Turnkey cost poll for successful DIY elk hunters - All about the Benjamin's?

[ColoradoV]

Man some of you spend a lot of money!

I buy one bow a decade or so the current one bought used on here = then fixed up. Glass is all pre 2010 except for my swaro 15’s again bought used. Camo is mostly solids I ware in all an outdoor activities. Tent and sleeping bag are about 15 years old the one before that my mom made from scratch after taking some measurements at REI… Yea you read that right. The one hunting rifle I own I and seldom use have had for 25+ years..

Tags I get for my wife and father from lifetime lo friends for free then just the tag cost so they still get points most years.. Honestly just hunt elk w fam or when I have extra time.

Since hunting elk is pretty easy I usually hunt from my house or a family member’s house eat the same meals I do day in and day out.

That’s one way I afford to be out 25+ nights a year in 10+ units scouting for Deer and inevitably turn up an elk to hunt = after I chase deer. As far as big elk in the past few years only one = my wife got was over 350” net on a free lo tag. This year was normal harvest as my 79 year old dad got a cow on a lo tag and I got a nice 5 point bull on a tag a friend gave me last minute (thanks again!!!!)

It’s all about life choices and how you get it done but for me elk hunting is pry one of if not the cheapest thing I do. Never figured out why folks even want new cars and fancy houses. I drive a 13 year old truck and live in a small house all that are both paid off… This give me time the most valuable thing any of us “own”..

Now don’t ask about winter activities as new sleds are getting to be 20k ea …..

 

[fmyth]

I'm only applying as a resident, but with that exception... "Yes" that's the plan.

I didn't mean to obsess over the costs, but because it's all hitting me at once (more or less) and since I am essentially starting from scratch (for reasons stated) it was foremost in my mind. I started with a number in my head and was really surprised at the actual cost.

It's my expectation that I'll land somewhere around the total cost that @prm lists above...easily more than double my first estimate, but as I learn more about what folks actually take for a spike camp-style hunt it makes a lot more sense.

Probably more than the final $$ number, the posters on this thread have helped me refine my list of needs vs wants. Most of the items are needs and the quality of that item is a want...if you know what I mean.

For elk experience I have zero...but for general backcountry and small-game hunting experience I have a lifetime. I'm looking at this first elk hunt as a total learning experience. Trust me...I won't be running and have no expectations. Others have suggested guides or day trips from a truck base-camp as a way to start and I see the sense in that advice...so much so that I will likely split up my time so I hunt 6-7 days backcountry and 6-7 days from the truck.

As for guides I'm a little wary after reading lots of stories about people that have bad experiences. Maybe that's just a way of rationalizing my DIY instincts. I understand that if I had a really good guide it greatly shorten the learning curve. Same way with a good hunting partner that had experience and wish I knew one...

You do not need a $675 pack, $1,000 binos or a $250 knife to kill elk or deer. I'd recommend you begin by truck camping and hiking in each day. You won't need a bunch of uber expensive ultralight camping gear and you'll be able to easily pick up and relocate if you cant find the animals. You'll also be able to get your meat out if you kill something. Packing out an elk and camp from 5 miles in seems easy until you try it.

 

[ShakeDown]

This is an interesting topic, because in my pov individuals that are entering the fray late in life get inundated with the commercial aspect of hunting and sometimes have a difficult time separating “wants” from “needs”.

Looking at my life experience as an example. I grew up in rural NM. We (4 brothers and dad)killed animals every year. I did not own a set of binoculars. Elk hunting in particular was meat procurement a lot of the time, with a need to kill 2+ cows a year to keep stocked. We did not even have the money to outfit ourselves fully in real tree camo from Walmart, so we used what we had available.



Now a days I have more disposable income. I carry 3-9k worth of optics alone on most hunts. We still kill 3-5 animals a year, but now we are able to be a bit more selective, stay out a bit longer, hunt a little deeper and be a bit more comfortable.



The bottom line is, a fish can be caught with any old line tossed into the water. To be consistently successful and to very marginally improve your odds, leader (material, length, diameter) hook type, knot selection, bait presentation all matter. But NOTHING matters if you are fishing in a spot where there are no fish and you have no knowledge of fish behavior.

My advice, don’t overthink it. Try to get with a good mentor. Buy what you can afford and build as you go. Lastly, just get out there. Too much analysis leads to paralysis.

 

[Hnthrdr]

I’m a tinkerer and a self proclaimed gear junkie… so I’ve spent a bit on it… but I can tell you what it could look like

Tag: 800ish
Weapon bow or rifle for a solid set up with scope or outfitted bow: 1400
Ammo/arrows: 200
Optics: basic bino and spotter 900
Pack: 150
Tent: 200
Bag: 150
Misc gear: 200
Boots: 200
Tech clothing: 300 (socks) outer shell maybe
This is a very rough estimate, without buying top end stuff and well under 5k

To be honest you can get most of you gear used and save a ton of money. From guys like me that want to upgrade every year. Mil surplus will get you started too. Don’t think that if you aren’t shooting at 5k rifle or the latest Hoyt or newest camo you won’t be successful, lots of guys killing things with hand me down equipment 15 year old bows all the time, and blue jeans, it just might not be as comfortable sometimes but that is half the fun of starting out.

 

[LFC911]

I have not killed 3 bulls but i did kill my first one last year after 5 years of trying. Here's roughly what i spent on hunting/shooting/scouting last year (fuel is estimated). I am going to do a better job of tracking food/fuel in '23.

Category	SUM of Expense
Donation	$60.00
Entertainment	$43.52
Fuel	$886.67
Gear	$1,492.45
Hotel	$1,052.52
League	$305.00
Misc	-$200.00
Subscriptions	$198.99
Tag/Apps	$3,966.27
Weapon	$1,617.36
Grand Total	$9,422.77

 

[WoodnotRust]

This is an interesting topic, because in my pov individuals that are entering the fray late in life get inundated with the commercial aspect of hunting and sometimes have a difficult time separating “wants” from “needs”.

Well, I think I have everything I "need" now after starting from scratch late last year. Easily $15-16K.

I agree with @ShakeDown that I might be conflating needs with wants, but I don't believe that anyone that starts from zero will be too far off in terms of total cost for a similar hunt. Just like @Hnthrdr I thought for sure when I started this adventure I could do it for under $5K.

Hopefully I'll be healthy next year, be successful in the draw and it won't cost me much more than gas money.

So...looking at my spend does this seem like the gear a typical backcountry hunter would have? Where is the opportunity to reduce costs without suffering? Do you just do a different style of hunt from your truck if you really want to save?

MY HUNT:
I'm solo hunting northern New Mexico in the higher mountains (11,000 to 12,000' elevation). My basecamp is 11 miles in from the nearest trailhead at the bottom of a 1.5-mile long x 1-mile wide, U-shaped valley. In late May I scouted the area and saw lots of elk transitioning into the area from their winter ranges. I think there were more elk visible because the ridges still had deep snow and the elk weren't used to seeing people. I returned for a scout in early September and saw far fewer elk (about 20, only 2 bulls). That said, the first night I got there (Aug 30th) was insane...bugles from 4 different parts of the valley, every couple of hours, all night long. Like a dream. Early the next morning a cow elk and calf walked into my base-camp meadow and barked. No more bugles for 3 days..does that even make sense?

An outfitter has a drop camp about 1.5 miles away in the next drainage basin, but from Aug 30-Sept 3 I didn't see anyone in "my" valley. I left my tent set-up at my basecamp with a tarp over my cooking area and hope it's still there when I return Wednesday. It was a gamble to be sure. I will use a tarp and spruce boughs in case the unthinkable happened and my tent was stolen.

MY COSTS:
Landowner tag: $3k
I was unsuccessful in the NM resident draw, so I called and wrote letters to about 70 land owners and finally landed a LO tag. I promised the LO a front quarter if I was successful because he honored my price even after getting later offers for $4500. I heard, but could not confirm other archery tags in the same unit going for $6,500. After that point I stopped adding up the cost since it was pretty much "game on".

Weapon: $2800
I ditched my 45# recurve ($160) and bought a used Bowtech Revolt X with 50# limbs ($653) ...shot that for awhile and then bought new 60# limbs ($325 with shop time). I'll be hunting at 57#, but could honestly go to 63-65# in hindsight. I only had 2 weeks with the newer limbs so didn't go full 60# before I set my sight tape. Used Black Gold custom 4-pin ($279) and newish Hamskea Epsilon sight ($225), TightSpot quiver ($131); all off EBAY. Scott "Legacy" release with identical back-up ($150). Black Gold Hunter X arrows with Grim Reaper broad heads and matching weight field points ($350). I fletched them myself with an Arizona max left helical jig ($50). Add a bow case, bow pack holder, arrow case, two targets and a cow decoy that attaches to my bow ($525 for all of that). The $125 cow decoy was highly recommended, but feels like an impulse buy. I didn't add the cost for the tool/repair kit which is probably $75 (wrenches, D-loop material, multi tool, etc).

Game Calls: $200
I tried about 3 different brands of diaphragm calls. I like the Phelps AMP Grey and black for bugles. For cow calls I like the AMP Orange and the Mellow Yellow Momma. My mouth doesn't seem to fit the Wapiti River ones with the splits and it takes me longer to get the right position. I also bought a couple of open reed calls (Sleazy something), but haven't practice much with those. I bought a smaller Phelps bugle tube thinking the oz savings was important, but realized I wasn't saving that much weight and instead bought the much larger Rocky Mountain Game call bugle tube for maximum impact when needed. I stole my daughters retainer case to store the diaphragms.

Kill Kit: $400
Caribou Wapiti MOB game bags ($90), Havalon 'Piranta Bolt' replaceable blade knife ($45), Benchmade 'Steep Country' fixed blade with sheath ($163), DMF field sharpener, cordage, plastic, cut-resistant left glove, etc.

Optics and electronics: $1300
I like the Leica 2400R range finder ($595) and even though I desperately wanted NL Pure's, I settled for my 25 year-old Celestron 8x42's (bought for $125 from a friend in 1999). They fit in the Marsupial chest harness nicely. The Garmin InReach mini2 on sale cost me $350. I carry a 10,000mAh Nitecore Power bank ($60) and leave the 20,000mAh ($50) at camp to use for charging overnight. This will last me 5-6 days. For longer trips I carry a tri-fold, 20W solar panel (Eceen brand on Amazon) which will fully charge my 20,000 mAh battery in one day. The solar panel weighs 18 oz so kinda not practical unless packing in with horses. I carry a spare USB-lighting cord, spare batteries for headlamps and range finder.

Clothing and back pack: $2000
Mostly KUIU clothing, backpack and rain gear, except for cheap, lightweight Eddie Bauer pants bought online for $50. Love the merino boxers and Kuiu backpack. That's another lesson learned. I have the KUIU PRO carbon frame and suspension and first thought I could do with a 3300 cu-in bag for everything. For 2-4 day scouting trips it's actually perfect, but add the hunting gear or more food for longer and it wasn't enough. In the end I added a larger bag (5500 cu-in) and a smaller bag (2300 cu-in) for day-hunts from base-camp. Lately I added Fizan walking sticks ($60), but I only have them because they say these are helpful for carrying heavy loads. I bought cheap Extremes gaiters on Amazon ($25) and they seem to work well for my size 14 feet and Kenetrek boots (lightly used, EBAY, $310).

Camp Supplies: $2,000
I'm a bigger guy so I bought a Big Agnes 3-man tent ($480, 54oz) and a large Rapides SL mattress ($200, 26oz). The weight is more than I really want, but I can use the room and comfort. Because I'm older (almost 66) and less flexible it's actually kinda hard to simply crawl out of the tent and stand up. I can't imagine what life would be like in a tiny 1-man tent. The 2L Platypus gravity water filter ($60) is the bomb, but stays at camp. I take a Sawyer mini squeeze ($30, 4 oz) and a few water purifier tablets on hunts. Hilltop bear bag ($125..so just use a cheap dry bag), Toaks titanimum 750ml pot and 450ml mug, Sierra long spoon, Soto Windmaster stove, two BlackDiamond 'Spot 400' headlamps. The cook gear was worth the money IMHO.

The biggest surprise was the cold. I bought a REI 15deg "Magma" bag during their annual sale ($400), but at 30 degrees I'm so cold I have trouble sleeping. I recently bought merino zip-up long undies ($80) and I'll add a down vest over my Peleton hoodie in case the temps drop into the 20's.

Outfitter: $2,500 (Update: The dad charged me an additional $800 to pack out my elk, although $500 was the verbal discussion with the son pre-hunt. The "contract" left that cost at their discretion...my mistake for leaving things open-ended).
From where I plan to hunt I'll need help to carry out an elk. It will help too to not be exhausted from hiking in with all my gear on my back. I found an outfitter after several failed attempts who will pack me in/out. That's another story...since the licensed outfitter I hired later got paying clients for fully guided trips in another unit, his dad and uncle are now going to take me in. Several other outfitters didn't want to bother with dropping off a solo DIY hunter or they wanted to charge me $4,000 plus and suggested different areas to camp [near their other clients?].

I suppose it is customary to tip a packer, but they are kinda independent business men that charge you for the service. Seems weird to add a tip. It's like "I'll paint your barn for $2,500", then you tip your painter? What's normal in a pack-in/out situation if you simply do all that was agreed to prior? (Update: just figured the $300 extra charge for pack-out meat would be my "tip").

Miscellaneous: $1200
I did a lot of local and backcountry scouting. A lot of this was done simply to get into shape so I headed up on weekly trips to my local mtns and set out 8 game cameras on a 2 mile loop. I ultimately found a drainage with a spring where animals seemed to frequent. Cameras cost me about $500 with batteries and I probably made 20 trips since mid April. I also did 4 back country scouting trips (total 16 days) from a more distant trail head. Food and gas for scouting for those trips around $500. My Gaia GPS subscription for navigation and e-scouting (along with Google Earth Pro) cost me $60? I didn't subscribe to OnX or the other fancy tools.

Finally...if I'm successful I'll just dump the meat in big plastic storage bins and drive to the nearest town that has ice. From there it's less than 1 hour back to the house and a mandatory trip to a big box store to buy a $350 chest freezer, some butcher paper and maybe a meat grinder?

Update: Processing costs...almost $1,000. I bought a 13 cu ft upright freezer on sale for $650 at Home Depot, paid about $275 for a meat grinder, 6" boning knife, meat saw and packaging materials. Finally, $60 for hanging the quarters in a cooler for 10 days.

 

[idahodave]

I’ve killed five bulls in the last three years, all OTC tags here in Idaho. Three resident, and two non-resident returned tags I picked up. I don’t have the time or inclination to list all the costs, but they are well below $5,000 per season that’s for d@#$ sure. I should state I regularly hunt for almost the entire season…which is just over two weeks.

THE most important factor by a wide margin is hard work…which doesn’t cost a thing. Buy good boots and optics and go where no one else wants to. Chances are very good elk will be there for the taking. My experience is that everyone wants to kill an elk, until it's time to lace up the boots and go where the elk are.

As an example, this bull from last year was 12 straight hours of miserable packing to get a single quarter out. That’s 48 hours of extraction alone. I hiked for just shy of 5 hours in the dark to be where I needed to be at daybreak to kill him. If you‘re willing to engage in foolishness like that, your results will likely be similar. I’m 51 and we’ll past my prime…but I’ll go anywhere and do anything to kill bulls. That can’t be bought though.

dave

 

[chindits]

Don’t gear up to be a hunter. Just gear up to be a year round Rocky Mountain backpacker with a heavy load option. Then you have all the gear you need except weapon and optics. That way you can enjoy the outdoors year round whether you get a tag or not. After that the price of weapon and average optics doesn’t seem so intimidating. Also remember you’re asking this on a Gucci hunting forum where some guys wouldn’t even think of hunting without a custom rifle and swaro optics.

My buddy still hunts with a model 70 .270 with a fixed 4x scope from the 60s that his Dad hunted with. I can’t remember the last time he didn’t get an elk all on public land units adjacent to his home town.

 

[Pdzoller]

I got at least 10k worth of hunting gear. Never killed an elk. My coworker has killed five in the past eight years. He hunts in his Carhartt work clothes out of a 96 Toyota Camry, uses some Nikons his dad gave him and a pack board from Sportsman’s. Always hunts publicly accessible land. Dude is a killer.

 

[Wrench]

My first bull was killed driving a clapped out 4 runner, sleeping in a k mart tent, wearing some fleece and wool from goodwill and the only real purchased gear besides the rifle was my dwight schuh frame pack. I probably had money given to me out of pity vs spent.

BTW....I loved it and have become stupid for eating them ever since.

I'm at a point now where I can probably sell enough gear to buy a new mini excavator and still hunt comfortably....and besides looking cooler, I'm no more deadly.

 

[WoodnotRust]

BTW...I leave for my hunt on Wed and I'm already having trouble sleeping I'm so anxious. Kinda like when I was 10 years old and my dad would take me duck hunting.

The primary worry is whether I can buck-up and do the hard work needed to get the job done. @idahodave has it exactly correct...it's all about the hard work and the will power it takes to do that work.

I'm almost there, but still have trouble finding my way up the mountain during prime time. I'm freezing ass in my tent at 4:30AM and can't seem to exit my bag until first light. By the time 4:00pm comes around if I'm far away from camp... something pulls me back so I'm not flailing through an unknown wilderness in the dark. I've rationalized that on all my previous trips by saying to myself that I'm just scouting. It's a deeper rooted problem to be sure and I think overcoming that will be the key to my success.

 

[chindits]

tent at 4:30AM and can't seem to exit my bag until first light. By the time 4:00pm comes around if I'm far away from camp... something pulls me back so I'm not flailing through an unknown wilderness in the dark.

Don’t worry dude, you’re my favorite type of hunter. It’s way better to be popular than successful

 

[BBob]

can't seem to exit my bag until first light. By the time 4:00pm comes around if I'm far away from camp... something pulls me back so I'm not flailing through an unknown wilderness in the dark

You’re your own worst enemy, you need to get over it. Or not…..

Honestly, the most successful people I know spend a lot of time walking in the cold and the dark.

 

[bushman]

Want me to wake you up when i walk by your tent?

 

[WoodnotRust]

I guess I didn't expect a lot of sympathy from the hard-core killer crowd. Hey...I'm hunting for my first time in 30 years and my very first time with a bow. The last few posters aside, I learned a lot from the helpful people on this forum.

I also learned a lot about elk. When push comes to shove I can do what needs to be done. In the end (the last day of my 6-day hunt) I settled for a cow at 20 yds. She and 3 other cows were leading the nice bull I was stalking in an open burn. Seemed like it was her or nothing.

Oh...and boy did I learn another thing. Cutting up an elk is a skilled learned by doing and it's better to carry a load 600' downhill to camp rather than 600' up.

I'll be 67 years old next year and I hope to post pictures of my first bull. Now I've got a year to learn how to bugle properly...

 

[Hnthrdr]

I guess I didn't expect a lot of sympathy from the hard-core killer crowd. Hey...I'm hunting for my first time in 30 years and my very first time with a bow. The last few posters aside, I learned a lot from the helpful people on this forum.

I also learned a lot about elk. When push comes to shove I can do what needs to be done. In the end (the last day of my 6-day hunt) I settled for a cow at 20 yds. She and 3 other cows were leading the nice bull I was stalking in an open burn. Seemed like it was her or nothing.

Oh...and boy did I learn another thing. Cutting up an elk is a skilled learned by doing and it's better to carry a load 600' downhill to camp rather than 600' up.

I'll be 67 years old next year and I hope to post pictures of my first bull. Now I've got a year to learn how to bugle properly...

Try not to add up the price per lb…. Good news is your price per lb should start to go down as long as you stop buying new gear haha, but if you are anything like the junkies on here, good luck

 

[rodney482]

Ive got all my gear and alot of $$ in it.
Archery kit/camp $6000

Rifle kit/camp $8000


Im a non res

A Wy elk trip runs me $2000 w tag and gas.

 

[WoodnotRust]

Brighter days ahead.

Yesterday I overheard my wife talking to one of her friends on the phone. I guess the question was something like "....will Roger go hunting again next year?" The response: "He better, he's got a fortune invested in his hunting gear and I'm hoping to have a freezer full of organic meat"

Hot dog!

 

[LFC911]

I guess I didn't expect a lot of sympathy from the hard-core killer crowd. Hey...I'm hunting for my first time in 30 years and my very first time with a bow. The last few posters aside, I learned a lot from the helpful people on this forum.

I also learned a lot about elk. When push comes to shove I can do what needs to be done. In the end (the last day of my 6-day hunt) I settled for a cow at 20 yds. She and 3 other cows were leading the nice bull I was stalking in an open burn. Seemed like it was her or nothing.

Oh...and boy did I learn another thing. Cutting up an elk is a skilled learned by doing and it's better to carry a load 600' downhill to camp rather than 600' up.

I'll be 67 years old next year and I hope to post pictures of my first bull. Now I've got a year to learn how to bugle properly...

Congrats on taking some great protein home with you! I hope I'm still elk hiking at 66!

 

[Geewhiz]

Kind of a hard question to answer. Gear, weapons, clothes and on and on and on. I bought a truck just to rally around the hills so I don’t trash my nice truck. Does that get included in the total? There have been years that I’ve spent a few grand in a season just for gas. Tags are an insignificant expense in the scheme of things as I only hunt as a resident. I bought a freaking airplane to access land for goodness sakes. Airplanes aren’t cheap, and neither is obtaining a pilot license. should I include that in the total? Taking all those things into consideration I’m afraid to even guess. Getting ready to build a shop for gear storage/meat processing, among other things. It’s not easy to draw a line. How many of those things are necessary for a bare bones hunt? Only a fraction of them, but that’s not the way I roll.

Bottom line, gear helps, but effort exerted is the determining factor.