Many people enjoy hunting. It’s not for everyone, but if you try it, you may like stalking prey. You might also find that you cherish the silence when you’re out in nature, crouched in a blind and listening to the birds and the wind in the trees.
You might feel that cost is prohibitive, though. Let’s talk about some ways to save money when hunting. It’s usually still possible, even if you’re not exactly wealthy.
Buy Discounted Hunting Gear
You need gear to hunt. You may need rifles, ammunition, clothing, other equipment, and your license. You can usually find more affordable hunting gear if you check out the clearance section of your local hunting and fishing store. You can also look for online deals.
You might wait for sales as well. Usually, you can find deals on hunting clothes, weapons, and other necessities if you wait for the end of the season. You can load up on everything you need and prepare it for the following year.
Hunt on Public Land
You can also hunt for free on public land sometimes. You can look into that and see if it’s possible in your state. You’ll usually find that it is, but conditions will apply depending on the state and township in which you find yourself.
Hunting on public land might not cost anything, but you run the risk of hunting in popular areas where other hunters are already active. Maybe there’s room enough for everyone, but if you’re not careful, you might scare away all the game.
Package Deals on Licenses and Tags
In some states, you can get a package deal when you buy both your tags and license at the same time. You can look on hunting websites and quickly figure out which states will let you do that.
Kentucky and Idaho will let you do it, for instance. If you buy both the license and tags together, you will save a great deal of money over buying individually. Also, you’re killing two birds with one stone.
Butcher and Process Your Kills Yourself
Presumably, you’ll keep the meat from the animals you kill. The wild turkey is delicious, as is venison. You can make sausage and bacon out of wild hogs or pork shoulder that you can cook on a barbecue grill if you’re so inclined.
Getting that meat processed and butchered is often expensive, though. If you have a strong stomach and don’t mind doing some homework, you can watch videos showing you how to quarter game animals and process the meat.
If you do so, you can save money and have a feeling of accomplishment when you’re done. You’ll have a connection to your ancestors who knew how to prepare the animals they killed out of necessity. You can hunt on a budget in these ways if you just put your mind to it.
