The rifle hunt started last saturday in Utah, and it was a beautiful day for all of the hunters. I haven’t been rifle hunting in over 8 years, and it seems like every year that I went we would get caught in a snowstorm. I wish I could have been out there on Saturday, as I looked towards the mountains there was not a cloud in the sky.
Last night I watched the news and they did a report on the opener of the rifle hunt. They interviewed several successful hunters and I found what they had to say very interesting. Many of the hunter’s said in previous years they would have passed on the buck they tagged , but this year they needed the meat because of the bad economy. I also found it very interesting how many hunter’s complained about not being able to drive around as much as they usually do because of the price of gas.
First off, I hope all of the hunter’s that need the food are successful. It is great that we can hunt and provide meat for our families. I have never had to hunt to provide meat in a time of need, hopefully it never comes to that as my family may starve. (Stupid depth perception!)
During our archery hunt the gas was an even bigger issue as our hunt hit during the highest gas prices. I had never heard anyone from our group complain about gas going up to our hunting spot until this year. We were all a little weary of it, and we car-pooled as much as possible. However, we also noticed less “road-hunters” and that is always a positive in my mind. I can’t imagine going up the mountain and driving around hoping that a deer will pop out in front of my truck and I can shoot it. Hunting is not supposed to be easy, get your butt out of the truck and hike a little. It is a different story if you are driving from one spot to another and you see a deer and have a chance to shoot it. I can’t blame anyone for trying to go after a deer in that situation. It is the hunter’s that drive around all day that drive me crazy. Hopefully the bad economy this year has encouraged them to not drive around as much while hunting, and they will learn to appreciate what it is like to get out into the deep woods and really hunt!
I know the economy effected what kind of vehicle I drive to hunt. I sold my truck and bought a car, but other than that it hasn’t affected me much.
Agreed on the road hunting issue. My goodness how I despise that mentality!!! Angers me. Anyways – must get off that subject before my blood pressure boils over!
I think hunting for cheap meat, especially deer, is not real wise – look at the price of a tag, and filling up the rig even just once, and you’re meat is already more expensive than buying it from the grocery store. But I can certainly understand the feeling of “well, since I already paid the money, I need to get SOMETHING, this year.” I have certainly thought about it more, but like you said during archery season it was an issue even more as prices were up near the $4 range. I dunno – I think gas isn’t as big a budget buster as many people believe…but I could be wrong! (it’d be the first time, though, so don’t count on it.)
A 20 gallon tank of gas at $3.00 / gallon vs. the same tank of gas at $4.00 / gallon is only $20 bucks on each fill. Eating out costs more than that for a couple. Anyways – I hope it does keep the road hunting down, although from the looks of things up here it hasn’t done a thing to alleviate it. They’ve been out in full force this fall.
Given the number of guys with new mud boats that ended up in our “secret honey hole” on opening day of duck season, it is hard to believe that the economy is having an effect on hunting. Time will tell I suppose. Great post!