How do you guys go on these cool hunts?

[Dbellaaron]

For what its worth, I've been fortunate enough to go on some guided hunts...but now I've got some experience and have successfully harvested a mule deer buck and antelope on my own with cheap public land hunts, I now prefer hunting on my own or with friends instead of paying a guide.

It is not just that I save a lot of money DIY, I find it more satisfying and I also don't give a rip about exactly how long the horns are, etc. as long as the animal is legal.

The experience of the hunt, and getting to share meat I harvested myself with friends and family is what I really enjoy.

It helps that I live in Nevada with a lot of public land and the ability to draw resident tags though.

But also, California has some OTC bear tags and good upland game hunting, and the trout fishing in the Eastern Sierras is truly world-class, so if I don't draw any good tags in NV this year I'm probably just going to do a road trip to the Eastern Sierra with a bear tag, rifle, and fishing rod to do some camping, fishing, hiking and maybe even get my first unguided bear.

That whole trip, even including the non resident bear tag and gas could be done for about one grand, which isn't too bad for an epic fishing/hunting adventure.

Interested to hear about your luck chasing bear if that works out this year. Spend a lot of time upland hunting the eastern sierra but have never big game hunted. got a cow elk tag in Arizona this year so that’ll be a first. Inspired to go chase a bear 3-4 hours from the house now how is bear for tablefare?

 

[AntelopeEater]

Interested to hear about your luck chasing bear if that works out this year. Spend a lot of time upland hunting the eastern sierra but have never big game hunted. got a cow elk tag in Arizona this year so that’ll be a first. Inspired to go chase a bear 3-4 hours from the house now how is bear for tablefare?

Cool man, I will definitely post all about it if I am successful, though I may forget to if I don't harvest anything, haha.

The black bear I got last year tasted just like a tough chewy dark roast beef, not bad at all, but not as good IMO as antelope or blacktail deer meat.

 

[Dbellaaron]

Cool man, I will definitely post all about it if I am successful, though I may forget to if I don't harvest anything, haha.

The black bear I got last year tasted just like a tough chewy dark roast beef, not bad at all, but not as good IMO as antelope or blacktail deer meat.

Good to know! good luck at least you know you’ll catch some trout.

 

[Northern Outback]

I think the easiest solution is just to move up to BC here.

Every year over counter general tag you can hunt

1 mule deer buck
2 black bear
2 white tail deer either sex
1 elk
1 moose
1 sheep (take your pick, Dall. Rocky. California. Stone)
1 goat
1 caribou
10 island black tail
1 cougar
1 lynx
1 bobcat
1 wolverine
Unlimited wolves and coyotes.



We unfortunately lost grizzly a few years ago but will hopefully get it back.

That’s every year. No draw. I haven’t hunted less than 4 different species in a season thus far. On that note spring bear starts in 4 weeks!

My average year for the past 5 has been

10 day spring bear In may
15 day moose/elk combo hunt every September
10 day rut mule deer hunt every November

Sprinkle in a whole bunch of week night white tail hunts and we are talking.
‘22 was spent chasing sheep for 0$ and he’s looking at my right now.

Move to BC!

 

[AK Troutbum]

I think the easiest solution is just to move up to BC here.

Every year over counter general tag you can hunt

1 mule deer buck
2 black bear
2 white tail deer either sex
1 elk
1 moose
1 sheep (take your pick, Dall. Rocky. California. Stone)
1 goat
1 caribou
10 island black tail
1 cougar
1 lynx
1 bobcat
1 wolverine
Unlimited wolves and coyotes.



We unfortunately lost grizzly a few years ago but will hopefully get it back.

That’s every year. No draw. I haven’t hunted less than 4 different species in a season thus far. On that note spring bear starts in 4 weeks!

My average year for the past 5 has been

10 day spring bear In may
15 day moose/elk combo hunt every September
10 day rut mule deer hunt every November

Sprinkle in a whole bunch of week night white tail hunts and we are talking.
‘22 was spent chasing sheep for 0$ and he’s looking at my right now.

Move to BC!

What percentage of your paycheck goes towards taxes?

Never mind, I just looked it up. 40% annual income taxes, no thank you! Plus, you guys pay way too much for fuel and beer. Or as I like to call it, fuel and fuel.

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[swavescatter]

My effective rate is about 37%, and when you factor in stable genius 15% tariffs that looks like a bargain!

 

[Northern Outback]

What percentage of your paycheck goes towards taxes?

Never mind, I just looked it up. 40% annual income taxes, no thank you! Plus, you guys pay way too much for fuel and beer. Or as I like to call it, fuel and fuel.

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Well, on a single income I own my house and support a stay at home wife and two kids and still get to spend 4-6 weeks a year hunting animals most people on this site dream of all for the cost of fuel, I’d say it’s a fair trade IMO.

Maybe I’ll go shoot a stone sheep in a few months to balance things out with the high taxes.

Or you guys can just keep spending the equivalent of an American annual salary to come here and shoot a single animal that’s fine by me/us as well lol

 

[CMF]

How do you guys achieve the time freedom and the financial freedom to go on these cool hunts.

The time freedom part is the hardest to achieve, but consider some type of contract work. Traveling nurse, welding, NDE, or other trade that works contract to contract. Any of those three can easily make 100k a year while being off half of the year.
We sold everything and hit the road full-time in an RV, wife, 3 kids, and a dog. We did more adventures in the last 5 years than we would have in our life taking one or two trips a year.

 

[AK Troutbum]

Well, on a single income I own my house and support a stay at home wife and two kids and still get to spend 4-6 weeks a year hunting animals most people on this site dream of all for the cost of fuel, I’d say it’s a fair trade IMO.

Maybe I’ll go shoot a stone sheep in a few months to balance things out with the high taxes.

Or you guys can just keep spending the equivalent of an American annual salary to come here and shoot a single animal that’s fine by me/us as well lol

Not trying to get into a pissing match with you here, just saying that I think your taxes, beer, and fuel are too expensive. Never had a need to go to Canada and pay the high prices, because living in Alaska I can get all those tags for free. We don’t have a couple of those species here, but we do have muskox, and bison, brown bear/grizzly. We can kill multiple of some, but only one of others. If I wanna go on the cheap, I can also hunt almost all those tags for only the cost of fuel. Oh, I can hunt all of them with a pistol as well, just sayin.


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[Northern Outback]

Not trying to get into a pissing match with you here, just saying that I think your taxes, beer, and fuel are too expensive. Never had a need to go to Canada and pay the high prices, because living in Alaska I can get all those tags for free. We don’t have a couple of those species here, but we do have muskox, and bison, brown bear/grizzly. We can kill multiple of some, but only one of others. If I wanna go on the cheap, I can also hunt almost all those tags for only the cost of fuel. Oh, I can hunt all of them with a pistol as well, just sayin.


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No pissing match. I’d happily have more like minded folks move here and improve the province / country !!!

 

[AK Troutbum]

No pissing match. I’d happily have more like minded folks move here and improve the province / country !!!

Absolutely!


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[Sizthediz]

Putting $25 a week turns into $1300 ~ a year that you can save for how many years you like to go on that lifetime hunt. Or you use it as a yearly get away for a hunting week. This is what i do go on an out of state hunt every year (try to) with my wife's blessing. It is the only hunting I get to do because of work/life schedule. When the hunts over i spend that time thinking about the next adventure. I don't need to kill stuff for success. I love listening to the woods come alive early morning and early evening. I live in Florida and miss the change in tree colors of fall so I get that too. The only part that sucks is the drive home. Give it a try

 

[AntelopeEater]

I think the easiest solution is just to move up to BC here.

Every year over counter general tag you can hunt

1 mule deer buck
2 black bear
2 white tail deer either sex
1 elk
1 moose
1 sheep (take your pick, Dall. Rocky. California. Stone)
1 goat
1 caribou
10 island black tail
1 cougar
1 lynx
1 bobcat
1 wolverine
Unlimited wolves and coyotes.



We unfortunately lost grizzly a few years ago but will hopefully get it back.

That’s every year. No draw. I haven’t hunted less than 4 different species in a season thus far. On that note spring bear starts in 4 weeks!

My average year for the past 5 has been

10 day spring bear In may
15 day moose/elk combo hunt every September
10 day rut mule deer hunt every November

Sprinkle in a whole bunch of week night white tail hunts and we are talking.
‘22 was spent chasing sheep for 0$ and he’s looking at my right now.

Move to BC!

WOW!

 

[IDVortex]

I think the easiest solution is just to move up to BC here.

Every year over counter general tag you can hunt

1 mule deer buck
2 black bear
2 white tail deer either sex
1 elk
1 moose
1 sheep (take your pick, Dall. Rocky. California. Stone)
1 goat
1 caribou
10 island black tail
1 cougar
1 lynx
1 bobcat
1 wolverine
Unlimited wolves and coyotes.



We unfortunately lost grizzly a few years ago but will hopefully get it back.

That’s every year. No draw. I haven’t hunted less than 4 different species in a season thus far. On that note spring bear starts in 4 weeks!

My average year for the past 5 has been

10 day spring bear In may
15 day moose/elk combo hunt every September
10 day rut mule deer hunt every November

Sprinkle in a whole bunch of week night white tail hunts and we are talking.
‘22 was spent chasing sheep for 0$ and he’s looking at my right now.

Move to BC!

I enjoy suppressors way to much, and my automatic assault rifles that can be with me whenever.

 

[Northern Outback]

I enjoy suppressors way to much, and my automatic assault rifles that can be with me whenever.

To each their own.

I’d take a freezer full of all this delicious meat free every year over any of that add in the experience of these hunts over about anything… that’s why I uprooted my life in a far away province and moved here and haven’t regretted it for a second… I had only been hunting for 4 years before I had the first sheep on my wall.

my single shot Ruger #1 does the job just fine in my experience.

Do I wish we had better gun laws? Absolutely.
But there isn’t a state in your union that can touch our hunting opportunities besides MAYBE Alaska but they don’t have warm mostly snow free winters like here.

So do me and everyone like me a favour and move on up here we need more folks with a backbone to displace the pansies that are running the show due to sheer numbers.

 

[IDVortex]

To each their own.

I’d take a freezer full of all this delicious meat free every year over any of that add in the experience of these hunts over about anything… that’s why I uprooted my life in a far away province and moved here and haven’t regretted it for a second… I had only been hunting for 4 years before I had the first sheep on my wall.

my single shot Ruger #1 does the job just fine in my experience.

Do I wish we had better gun laws? Absolutely.
But there isn’t a state in your union that can touch our hunting opportunities besides MAYBE Alaska but they don’t have warm mostly snow free winters like here.

So do me and everyone like me a favour and move on up here we need more folks with a backbone to displace the pansies that are running the show due to sheer numbers.

I mean, id be all for taking Alberta and Bc, minus Vancouver.

Won't disagree on your hunting abilities. If my brother inlaw actually had a desire to hunt goats, id be able to go goat hunting every year due to the better hunting opportunities yall have. But the day I became a Canadian is the day Ive sold my soul to the devil. And I havent yet.

 

[Northern Outback]

I mean, id be all for taking Alberta and Bc, minus Vancouver.

Won't disagree on your hunting abilities. If my brother inlaw actually had a desire to hunt goats, id be able to go goat hunting every year due to the better hunting opportunities yall have. But the day I became a Canadian is the day Ive sold my soul to the devil. And I havent yet.

It’s funny because all the folks in the interior where it isn’t a brain rot liberal stronghold all joke about a big wave wiping out Vancouver island and Vancouver and then B.C. would be the best province in Canada lol. That little pocket of morons in Vancouver controls the entire province even though most towns across the province I’ve been to are strongly conservative

 

[Balderdash]

Guy I met this fall cuts deer on the side and uses all the money he makes at $100 per deer to go on out of state hunts. He has been on some pretty expensive hunts like desert sheep and Alsaka moose. He's a maintainance man at a school, so a good job, but not Dr/lawyer money. Side hustle is a lot of work, but for him its worth it.

I have been on a lot of out of state hunts over my 25 years post college, sometimes several per year, but its been all DIY, and mostly staying in a tent or small camper, so cost has always been low. Now I can afford to throw down for a few paid hunts, but at this stage I mostly enjoy just getting out with friends and family. When I retire in a few years, I plan to go on a big hunt or two, such as Alaska Moose or maybe somethings in Europe rolled in with a couple of vacations.

 

[JayF]

Don't get to do many cool hunts anymore, but when I did they were all from the other guides I worked with when I was guiding elk hunts. They all wanted to bird hunt and I had plenty of access to land with birds. So I swapped out bird hunting and fishing with others for exotic or deer hunts for bigger deer than I had access to.

 

[Eldoradotim]

I didn't read all 18 pages, but to the OP, don't forget that some of us live here (there, out there? where we hunt) and obviously we can't all do that. But if you can/do that makes a big difference. Also, consider what you want your lifestyle to be. If hunting, or western hunting, is your main thing...then think about if you can move out here. If its not, thats ok, save up for an every few years trip!