Archery on a budget...lets share

[Osagetree]

I'm sure a lot of members have seen this thread, but it falls in line with cost saving hunts so,,,

  http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=39;t=000219

It was almost a cash free season that ended in success!

[TradPaul]

Well, Let's see. I have sold everything extra i have, I trade what I cant sell, for other things that I want. I make quivers and sell those. I always use the Classifieds. I reuse everything that isnt broken. And i try and take care of everything i have. It's working so far.


P.

[Bear]

KSdan... You da man! I liked everything you had to say. Good stuff. Thats what hunting is all about, although difficult to discipline oneself.

The part about public land though,            I'm glad I'm not the only one with such convictions. I do pay for hunting rights on the property surrounding a nearby campground. I sort of stumbled upon it while camping there to hunt the last lease I belonged to.  :D  It's really just a big bedding area and the cost is negligable compared to the amount of doe meat we can count on. As for joining a big lease, and private heard management... I'm over it, and about fed up with how hunting media portrays it as normal and good hunting!

[twitchstick]

I have always done things the cheap way not by choice but because I have had too. This last fall I took on butchering on the side.Four elk and 3 deer later I was able to buy a new recurve that has got me back into trad archery.Boy it has sure made for a fun time.

[stringstretcher]

Any other budget saving ideas out there?

[Broken Arrow 1]

I am going to learn how to knap so I can make my own hunting heads and look throughout the timber for natural arrow shafts! I also love going to the YARD SALES

[Frank]

You can go to Home Depot and pick up a mess of bamboo tamato stakes for about 5 bucks.  Straighten them and you have arrows.

I do alot of trading, good place to get primitive supplies is paleoplanet.  

Wife always jokes that it's amazing how we can trade roadkill for sticks and rocks and both parties walk away happy.

For sinew, hit the local deer cooler during rifle deer season.  Years ago I took a trash can with a plastic bag.  They filled it up, I did this twice.

You can also get deer skin pieces.  Some try to charge, but there are many who will just throw them in a pile for you.

Dried it and you guessed.  Traded it for: arrow shafts, feathers, rock for arrowheads, strings, and leather.

A fresh car hit otter was traded off for an osage stave.  Now, the otter was over 60" long.  Just as long as the stave I traded for.

I got my new bow, 60" osage recurve, 65lbs at 27" in a trade.  Allan made me a bow, I made Allan a bow.


Yard sales, goodwill, flea markets, any little store that sells used goods is a good bet.  I've found prestine bows for 25 bucks, found a Bear A Riser for 1.50.  ****ed it for close to 200 bucks.

[bowfiend]

Wow, those are good ideas. I just stopped eating - that saved me some money.

[trad_bowhunter1965]

I do a lot of trading with others to get the stuff I need.I read Primitive Bowhunter there a lot of cool stuff in it.

[Wednesday Caste]

Trade, thrift stores, garage sale.  
Learn how to refinish gear- hunting or fishing(search on websites like this for instructions). Don't worry about a crappy finish. If it really bothers you, light sanding and another coat will fix it.  My bows are from the 60s, bamboo rods from 50s or earlier and all of them have had my TLC on them and are all used.  I find a lot more satisfaction when I put some time into it and it also keeps a little history of my favorite sport(s) alive.

[LKH]

I married a woman who can sew anything.  Buy our material online by the bolt.

[Day Dreamer]

Goodwill and sales I hope to never pay full price for nothing and also try to sell some of my old or never hardly used stuff to buy other stuff. Always on the lookout, kinda tough when I like quality gear that will last. My problem is it usually takes me the second time around to get what works for me. But I really admire the hunter that is content with what he has.

[Earl E. Nov...mber]

Anyone else raise a garden and can or freeze for the winter?? How about picking wild berries for jelly and preserves? Ride your bike to work, carry a sandwich.. How about patching your jeans?

[jct]

HA ! Earl E. Nov..mber, I do all those except the bike. Little tough puting a truckload of tools on a bike but I'm with you on the rest. Saves tons of money over time

[Shifting Shadow]

stringstretcher, this is the most practical thread published in a while!

A lot of good ideas were presented: shop at the Goodwill, yard sales, trade, make ones own stuff, buy used, budget, and more.

my 2 cents: number 1, be content with what one has. Americans tend to go to extremes or excess on many things. I'm still working on this one and probably will be for the rest of my life. But now I'm down from a bunch of bows to 1. It cost $165 new. The economy is stressed and so is my budget. But it's an attitude thing. I'm happy with less.

[va]

I keep working on Shifting Shadow's thought about contentment.  I am learning to be content in whatever situation.

I also started making archery stuff even before I started shooting.  Kid bows make me a favorite uncle...  plant stakes make arrows for stumping...  leather scraps make great shooting gloves...  osage is everywhere in Kansas, so I have an endless supply of staves...  The list goes on.

Contentment is the issue.

[blind one]

Same here..Yard sales, goodwill, trading, auctions and using coupons..Nothing wrong with leftovers for supper the next day either. We started a garden last year,picking berrys for our jam and such. We are trying to stop smoking also, BIG expense here we dont need..

[Raven]

"Use it up, wear it out, or go with out"!        All good advice that has saved my butt more than once.

 All sound advice above! To bad it takes hard times to get people doing what they should have been doing all the time.

 Good luck and happy hunting!            

 Raven >>>>-------->

[Jon Stewart]

If you have a craft, share it with others.  I learned how to make bow strings a few years ago and showed a tradganger how to do it.  Now he makes a very  nice string.  Hopefully he will pass this on to others.

Also do the yard sale thing.  Bought a  recurve for $.25  (25 cents) once at a sale, made my own string and shot a fox with the bow that year.  I also buy all my hunting clothes at yard sales.

[Jack Skinner]

I like others started making my own equipment; bows from staves, arrows from boards, broadheads from used saw blades, and what not. Buy wool at surplus stores, not as pretty as the fancy stuff but works geat. Making my own leather goods, solo stalker, arm guards. When hunting go with at least one other hunter to share expense. Camp in location so as to be able to hunt right from camp not drive to other locations to start hunting from. Made my own shooting range in my yard dont have to drive anywhere to practice.