Axis Meat Hunt

Recently joined. First post. Been very blessed to have friends with lands to let me hunt on in exchange my time and talent (ie. hunt area upkeep, filling feeders, fixing blinds, sharing the kills, leaving behind no trace, etc). Their areas have mostly hogs and whitetails which I've been taking and turning into wonderful meals. I would like to expand to axis, as I was told that these are the best venison out there. Researching on this boards and others have shown that exotic hunts can be very pricey; and for my budget, that's anything over $100/animal. Not interest in trophies, just the meat to test my many recipes on. TBH, I preferred doe. I don't need fancy lodging, meals, guides, etc, Testing the waters here to see if there are any takers. I could just spend my money and buy the meat, but I also have an addiction to hunting.

If you find axis does for $100 sign me up too. I haven't looked at the pricing in a while, but typically I would find them around $400-500ish for an axis doe.

Why is it, that they cost so much for free range that some consider to be a problem, just like hog hunts, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife hunts are hard as heck to get a draw on. Why does it cost 1800.00 to shoot one with horns, 500.00 without horns, and they are not being bred like whitetail are, and if you get a guided hunt, then for the cost of it, you better make sure you put me on what you said you have.

You can find pig hunts for around $100. If you find someone selling axis hunts for $100, please update this thread.

Cheapest I've found them is $300 but that was before the deep freeze.

kphilli66 - Here's your answer...

A landowner has liability.

If I have a business contract with an outfitter, he takes on most of that. I collect one fee for a term (usually a year) and it is then his job to book hunts, collect fees, maintain feeders, deal with hunts, etc. I have specific recourse if something goes bad with the outfitter.

If I do a lease, the Texas Law of Contacts under the real estate section specifies the liabilities, remedies and safeguards for both parties. Once again, the lease members are responsible for their own feeders, and everything else involved in the hunt. I get a lump payment of front and then can be hands-off. If they violate the terms of the lease, I have specific recourse.

If I do a hunt for an individual whether a day hunt or not, you might sign a Liability Waiver. These documents provide very limited protections for the landowner in Texas. Frankly, it does not keep a landowner from being sued, and it provides little recourse if you do something wrong. I have to spend money on feed and stands if I am going to "guarantee" an opportunity. Then I need to spend time to scout and figure out when/where the animals are coming. I cannot control the weather, the neighbors or your shooting. Even if I turn you loose I still have hours invested. And dollars.

All of the above require insurance policies for the landowner. Most policies require a specific rider for these activities. In my case, 500 acres with a lease situation requires $1240 per year rider on top of the regular policy to cover "hunting lease activities". No matter what, there is still a risk of criminal liability for negligence. If you damage property of another or hurt someone or yourself I am at the mercy of the courts if someone decides to pursue charges.

Some states have many laws to protect landowners from lawsuits and criminal liability but Texas is particularly lacking in that area. There is more protection in law for "equine activities" than there are for hunting.

Now look at the animal itself. An axis hide cost between $30-45 raw and $100 and up tanned. People with Alpha-Gal Syndrome can only eat wild non-bovine red meat. They pay up to $8.00 per pound for it at the limited places where it is available for sale. Even at a lowly $1.00 per pound an axis doe is worth $100 between the skin and the meat if I shoot it myself and sell the rest. An Axis buck antlers of decent size can sell for $100-$200.

One free-range deer hitting a feeder twice a day or one long stay at the feeder eats around 9 ounces of corn. That's about 17 pounds per month. So that's around $3.75 per deer average. Figure how many deer are coming to corn in a day. Maybe just one small group of axis come and there's 7 of them. Now we are near $1.00 a day. If I am going to give you a fair opportunity it will take a month to get the deer coming regularly in most cases. Then I have to keep this up until you get here. If I allowed shooting one axis doe per month they would cost me around $200 each between insurance, food, and ancillary expenses to make this happen (batteries and gas come to mind).

The risk is mitigated by profit. In the case of a nuisance or pest animal like you stated, it would be more cost efficient and less risky for me to shoot or trap them myself and sell the live animals or parts if I wanted to off-set the cost.

If a landowner is willing to endure the risk and up-front cost of allowing a hunt, he/she needs to make sure a serious person is coming. There needs to be a profit that mitigates the risk. The profit needs to be at or above what the landowner could get for a live-trapped animal or the parts of the dead animal. If I have staff doing this work, there time is money also.

Even the "lowly" hog follows these principals from the landowners prospective. I can drop a round trap on a dozen or more at a time and get $1.00 a pound for them with virtually zero risk and little time spent. Shooting one here and there, they cost around $100 each before someone pulls the trigger.

The animals going through the sale barn have a market price. Lately, axis does went for $270+ depending on the geographic area. So even at a completely DIY high-fence place you're going to pay at least that if they are giving them away at no profit. What is the low-fence landowners motivation to charge less for his axis?

With all due respect, a hunter is not doing me a favor shooting a hog or axis deer or anything else on my property. They are tying up my time and money and putting me at risk. I do lots of different hunts each year because the risk assessment is still somewhat profitable - but not at $100 or anything that low.

Look at a dove hunt. A dozen or more people are shooting in the air, spread apart, using small pellets with short range. The doves cost zero and the crop damage from them is negligible. Most people will be done in 2-hour and leave. The risk for something like $500+ per hour makes that worth doing up to a point. You still have to do it right. Clustering hunters together, over-crowding, allowing alcoholic beverages, then the risk outweighs the profit potential.

Thanks, Jab. This was a very nicely thought out answer to my inquiry. You also covered some followups that I had as well. And you didn't come across snooty as some other boards tend to when dealing with newbie questions. I appreciate this. Oh well. Just as I had gained the trusts of my landowner friends here in East Texas, I hope one day I can meet some good folks out West that don't mind me harvesting an axis on their land.

The short answer would be the same reason anything costs what it does. They got it, you want it.

True. If I wasn't such a hunt junkie, I would just drop the money and buy the meat from a farm.

In 2015, Texas passed the "Texas Agritourism Act", which provides landowners with more protection from injury-related liability. Under the Act, landowners are not liable for injuries or damages suffered by those who use their land (such as hunters) if:
- signs are posted warning there may be hidden dangers
- liability waivers are signed by hunters

Another thank you for your detailed discussion, JAB. I am new to Texas and still feeling my way.

I have posted about my axis hunt last weekend. I think that's about the best you're gonna due on shoestring budget. I'm still grinning about the animal I was able to take. Fair deal, great animal, plenty of animals, great scenery, and even better people. I'll plug for Warren and Kim again and won't apologize for it, check their add out over in the outfitters section.

Searching for your post, Bones.

Found it. Nice harvest.

Greed

Texjam, This site has a long history re greedy landowners.

I have a small 133 acre place South of Bowie that, according to realtors and investors that telemarket, mail and call me weekly, is worth somewhere around a million bucks. I have no idea; it’s paid off, not for sale or lease.

As long as only family uses it, I probably don’t need liability insurance. But, if I lease the hunting; I’m in the agro tourism business and have a significant liability. Thus, I would have to insure myself.

I’ve talked to both lawyers and insurance agents and have determined that leasing my land is not financially viable. One lawyer even told me that case law could make me liable for an injured trespasser/friend/acquaintance and that my fences had better be in good shape with plenty of posted/no trespassing signs. A pond with fish could be considered an attractive nuisance if a trespasser or even a friend drowns in it.

None of this stuff makes sense.

I guess just boredom or the mythical extra cash would draw me to 400-500 for axis doe but before any travel or equipment cost you are staring at $10 plus per lbs. on meat. To each their own but I can drive to United and buy ribeyes cheaper. Still enjoy the idea of hunting just getting priced out by what folks have to have to cover overhead.