Bayou Outdoors | The High Cost of Hunting

article by Dan Chason

I can remember when I started deer hunting at the young age of 15.  I borrowed a .35 Whelen rifle and embarked on a mission I knew nothing about.  I didn’t belong to a hunting club so my hunting was limited to public WMA’s including D’Arbonne National Refuge. It’s fairly close to my house and although limited to portable stands and walking, I found out very quickly that this deer hunting wasn’t as easy as I was reading in hunting publications.  I read everything I could get my hands on and tried to mimick techniques and strategies to be successful.  But the buck of a lifetime eluded me.  There was a lot of hunting pressure and I soon discovered that going in by water was the trick, as I could escape most hunters.  It was hard work but enjoyable.

Flash forward to today and how technology has developed, I now can go on my phone, dial up an area and get more information that is current, and zone in on the hot spots.  Nothing has affected deer hunting more than the cell-based cameras now used in hunting.  I’ve tried most models and finally settled on two cell-based cameras:  The Covert brand Select Series and the Wise Eye series of cameras.  I’m not knocking any other brand and have heard good things about Stealth, Moultrie and Browning.  However, costs of the cameras, cost of monthly cell service and the location hunted zoned me into the Covert system.  I like the option of either AT&T or Verizon as you and I both know that in our area those two cell systems work best.  There is nothing worse than doing all of your homework only to have a camera not work properly.

I scout with my cameras.  The ability to move them around saves hours of what I call “butt time” where I don’t have to physically be in a deer stand to observe movements, actual photos of the bucks and other critters in the area and the bonus to assure no one is on my property that shouldn’t be.  I move them around quite a bit and this has opened my eyes to what I discussed last month…unafraid to change.  I’ve moved stands, put up new stands and learned that early mornings and late evenings aren’t always the best time to be in the woods.  I utilize the 90/10 rule, scout 90% of the time and hunt 10% of the time.  My late brother would get in a stand before sunrise and be there when the sun came down.  I’m not made like that as I have the patience of a child and soon am thinking about all the things I need to be doing instead of enjoying the hunt.

My cameras, however, run 24/7.  I do have the option of turning them off in dark hours.  However, by not running them constantly those nocturnal deer won’t be seen.  When they do decide to become active, I at least know what is in the area and if they are target deer I need to pursue.  Remember this:  A deer eats on a regular basis every 6 hours.  So if I spot a likely prey at 4 a.m. that tells me to hunt from before 10 a.m. to after 11 a.m.  Most hunters are out of the stand and eating breakfast by 9:30 a.m. and are missing prime feeding times because they are stuck in the early morning/late evening hunting mode.  Deer learn very quickly to adapt.  I have been in the stand a mile away from our camp and hear a 4-wheeler crank up.  The deer on the food plots will ease out into cover just from that sound.  However, you can use that to your advantage.

I use a Moultrie spreader that is on the back of my side-by-side.  I have troughs for feed but when I do get down from the hunt, I spread feed going to and from my stand.  The deer associate the sound of a side by side as dinner time.  They will actually come to the sound of a motorized vehicle.  But when I’ve targeted an area and buck via prominent deer sign and images from my cameras, I slip in and out and do not use a motorized vehicle, or as of last year, employ a golf cart to decrease my walking distance.

But, I’ve said all of this to say one thing: it’s not cheap.  If you factor in the costs of cameras, lease costs, feed costs and maintenance costs, the price of deer meat is actually very high.  I’m not saying that the benefits of eating wild game isn’t rewarding.  But we start working on stands, plots and the camp in May at the latest.  What you can’t factor in and will never explain to your wife is why bother.  There is no explaining to a non-hunter the feeling of seeing that animal or group of animals feeding on a food plot you planted.  To see them in their natural environment doing what they do and the cold breeze of an approaching front making these critters do remarkable things.  To pinpoint one animal of many that you want to harvest and to be able to accomplish that is unexplainable.  I will never forget some memorable hunts and the great times spent with friends who share the love of the outdoors.  It is not about the harvest, it is about the pursuit.  Nothing thrills me more than locating a mess of crappie or seeing a bass lose his mind over my floating frog.  To see a buck chasing a doe or pushing a smaller buck off of his area cannot be duplicated.  I don’t put a cost to that.  It gives me satisfaction and is very challenging.  I think that is the reason we hunt.  The costs can be high to do it right but I can say with no hesitation, it is worth every minute and dollar I invest in it.  Happy hunting and be safe.