Curious, how you do it?

[muledeerarea33?]

This was brought up recently in another thread and I've been curious for awhile now. How do some of you folks afford to be off work to scout all the time, hunt every season that comes up, buy the best rifles, binos, tripods, quads, trailers, gadgets, etc.? Now don't take this as a jealousy thing or starting a fight thing. I'm honestly curious? I would consider my wife and I (no kids) middle-upper middle class. Not much debt, own our home and vehicles out right, have one credit card with a $500 limit which seldom is used,we're not extravagant people lol, ask those on the site that know us.

I'd like to know what I'm doin wrong? Are you in debt to the hilt, family money, life insurance? Haha I don't mean to pry but really, can I change my habits to afford the thousands of dollars in gear some of you have?

[wildwoody]

i live where i hunt. since obama came around and his gas prices i think were all i dept

[muledeerarea33?]

Haha, I have deer in my back yard and live in the sticks! We eat alot of rabbit from our property and I have 2 great units within 20 minutes of me, where I'm secluded. So that point doesn't work :-)

[DUG]

I've got a sugar Mama. She's the best!

[motoxno53]

We do not go in debt for hunting but, for us hunting is a family obsession. What I mean is we make it a priority. We earmark x dollars for hunting and use these trips as part of our vacation plans each year. It has taken time to get the gear we have but each year we are improving things as funds allow.

[ylclaret]

I think it's a matter of priorities for many people. Over the last couple of years since I started to get more in to hunting, I've noticed that where I used to find other things to do I'm scouting more often instead. It seems there are always a million things you could spend your time and/or money on, but for me, the more I hunt, the more I want to hunt! Two years ago, if given the choice between a weekend scouting and a weekend in Sonoita at the rodeo, I would have chosen the rodeo. This year I will be scouting for my elk hunt. It'll probably be close to a push financially but I'm pretty sure my head won't hurt as much at the end of the weekend this year as it did in years past!

[CouesWhitetail]

I think maybe you are over generalizing and imagining the grass is greener for other people. Most people only scout on weekends and don't take time off from work to scout. They reserve their vacation time for the actual hunt. And most people don't have the best gear. We all make do with what we can afford. Personally, I find ways to save money by borrowing gear or sharing gear. For instance, I co-own an ATV with a rancher friend. He keeps the ATV at his ranch and uses it year-round except when I need it during a hunt. So I paid a fraction of the cost and get to use it when I need it and he funded most of the cost and uses it most of the year. And since my scope died, instead of buying a new one, I borrow one from my neighbor that he wasn't using. And sometimes I even borrow my hunting buddies rifle with a great scope on it for our hunt. The last two bucks I have killed were with his rifle. Some of my hunting buddies don't have range finders and so I loan them mine when they need it. The great gear that I do have (zeiss binos, swaro binos, zeiss spotting scope, .270 rifle, good tripod head, tripod, backpack, boots) are all gear that I have bought over two decades. When I started out I had crappy binos and no tripod and an open sighted 30-30.

[KaibabHunter]

I work 4/10's. Also work some extra jobs here and there to mostly finance my hunts. Now with my oldest hunting and my youngest getting close we definately need to start puttin in as a group cause I won't have enough vacation time to cover it all.

[muledeerarea33?]

Amanda, I love your answer and honesty! I have Zeiss victory fl, basically bought my my entire family one year for Christmas. Best present ever. Haha can't afford the tripod adapter so I just rest them on the tripod, works ok. My truck is my quad (and yes it's beat to heck and scratched) my good hunting rifles are hand me downs, however I was able to buy one nice vortex scope. The other ones have leaupold glass. Good but low power. My amazing wife bought my range finder a few years back as a valentines day present! I love her so much!! I reload all my ammo, and 13 out of my 15 vacation days goes to hunting.

[muledeerarea33?]

And I haven't just started hunting. I've hunted my whole life. Never with the technology of today's hunters.

[CouesWhitetail]

and yes, it's always a good idea to let your family know what you want. That way they can pool together to get you some great gear (like yours did!). Most family and friends would rather go in together to get someone a great gift rather than everyone buying you something smaller that maybe you don't need. I bought my .270, but my shotgun and .22 and 30-30 are hand me downs, which I love!

 

Oh and several forum members have won a lot of their gear at banquets or raffles or even in contests on this site.

[izquik72]

I have been fortunate to have a job where I earn 16 days a year and after 9 years maxed out @ 400 hrs vacation time. (having lots of bonus pts allowed this to happen).

Since I dont draw any AZ tags I apply for one out of state hunt a year. I justify the non resident price by only scouting a few days before the hunt opens and only making one trip. I usually try to upgrade or add one newer, better piece of gear a year. (usually tax season)

[bonecollector]

I work 2 jobs and sometimes I dont think its worth it, well most of the time its not worth it.

[twigsnapper]

I have bought and sold lots of hunting gear, trying to make a little on each deal till I worked up to what i want. When my wife and I got married we agreed she would get her ring and I got a pair of Vortex Kaibabs. I liked them but didn't love them so I bought and sold binos for about a year and a half till I had the cash saved up for my 12x50 Swaros. I spent $850 of our money on the Kiababs but the rest of the money for my Swaros came from buying and selling binos and bows. also, I always buy used, with the way our tag system works here in AZ, most guys gear up for their tag then sell off their stuff since they won't have a tag for a couple more years. My buddies tease me but, other then a few sentimental rifles everything I own is for sale for the right price. When gas prices rise, my scouting trips get cut back though.

[Pine Donkey]

First off it is a mindset; it's not what we do, it is who we are. My wife and I have lived this lifestyle our entire adult life. We have chosen to live in rural Arizona due to this lifestyle. We are both in education so we don't have a lot of extra money, but we live within our means. Our family has built a pretty good collection of quality gear, but it has taken many years to get it all. The collection has been built through decades of Christmas, birthday, Father's Day, Mother's Day and anniversary gifts. I can scout briefly before and after work most days, and my hunting hotspots are not too far away. When I want to shoot my bow, I walk into the back yard, when I want to shoot a gun, I only have to drive a mile or so. Most of our vacations are spent hunting and camping.

 

On the flip side, when we need to get groceries, wal-mart, hardware, movie theater or the doctor, it is a 50 mile round trip. If we want the "city" experience, it is a 150 mile round trip.

 

These are the choices we have made. Sometimes, I think about the higher pay available if we move to a big city, but I know it would be a very uncomfortable situation for us. We visit family in the Phoenix area, and within a day our two I begin to get a claustrophobic feeling. At their house I hear traffic, at mine I hear coyotes. Their sky is filled with city lights, ours is filled with stars.

 

As I stated before, this is not what we do, it is who we are.