Mean income.....

[tdot]

We are all on a website, rambling about a better gun. I think we're all doing pretty well in this life.

 

[Goatie]

I’ve looked at a custom rifle as money in savings I get to use. If I ever really need the money, the prices of guns rarely drop and the quality stuff holds its value even better. I swap parts and find bargains here and there. It seems like a lot of guys have gun safes or cabinets with a bunch of $400-800 guns with another couple hundred in glass to top them. I’d rather have 5 really nice, purpose built guns that I accumulate and build as a hobby. It’s also about my only hobby.

 

[Peaks&Creeks]

If your only hobby happens to be hunting and shooting, then 3-5K on a rifle is nothing compared to other hobbies people are into. I know people who spend $15K on a new snowmobile plus easy $5k in backcountry ski equipment. I myself have been whacking and stacking with a $400 Remington 700 30-06 I got almost 20 years ago. I’m 36 now and considering building a sweet rifle that I’ll use for another 20 years. I don’t have other expensive hobbies or outstanding debt, so in my opinion, do what makes you happy as long as it doesn’t put your way of life in jeopardy.


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[Salmon River Solutions]

I’m finally building my first custom rifle. I’ve been wanting one since I got Into long range a few years ago. I finally told the wife that I’m going to do it. I’ve been working 50-60 hr weeks and saving all my OT for months now. (Of course now Uncle Sam is loving his share)

My friends will say they are jealous, and they make more than I do yearly, but I’m working my ass off for it. And I’m going to be proud to have it when it’s done.

 

[Montero]

Sometimes I think that the technology some of the high end custom rifles come up with might improve the performance of the less expensive option over time.....I may not be able to afford it as cutting edge technology but maybe that technology finds its way in the design of a more affordable version I can afford down the road. I do drool over a nice light high end rifle once in a while but my browning I bought used has killed everything I've shot at for less than a grand (with a scope) and gets me out on the mountain. Like what was said earlier to each there own and there are some fine shooting rifles out there for not alot of money. Lucky us.

 

[ozyclint]

you had me at 6.5Manbun

 

[Sccritterkiller]

I think a lot depends what you have going on in life. For 12 yrs I had been paying for daycare and that didn't leave much extra for anything hunting wise. Hell I was guiding for black bears for extra money to help out. My youngest in the 2nd grade now so for the last 2years we have been saving basically a mortgage payment a month not paying for
daycare....So yeah I hunted out west last year, I am building a custom rifle, and will drink and chew the rest up waiting on this years tag.

 

[rodney482]

Avg household has almost 20k in cc debt...

 

[ShortMountain91]

I feel like I have a high income for my area but my wife is a stay at home mom for our 2 kids so our household income is probably average to a little on the low side. Therefore I like to stay middle of the road for all my hunting stuff. I buy a lot used which helps me get nicer stuff within budget. Plus I've accumulated over the years. I have a rifle scope package that would run around $1800 new that I've got less than a grand in. My bow was $900 new 3 years ago. All of my Sitka and kuiu clothes were gifts or bought used minus 1 piece. My binos and harness were bought on a forum half price. You can accumulate nice stuff if you are willing to be patient until the right deal comes along.

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[Trial153]

Mean income is poor way of looking at income for a location as your outliners will very much skew your data set. Median income will pant a better picture.
I am always intrigued how people view their own/family income in relation to median income. Cool topic

 

[Wrench]

To you younger guys who are still trying to figure this out, I'm 44 and spent my whole life working in the trades. I worked the best paying trades, but that is not an enormous income....but it's a good one.

Today my house, cars, tools and everything else are paid for. I don't have a $60k truck on $5k worth of wheels, and it's a very average place here in a small town. My wife can stay home with the kids and all are well kept.

I'm able to hunt two states a year and average about 30-40 days per year hunting. It was not until about 3 years ago that I realized how charmed my life is. I am lucky enough to have a wife who doesn't need a new BMW every year and my kids don't know what a Gucci belt is.

The moral of this is simply that is is not how much you make, it's what you save and what's important to you. Get those interest eating payments out of your life as soon as possible and try to pay with cash. It hurts to hand over a pile of cash a lot more than a credit card.

Buy what makes you happy, you only live once.....but know that financing happiness rarely comes out happily in the end.

At my age I've still never owned a brand new car and a Winchester 21 is a lifetime goal that I'll probably never meet.....but when I step back and look at the big picture, I feel like life is pretty damn good here at our place.

Hope everyone else can say the same.

 

[16Bore]

Only $3,000 rifles and a $500 camo monkey suit can make a guy a 1000 yard deer sniper. I read that shit on Instagram. All day long if he does his part.

It’s laughable.

You can’t buy a trigger finger or Google skills. But you can spend the shit outta some cash to make yourself think otherwise.

 

[NDGuy]

I totally get your point. At the end of the day we all got to realize some people make really good money and to them a $3k hunting rifle is like $500 to most people.

The other side of the coin is there are plenty of people that buy stuff way over their means in the days of easily accessible financing. Shit most outdoor retailers give you 6mo 0% interest financing. Makes buying a $1000 gun pretty easy for most people.

All that being said, I agree 100% about the point of recommending stuff. If someone asks about a $500 rifle, don't recommend a Seekins Havak lol

What we should really do is make a sticky thread under firearms/bows/gear for budget recommended gear by Rokslide members.

 

[skywalkr]

The standard reply I see here of get a Tikka and a SWFA is pretty economical. Sure it can be done for cheaper but that’s a hard to beat combination for the money.

 

[16Bore]

Nothing is more pleasurable than outshooting “customs” with a piece of “shit”.

223 Tikka vs 50 BMG Barrett on 10” steel at 500 was one of the funniest days ever.....

“Man, that thing hit it so hard it’s still moving!!”

“No....it’s that guy over there”

BOOM.....ping ping ping.....BOOM.....ping ping ping.....BOOM.....ping ping ping


I crack myself up.

 

[Turkeygetpwnd38]

Lots of different types of folks on here, lots of opinions/perspectives, some people are casual hunters, some it’s all they do and all they spend their money on, some it’s their actual living. Nothing wrong with any of those. I Think when you ask questions on here you get a lot of varied answers from varied perspectives, which is a good thing. Most of the time I see tikkas recommended which are very budget friendly. That being said, if you have a custom, want a custom, or just like customs, this is the place to talk about it.....

 

[Lawnboi]

I’m middle class and starting to build a custom gun. Sometimes I scratch my head wondering what the heck I’m doing. That said no kids yet, don’t have a boat, don’t have a UTV, don’t have a camper, no massive CC debt, vehicle is paid off, a wife that works hard. Still seems like a lot of money but I look at it as an investment, a rifle I’ll likely keep my whole life sans a couple barrel changes.

I do agree that a guy can do a lot with a tikka and a good scope though.

 

[Doc Holliday]

"Comparison is the thief of joy." - Theodore Roosevelt

 

[ljalberta]

I'd hardly say it's a snob game. People appreciate craft and quality across all areas of life. A Ford will get an individual from A to B just the same as a Mercedes, but there's something a little more special with a Mercedes. Someone can get a table from Ikea that will just as easily fit the family and support the dinner plates, but there's something a little more special with a finely hand crafted table.

Of course everyone's different, and some couldn't care less what their kitchen table looked like and how it was built, as long as it supported the food. Other's couldn't care less about how a rifle looks or was built, as long as their production model shoots where they aim.

I think it's a stretch to say someone is snobby simply because they appreciate the thought and craft that goes into a product.

 

[ChasinDoes]

When on a budget and I can either buy a custom rifle or tags that year I'm buying/applying for tags no questions.

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