is hunting a rich mans game?

Yes thats the way hunting is starting to be, if ya have lots of money, then you get the leisure of paying the money and shooting a mossback, but if your like me you just have to sit back and watch the movies or pictures that people post.

If you have lots of this...($$) ($$)

Then you can have yourself some great hunts every year. If not you have to spend your life with them in the wild and hope to get lucky.

Yea it's turning or turned into a rich mans sport.

But I still enjoy my time in the hills chasing little fellas hoping for a big fella. :)

I would have to agree. Even just a simple over-the-counter tag and license it's really starting to add up. For those folks that choose to hunt on a private ranch you're lookin' at guide service, travel, lodging, etc, etc, etc on top of normal fees and it can get REALLY pricey. Lastly, just putting in for draws, preference points, and such also drain the bank accounts!
Personally, I see no real reason to pay thousands of dollars for a "trophy" animal. "Trophy" is in the eye of the beholder as far as I am concerned anyway. Which is more rewarding...1) Doing your homework, hiking miles and miles while scouting, preparing for weather, tracking game, and making a great stalk and shot on an average 4x4 or 2) Hiring a guide that can put you right on top of the buck, not having to scout or prepare, or not having to do any homework outside of looking up phone numbers and booking a hunt and then bringing home a "trophy"?
Sincerely, no offence to anyone that pays the big money....it's your money and your choice and I respect that...but I'll take the first option (Maybe it's because I would have a hard time affording it but I would like to think that it's just because I would rather do the work myself).
Besides, like Brett mentioned, part of the joy is the dream of running into that "once in a lifetime" trophy some day when you least expect it.

i would have to agree with hawk a diy hunt where i find the deer is 90% of the funand i get alot of satisfaction out of finding abig buck . my small bucks are still trophies in my eyes

Agchawk answered for me feel the sameway buy if i had the money id do it from russia to alaska though

have to agree, it costs a bunch just to play the points game, but i try to do as much as i can. and i wont complain to much about the rich suckers who buy all these goveners tags and wop trophy animals every year, i do think if i ever hit that ol' lottery i would be the biggest duck in the puddle! but i would still want to do the hunts i enjoy doing now.

another point though, i was talking about this with some guys i know a few weeks ago and they were complaining about it getting so expensive and becoming a rich mans sport, but for them it's because gas was getting so expensive that they could hardly afford to drive the roads all year like they do and with all the beer it takes them on their hunt they just cant swing it anymore :>/ so in that aspect i dont mind it getting more expensive so maybe it will help weed out the dirtbags that think hunting is driveing roads, drinking beer, and shooting every little buck they come across. just my op.

LOL...Killer, good point. I forgot to mention the gas prices!!!!!

the only way i would consider a guide is a oil hunt that i didnt know the area or have to time to scout it thats it like probably henrys bison i would get a guide and thats a bout it. i do think it is turning into a rich mans sport but i think you can get away cheapo too. you just dont get the premium hunts. which is ok becouse its about being out in the wooods with your best hunting buds having a good time, and just getting away.
the thing i pay the most for is gas getting to and from the hunting spots. i was driving 100 miles almost every day during the archery hunt. so yeah that adds up.

ah yes of course the gas adds up, but you know what i'm getting at, i spend a lot on gas getting to and from my hunting areas to but when people complain about the gas prices effecting their road hunting i could care less that it's expencive for them. a couple places i hunt it's a 6 hr drive from my house, that gets spendy!

No question it cost money to hunt, especially for a non-resident.

But it costs to do anything, it's a matter of priorities, you have to sacrifice one thing for another.

For instance, one guy golfs, has a 4 wheeler, maybe a snowmobile, gambles a bit, shops at Cabela's, spends money on gadgets vacations in the Caribbean etc.

What I do is go on hunting trips, yeah it's getting tougher, but I'll just cut back on other things. (@@)

wayne could not have said it any better!!!!

It just comes down to what ya want and how bad you want it! Me I like to hunt so I dont have all the other fun stuff or go on other vacations etc.

9er

I feel alot richer after I've been out hunting. :))

i agree, it is rewarding knowing that you work hard all summer scouting out that deer or elk and pattern his movements and you have lived where he lives and when the opener comes you are able to get that trophy all because you did your own homework. But i understand if you have the money it's your own buisness on how you spend it but really stop gloating on the front of mag. and videos. That's why i like Eastmans's DIY cause it's guys like us that really do it oursleves and that magazine really talks about it, also gives tips on hunting the DIY way.

To me any animal would be a trophy, but the big animals are still out there and on public land. You just have to work harder than the guy who forks over the cash for his. You've got to be willing to do and go where the other guy wont. Of course luck is always welcome.

Tag prices are getting outrageous. As far as guides and outfitters go, aside from costing too much, I'd rather do it myself. Guides might get you the big bucks, but there's no better feeling than finding a buck for yourself on private land, and it's the only way to get better.

but there's no better feeling than finding a buck for yourself on private land,

?? public??