Budget friendly hunts

[Fishinglink]

Well the wife has finally given me permission to look into a “destination” hunt. Looking for a traditional friendly outfitter and obviously trust the reviewers here. Hoping for 2020/21 season due to budgeting. I want the best bang for my buck. I’m open to anything from hogs to elk. Not looking to Canada or Alaska at this time. 

Any suggestions will be appreciated. Would love a elk or muley hunt out west but not even sure where to start so here I am.

Equipment wise I am comfortable with 45-50# currently and hoping to build a 55-60# this summer.

Never hunted anything other than whitetail here in Michigan so I know there will be a learning curve.

Thanks Cody.


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[KSdan]

Whats the budget?

[Jeff D. Holchin]

Cody, something to consider is joining the PBS and then joining one of the many member hunts that we hold all over the country.  The host already knows the area and arranges for a place to camp or stay, so really all you have to do is show up and hunt hard.  PBSers love to bow hunt different animals in different places, so there are lots of options.  This year, there were member hunts for javalina and deer in AZ in Jan, coastal hogs in GA in Feb and two separate hunts for hogs and javalina in TX in March (one was in wilderness that required pack-in by mules), then in August, we had elk in UT, mule and whitetail deer in SD in early October, whitetails in KY in mid October,  and deer/turkey/bear in VA in late October.  Might have been a few more that I forgot.  There have been several hunts in AK and I am hosting a cow elk hunt in WY next fall for members looking for their first archery elk.

Tons of options for the adventurous bowhunter on a budget!

[Fishinglink]

Jeff- what is PBS? Where can I find more info.

KSdan- that depends on which one of us you talk to. . $2000 or less is my goal. If I could put a group together for Kenny’s lease I’d be good with that. Hell I’d be happy with a Illinois or Ohio () tag and a tip on some decent land. No more than 5 days with a day on both ends for travel. My biggest problem is I’m the only hunter in my family and friends. Going to gauge some interest with the guys from my winter trad league and see if I can get a group together to open more options.

I’m not gonna lie. I know there is no guarantee on hunting but I have a hard time eating tag soup especially seeing some of these tag prices. Hope this extra info helps.


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[KSdan]

We did a bear hunt in Ontario the past few years (with a bunch of west MI guys too!).  We were like 9/12 on bears including 3 PY.  Travel and everything was less than $2k.  Check on Jason Samkowiak there in MI on with Traditional Bowhunting and Wilderness Podcast.  He reviews the bear hunt- BUT he also has a full podcast on various hunts and actual budgets.  Its really informative.  You can do MO deer/turkey DIY for probably under $700 for everything from MI.  KS DIY could be done easily for 1K or less.

Dan in KS

[Fishinglink]

We did a bear hunt in Ontario the past few years (with a bunch of west MI guys too!).  We were like 9/12 on bears including 3 PY.  Travel and everything was less than $2k.  Check on Jason Samkowiak there in MI on with Traditional Bowhunting and Wilderness Podcast.  He reviews the bear hunt- BUT he also has a full podcast on various hunts and actual budgets.  Its really informative.  You can do MO deer/turkey DIY for probably under $700 for everything from MI.  KS DIY could be done easily for 1K or less.

Dan in KS

Thanks I’ll look into it.
Cody


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[KSdan]

Also- not sure how long you have been hunting or hunting with trad- but tag soup and trad can be a little too synonymous.  If destination, budget, and actual harvest are your real goals-  there may be better options.

Just my 2C
Dan in KS

[Fishinglink]

17 years hunting experience with whitetail. 4 deer in those years. 2 years trad bow shooting. I have passed on 4 lifetime bucks due to not having a clean shot.  I know it’s unreasonable to expect a trophy, especially now that I wanna do things the hard way. I have taken my trad bows into the woods on 4 sits to no avail. Got within 40yds of 7 does but that was the closest I’ve been with trad gear.

Cody.


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[Jeff D. Holchin]

Cody, PBS is the Professional Bowhunter Society.  Click the link at bottom of my post, then hit "Membership Hunts" and check out the various hunts.  Lots of other cool stuff to check out on the web site as well.

[Gehrke145]

2k will get you a fair amount of options, Elk, Axis deer, Muleys, Antelope, Bears, Hogs, Javelina, Blacktail deer, Aoudad, and most average Exotics.

[TattooDave]

Hey Cody, I would think $2000 is plenty if you're willing to do a self guided hunt somewhere. I went out to South Dakota turkey hunting a couple years ago and spent under $1000. Most of my expenses were the gas to drive out.

Tattoo Dave

[kadbow]

DIY is the best bang for your buck and is doable for many species. I have never done a guided hunt but have paid to hunt private property for hogs (fun hunt).

[Hummer3T]

I know you said no Canada hunts but one thing to consider is in Canada your $2000.00 at today's exchange rate is $2660.00.

[soap creek]

I went to North Dakota a few years back. Hunted the Badlands in the south west corner of the state. Seen a lot of whitetails, but we were after Mulies. Seen mule deer every day. I was lucky enough to connect on one the last day of our week long hunt.I was the only one of our group to tag a deer. I enjoyed it immensely. There were 4 of us. Not everyone hunted hard. The tags were very reasonable. Had to apply in April I think. DNR told me then that all applicants would most likely get a tag back then. Hunted public land. Never seen another bowhunter. There were a few bird hunters, but not many of those either. Beautiful country.

[SAM E. STEPHENS]

I agree that you can have many options with $2000 on a DIY hunt...

,,Sam,,

[Fishinglink]

I know you said no Canada hunts but one thing to consider is in Canada your $2000.00 at today's exchange rate is $2660.00.

Didn’t think about the exchange rates. Thanks for making this more difficult. I do know an outfitter in Canada through my local trad shop. Going to look into his rates.

I was sent a pm about sika deer in Maryland and the tags appear to be OTC. If I can tent camp, it looks like I may be able to pull this off for much less than a grand.

Hoping to get my game plan by March 2019 so I can start planning. Still gonna try to get a group together to try a lease with Kenny if there’s room. Also looking into PBS and will be probably be joining the ranks there.

From a cost stand point a hunt out west is probably not going to happen just due to my lack of gear. That’ll be my plan by age 40. Hoping one of my girls will develop the hunting bug and wanna tag along.


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[Terry Green]

$2,000 will buy you a hog hunt for sure...like a 5 dayer....

 there's a few sponsors on tradgang that would be glad to take care of you

[huskyarcher]

x2 on what Holchin said, PBS Membership hunts are awesome. You will get to hunt with some of the best hunters in the country and make some awesome friends. Good luck with whatever you decide!

[Fishinglink]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. So many different opportunities now I just gotta narrows down the game I want to go after. Didn’t think there was as much out there in reach. Google does a good job of bringing the high dollar stuff to the top and pricing me right out of the game.

Terry- Thanks for the heads up on the sponsors. Once I get my plan narrowed I will be in touch and see what your suggestion is if I go that route.

Once I get some more details I’ll make a new post to get my gear setup and tips.

Thanks again to everyone.
Cody.


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[KodaChuck]

Check out Stickflingers in Manitoba. As far as a great trad experience, it is 9 miles deep and 10 miles wide. Spring bear.