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       #Post#: 123--------------------------------------------------
       Real cost of venison
   DIR By: allmanav
       Date: March 17, 2020, 11:30 am
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       The Real Cost of Venison
       Posted: 17 Mar 2020 08:20 AM PDT
       Remember the tongue-in-cheek humor article about the real costs
       of firewood? It started with buying a chainsaw and other gear
       and even the hospital visits for accidents. We all had a good
       chuckle to learn in the final analysis that a cord of firewood
       probably costs somewhere in the neighborhood of $35,000.
       Hopefully, processed deer meat for the freezer does not approach
       those kinds of costs, but some (many) hunters are in denial when
       it comes to the real costs involved in procuring meat for the
       family.
       Now for me, hunting deer is recreation. I really don’t care what
       it costs, but I am conservative in my spending. I have cable TV
       and I don’t do nightclubs, movies, concerts, or expensive
       restaurants. I hunt. Others spend far more than I do, and try
       hard not to think about how much it actually costs… such as my
       good friend Bill.
       Bill hunts virtually every week of our three-month deer season.
       When I try to approach the subject of the costs of deer meat per
       pound as opposed to buying grocery hamburger, he sulks up to the
       point of getting red-faced angry. It is a subject I have learned
       to avoid.
       In our area a deer meat processor charges between $3-$4 per
       pound to grind and package deboned deer meat. It costs a lot
       more if they have to also process the whole deer. Accordingly,
       50 pounds of meat could cost around $150. A pound of hamburger
       at Kroger costs $5.49 — but I had very little overhead cost
       except to drive to the store to get it.
       So, what does deer meat cost? If Bill hunted public lands the
       costs would be less, but he does not. In fact he participates in
       two property leases (he never divulges the cost) and pays a
       share of food plots and other expenses. A good annual land lease
       in this state can range from $1000 per member of a club, or
       upwards of $5000 to be a first-tier leaseholder. It costs much,
       much more to own hunting land outright.
       So, what other expenses are involved? Without calculating the
       exact cost of each item there is a vehicle, an ATV, a ton of
       hunting equipment and supplies, guns and ammo, license,
       clothing, fuel, food, property taxes, cabin or camp maintenance,
       and a lot of other incidentals. Not cheap.
       I’m guessing that hunting costs Bill several thousand dollars a
       year in addition to his $150 for processed deer meat.
       It’s cheaper to buy grocery hamburger… but for most of us that
       is not really the point of hunting. What do you think?
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