto my house, it cost me $50K for materials and some help labor instead of paying $250K for a local builder to do it. I mow my lawn myself, plow the snow on my 150 yd driveway myself, and I change the oil in my vehicles for less than $50 a change instead of paying a local shop $100 plus per change. I don't buy a new vehicle every year, but I do have 3 vehicles that all run great, and the newest one is my 2018 Subaru.

I've been lucky enough to have found some cancellation hunts, like my Northwest Territory 39" Dall ram, mountain caribou, and wolverine hunt that cost about $10K. But then a year later I had to turn down an $11K BC Stone ram hunt.

I guess it all comes down to choices and priorities. If you want something bad enough you can usually find a way to get of do it.

 

[Boarmaster]

I travel out of state to hunt five or six times a year. These are not super adventure hunts for exotic species.
I have been able to do this for many years. I have always had a career that allows me to be away. More now due to technology. I always lived well below my means thus allowing the financial freedom to fund these trips and leases. This meant sacrificing a dream house and a cowboy cadillac. I never was a ultra high income guy but I designed my life around a sporting lifestyle. I coukdnt figure out how to have it all so I sacrificed a lot of things to be able to do what I felt I really wanted. That meant not much time off in the off season. Not many other vacations if any most years. I remained single which was ok with me but for those that want a family I wouldn't sacrifice that for hunting trips. I guess until I am on my death bed I wont know if it was the right way to go. I am happy and content and excited for the next season. I do fish locally.