no, I am not a rich guy.... don't take it the wrong way. I just want to
remind folks that

I was a poor kid growing up in the ghetto. I learned early in life if
you can't afford it find something else to do. For me that was walking
into the woods with my .22 Marlin 60 and hunt bullfrogs, carp, birds ...
it's hunting , and it's affordable for me

I can't afford these $10,000 ginormous trophy antlers either

What great insight!

I can tell you spending time with CMC in the field is a true blast...he can make catching a Bluegill fun again!

Watching that rascal walk 100 miles to attempt to harvest a quail with a traditional Bow was a blast..

Chris "gets it"...

Makes you appreciate the finer things of hunting and fishing and take our eye off of the complexity of it sometimes

He followed-up with a meaningful post.

Kind words sir. Still losing arrows and still not killing quail.

Billionaires? I see axis doe hunts on this forum all the time for $350. You don't even have to be a thousandair to hunt in Texas.

If everyone could afford it, then you would be complaining about how there are no spots to hunt and no animals to hunt. Things are fine the way they are, you choosing to spend a bunch of money catching carp is no different than someone spending a bunch of money chasing an axis. I used to make 24k a year and still managed to hunt a bunch (and not just at my dads place). If people want to hunt, they can do some research and figure out a way to do it.

Let's price all hunts at the same price so every Tom, Dick & Harry can afford to hunt. Let's give them all a free gun, scent-free camo, and a SxS. Might as well include a free Bernie Sanders bumper sticker while we're at it since we are complaining about a free market economy driving the price points.

Everyone can afford to hunt in Texas (and in fact every state they live in). But, it is in our new national psychie to find others/things to blame for issues that irritate us.

It's such a cop out to blame a market shift for your own individual lack of resourcefulness.

Don't care how people spend their money or how much they got my point is the cost for what you get is not good. Your $350 axis is my point, yes you can do it for that but you will also have about a half day hunt and not much of an experience to show for it.

I've killed public land elk in Colorado and mule in Montana and I've paid too much for guided hunts so I understand cost and what you get for it. You have a hunting ranch I get it you got upset that I said hunting wasn't worth it, I still hunt and will until I die but that don't make it a good deal.

Almost as many people hunt my ranches for free as do that pay. And they spend quality time here, usually on my dime. They don't get trophies free, but pigs and does and predators and management animals keep them happy and hunting.

You choose to spend your money your way and if it floats your boat it tickles me pink. But the "victims" don't need encouragement from a guy that can afford it but chooses not to.

Hunting my buddies ranch or my family's place is cheaper than going to Thailand to fish a few lakes.


Chew on that for a bit




Everyone's situation and opportunities are different

It has gotten expensive, with that said I had same agruement with a buddy a couple weeks ago. He lives in Montana now and was commenting on how it's cheaper for him now especially since if he doesn't draw in Montana he can hunt CO or Idaho.

So basically he said he would drive 3-8 hours to hunt on public land........ Ironically There is 2million acres of public land(not including coast) in Texas with same drive time frame...

I've seen two deer on the hoof pushing 200" while hunting public land and one game came pic of another..... all with in 30 min of my concrete jungle home... Yet I drive 3-7hrs to hunt private. I don't enjoy the tangled river bottom jungles and akward walks with 40lbs on my back, with briars trying to eat my soul.....only to have Joe Bob walk by my set at 7:30 or 5:00 because he is scared of the dark... So I pay to over come my lack of interest in overcoming those obstacles. My great grand father would call me a lazy [censored].

With that said I truly enjoy your adventure posts and pictures. Please continue with them no matter where you way takes you

I also think prices are way to high for hunting in tx. Now if u can afford to pay 3 grand for a lease or trophy hunt thats great and im happy for u but most of us lve paycheck to paycheck and cant afford that kind of money. I grew up in western n.y. and the one thing nice about n.y. is it has so much state land that paying to hunt is rare and no were near the cost of tx. Im lucky that my parents left me 50 acres to hunt on and i can kill a deer pretty much every year but i have so many others that cant aford to buy even that to hunt and i cant take everyone out to hunt even tho i would feally love to.

Dayum, I didn't see this thing going like this. What I got from the OP was "how do we keep our sport alive with these prices".

Hunting does cost too much. Most folks don't offer free hunting and I am sure those who get a pig or two are happy. Seems it is relative to how much one can earn as to how much one can afford to spend hunting.
The more Dollars you have does enable one to hunt bigger and better animals if you desire.
Supply and demand??

Reiterate the fact we have public land and continuing to try to preserve it it for public use, while continuing to support all hunting and fishing rights.

My god what's with all the butt hurt today. Everyone's situation is different and if you had read my post instead of coming in hot you may have read that a new guy trying to get in would likely be overwhelmed. I too have thousands of acres I hunt for free and family in states all over I hunt on but that is a rare situation as is yours. If me and you were new guys to this sport and had to start from scratch I could see how someone would be greatly discouraged with the cost.

there are states like Montana that have millions of acres of public land and you can actually hunt coyotes for about $15 my point to this whole thing was comparing what you get for the money. I guess it don't matter everybody has their own way of getting offended somehow so there's always gonna be somebody mad. I could give away a hunt on my land from my stand and somebody would b;tch that I didn't clean the animal.

How many of these threads do we have to have? Yes, hunting can be expensive in Texas. So is wakeboarding, water ski'ing, drag racing, having your kids play select baseball, trips to Disney land, etc. fun isn't free. Every time I take my boat to the coast I spend $150-200 in fuel, food, etc. go twice a month that's $400 times 12 months that's $4800 boom there is your deer lease fund.

Things cost money. Unless you want to unionize hunting lease prices then we just don't need to talk about it anymore. It's a dead horse subject

I meet a lot of hunters just getting into the sport. Most are guys who do well for themselves who have disposable income.

Then don't talk about it

My wife says "that darn lease cost too much"

I tell her the cost of hunting is for something I really enjoy doing and not for the antlers or meat.

Getting away to the ranch with the kids just on a fill trip makes it worth my money.

What it boils down to is each individuals perception of value. What I pay for my the west Texas lease I consider it a value but there are some would say it's way too expensive.

I've hunted elk OTC in Colorado and it's a great experience too but although tags are reasonable gas, equipment, etc can be cost prohibitive, so is that a good value? It's up to each individual to decide

Amen,, voice of reason for the day

a lot is relative to what your expectations are ... there are less expensive routes to take, public or TPWD hunts, finding a less expensive lease takes some effort and/or word of mouth, moderately priced leases can be had all the way up to true trophy leases for more money, or even take the next step to a guided or semi-guided hunt for a shorter duration which might be less expensive if you opt for a cull or management hunt over trophy caliber. The old phrase of champagne tastes on a beer budget comes to mind. Hey, more power to you if you can justify a $4000-5000 4 day trophy whitetail guided hunt and that's what you want OR doing a 3-4 day public hunt close to your home. I get it!

Times have changed quite drastically for hunting since I was a kid 50 some odd years ago but so has my mindset on hunting. I grew up hunting as a way of life and putting meat in the freezer, regardless of what we were hunting, pretty much shot anything that was legal and often times more than the legal limit (statute of limitations has expired ) ... but we hunted for a family of 4 plus our extended family, neighbors and friends, nothing ever went to waste. That was a long time before any form of herd management had been heard of in my circles. Most leases were less than $1 per acre and it wasn't limited to the number of guns or per gun fees. Friends would call and invite us out to take a couple extra does or help work cattle in return. We didn't try to put a dollar amount per pound on meat for the freezer, it was the experience of being in the woods. No one knew about any BC scoring, it was only by point count and spread, sometimes just shooting a buck was enough regardless of anything else ... But, my expectations and needs have changed over time as well along with my budget.

just thinking out loud ... I will continue to hunt as long as I am able whether physically and/or financially ...