Cost of your hunting equipment?

[dangerranger60]

A vender is giving away an Ultimate Predator Hunting Package valued at $5000. It all seems to be good equipment and most of it I would use. But I got to adding up the Gear I use and would have to include my gun , and truck to get the value up to $5000.
The gear I use all the time would fit in a day pack.
GPS
Binoculars
I have tried a couple electronic calls, and they are not for me, so I carry 4 different mouth calls.
a skinning knife
a flashlight
shooting sticks
gloves
a water resistant pillow [ to keep my head up high enough to see over the grass when laying prone].
a couple feathers and string as decoys
a couple rodent nests in plastic bags. they give a strong smell/attractant to my sets
and some water proof canvas to sit or lay on
I shoot a Axis 223 with a Burris Fullfield scope, or a pump shotgun
And I drive a 20 year old truck.

Without the truck if I had to replace these I would be under $800.

Am I just cheap or is $5000 an out there number? Enquiring minds need to know! DR

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[Bobbygun]

That's some tough math. I only have $450 invested in my .25-06 Remington 700 Classic with an older Nikon Monarch 3X12 with adjustable objective. But, it might cost me a little more than $450 to replace it. My binos, shooting stick, knife, gloves, decoys, calls and sitting pads were mostly gifts and fairly inexpensive to replace. Maybe another $500 mostly due to the binos. The one item that (coupled with the rest) would push me well past that $800 figure, is my Garmin Rino gps. My pickup is a 1998.

I don't do all that much varmint hunting. Most of the varmints I take are victims of opportunity while hunting big game. My binos, gps and most of the stuff I use for varmint hunting, I already had for big game hunting.

Bottom line is, I think we're both cheap and $5,000 is overkill for varmints. I'm sure others take it more seriously and $5,000 isn't even a good start. To them I say - "Rock on!"

 

[TTSX]

Gonna guess without a vehicle, my total hunting setup is about a grand. Even if I bought at MSRP, I'd have a darn hard time getting to 1500

 

[slimmer13]

Alot of people think Gucci gear can replace hard work, time scouting and skill.

 

[TTSX]

Alot of people think Gucci gear can replace hard work, time scouting and skill.

Or good old fashioned luck

 

[Twodogs]

My buddy and I laugh about the old days when we hunted all day with just a Ruger rifle and a Gerber knife.
Now my rifle and knife are over $2000.00 not to mention boots waterproof pants and jacket, pack, range finder, binos, gps, phone. then throw in a $60,000 truck on top of that.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

I like quality gear.
With that said....
Quality gear , as in well made gear , does not have to be overly expensive or needs to have a "$200 name on a $20 shirt".

In any event my hunting gear does not add up to $5000 , even with my favorite rifle which was custom made.
My boots are probably my most expensive item besides my firearms...favorite boots are Red Wings "Iron Ranger"
Andy

 

[bionic knees]

we spent more on groceries than we did vehicles back in the day. 35 or so years ago my pickup and camper were worth maybe $2k, knives, boots, guns, gear worth about the same. we were quite successful, we were young and worked our asses off.

 

[3MTA3]

When I read threads like this I remember that the typical hunting rifle when I was a kid was a Winchester 94. Today that's about $800 compared to about a fifth that in the wayback machine of my youth. I don't feel so bad about an $1100 rifle with a $650 scope as I did before that thought. When I lump it all together - ammunition, knife boots reloading dies and components, and some Bushnell binocs somewhere north of $2000. I don't worry too much about the cost of the shooting iron as they retain their value pretty well so long as you take care of them.

If my hobby was shooting pool in a bar with my buddies I'd spend far more money than that a nickle at a time.

 

[Capn Jack]

Price of Guided Buffalo Hunt in Nevada

Airport Shuttle…………………………………………………..…$55.00
Round Trip Air, Seattle,WA. to Salt Lake City, Utah………...….$297.40

Hunt Package………………………………………………..…..$3408.52
Gratuities………………………………………………....…...….$350.00

Cost of Mounted Skull …………………………………….….....$511.61
Process Meat………………………………………….…....…..…$416.10
Ship Meat to home………………………………….…………….$299.63

Total Cost.................................................................................…$5337.24

Received ……………………..290 lbs. of meat cut, frozen and wrapped to order
1. Euro mounted skull

Cost 0f meat per lb……....……..$18.41

Never do it again. It was like shooting a Volkswagen in a parking lot.

 

[solv3nt]

Well shoot... I just started hunting again this year.

Winchester 70 with Leupold vx6 2-12
Swarovski ATX 65 spotter
Swarovski carbon tripod
Swarovski 8x SLC in Alaska Guide Creations pack
Leica 800 range finder
Stone Glacier backpack
Kenetrek boots
I'm a bit of a gear whore, and that doesn't include the sidearm, which will likely be my 90s python.

 

[belshawelk]

5k is nothing. I have every that time I hunt. I didn't used to. There was a time it was probable more like $750. I am older, smarter, and like high end gear to help make me a better hunter.

Just with my gun, clothes and pack and other gear I am wearing I am close to or over that. Add truck, atv, side by side, trailers ( just for hunting) coolers, hunting tags, food, lodging and Bourbon its way up there. But you get many many years out of all this stuff. Amortize it out and its really cheap compared to many other activities.

 

[P7M13]

Typical for a hunting season (not amortized):

COST​	FUNCTION​	DESCRIPTION​
$800​	Gun and Optic	Winchester 70 338 WM w/ Leupold, or Ruger Hawkeye 7/08 with Banner
$60​	20 rds. ammo	338 WM 250gr Nosler E Tips 7/08 Cutting Edge 149gr Controlled Chaos
$150​	Binos	Vortex 10x50
$1,010	subtotal	Guns, ammunition and Optics
$40​	Outerwear	Surplus military camo in UCP or Woodland pattern
$12​	Waterproofing	Teflon spray for clothing to improve water repellency
$225​	Rain gear	Driz-abone oil skin duster Outback Oil skin hat
$350​	Whites	Hunting boots
$80​	Clothes	Wool sweater, quality thermals, good socks
$707	subtotal	Hunting wear
$300​	Camp Gear	Tent / bag / pad / rope / cook gear (not going to count the camper)
$200​	Frame Pack	Eberlestock. There are better...
$325​	Tools	Knives, saws, hatchet, compass, waterproof maps
$825	Subtotal	Hardware
$2,542	Gear Cost

To arrive at the gear I use, I bought and got rid of easily double that in stuff.
Add to this ~$150 in gas and $200 in food.

 

[oremike]

I don't know what all is in the package but just my rifle and scope is right at 2 grand It would be easy with good gear to fill out the rest of the 5 grand.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Cost would depend on just what kind of hunt....

Grouse hunting for me is pretty inexpensive.

Usually a .22 rifle or 20 gauge shotgun...and a hand full of shells for 'em...
Or some sort of muzzle loader....
A knife...good boots , water / canteen and a game bag...is about it for a day hunt.
Gas and lunch...are something to figure in as well .

For a weekend trip , add a tent and food / cooking gear.
Andy

 

[Bobbygun]

5k is nothing. I have every that time I hunt. I didn't used to. There was a time it was probable more like $750. I am older, smarter, and like high end gear to help make me a better hunter.

Just with my gun, clothes and pack and other gear I am wearing I am close to or over that. Add truck, atv, side by side, trailers ( just for hunting) coolers, hunting tags, food, lodging and Bourbon its way up there. But you get many many years out of all this stuff. Amortize it out and its really cheap compared to many other activities.

There is much truth here. Although I'm not on the "high" end gear train, I certainly avoid the cheap stuff anymore. Long ago when I was young, my wife would buy me Texas Steer brand boots from Montgomery Wards. They barely lasted one hunting season. My feet hurt. My feet got soaked regardless of how much Snow Seal I smeared on them. When I switched to Gortex lined boots, it did indeed make me a better hunter. Having dry feet leads to more time spent hunting, walking further and not being miserable. I often get four or more years out of a pair of boots now. Since they don't cost four times what the cheap ones cost, they really are less expensive in the long run. I haven't quite gotten to where I'm willing to choke down the $400-$500 for the high end boots, but the quality of the Danners isn't quite what it once was. Maybe next time...

Not too sure about bourbon making you a better hunter though. I generally stick to downing a couple of Tap Out microbrews from Terminal Gravity out of Enterprise at night before bedtime. I'm pretty sure those have been scientifically proven to help.

 

[oremike]

As kind of implied by Andy, my cost to go hunting today really isn't much more that a licence, tags and a road or camping trip. Everything has been bought and paid for over the years. If I was just starting out, it would be easy to drop 5 large at Calbelas.

 

[Longwalkhome]

Can't help but say I have one cost that has gone way down in hunting, my license. I get the Pioneer license now for $6

Probably the biggest expense for hunting now is the vehicle that would get you where the game is and bring your game home.

Last buck I harvested a knife and a scoped rifle was all I carried.

 

[thorborg]

Putting a cost on hunting equipment for me is a time sensitive question.
My life started out with a home made back pack made of spruce and bare essentials, mostly used. sometimes well used.
Over time, with diligence and effort I grew personally and monetarily.
What I hunted with in my teens and twenties compared to what I hunt with now have gone from basic and crude, to extravagant and excessive.
Whether crude or extravagant equipment, and regardless of weather, or rules, fees and regulations, from kid to codger, (excepting my marriage) being in the woods are the best times of my life.
lack of anything has never been an impediment.

 

[thorborg]

I get the Pioneer license now for $6

You can thank our present governor for that, up till her, it was free