Supplement table fare, a good strategy

"...The National Sporting Goods Association forecasts that spending on hunting and firearms will rise $350 million this year, even as spending declines for nearly every other sport the group monitors.

For hunters, deer meat isn't free -- there's overhead, including a deer hunting license, ammunition, gas for the car -- but it's cheap.

"You've got your loin steaks and your hindquarter steaks," Weaver said, "and the rest ground up into sausage -- comes to about 70 cents a pound."

http://www.indystar.com/article/20091019/LOCAL/910190348/In+trying+times++hunters+go+after+deer+to+put+food+on+the+table

The writer does a good job of reminding the reader that hunting "gear" often times outstrips the savings in venison going on the table.

I also would think that if savings were  really what were being sought, the Huntsmen would go out in groups and dilute the costs among several people, gas, lunch, even baits, those costs add up.

And such supplemental meat should also include smaller game animals such as Rabbits and Squirrels and Ducks (though  Ducks tend to be a "rich man's game due to the high costs involved, not always but once the dogs and the blinds and the time are  added in, as well as the custom perrazi's, it would take a lifetime of hunting to recoup  the cash layouts.

Some Venison Sausage with Rich along with some homebrewed wine and homemade bread sounds like  a great meal indeed.

Ammunition is literally disappearing off the store shelves in what can only be described as a "panic". 

Nothing wrong with that, people should cherish their Rights, the problem is, how do you save money and still remain armed and accurate? 

Enter the ChiCom .177 pellet rifle, typically sells for 50 dollars or less, pellets are relatively cheap, and they hit hard enough to bring down small game such as rabbits or squirrels or soda bottles and since they are modeled after the SKS (which is now a 300 dollar rifle, weren't they 59 dollars not that long ago?) one can also have some training time behind a similar rifle. The cheapy ChiCom also allows for a telescopic site to be added which helps with accuracy a great deal.

This gentleman used his pellet rifle to successfully bring home some supper:

http://www.americanairgunhunter.com/huntingwithchineseAG.html

The price increase in SKS rifles is a great example of inflation in action, when they first became available in the early 90's, they were viewed as semi crappy fixed magazine rifles that could be had for next to nothing, now they command a week's pay and the ammunition is no longer 1.99 per 20 cartridges..and that happened in 13 years or so.

Hunting and fishing to save on costs?

On the face of it, Hunting or Fishing for some steroid free protein would seem to be a money saver for the average Alpha Strategist.

I would say hold up for a moment, let's look at costs:

"Sportsman's License" (Allows for both Hunting and Fishing and Trapping)

40.00

Firearm to hunt with

Moison Nagant 100.00
Box of ammunition 5 dollars per 20 4 boxes needed for proficiency 20.00

Now unless one lives in a semi rural region, or near Hunting Land, we will have to drive to shoot our deer (or elk or bear) say 50 mile round trip at 20 mpg 3 gallons used so we are at 12.00 for gas.

Now you also will need "Blaze Orange" gear for safeties sake, you can ditch the camo as wearing a blaze orange vest makes camouflage...pointless...a Vest will cost right about 18.00

And the final problem, a Alpha Strategist can go through all of those assets, and not reduce to possession a deer, you also have to either be lucky, or very skilled as the North American Deer is far ahead of "Joe Average" in using their senses.

So let's look at fishing, pole, tackle, license, bait and time.

If you catch your limit of Trout, and are fortunate enough to catch mostly 2 pd fish, after cleaning you will have about 5 pds of low fat, steroid free protein, Trout also sells for 6.00 a pd in my area, and those are farm raised, so 30.00 worth of Trout is a good deal in terms of assets used.

Now it should be said, if the Alpha Strategist is a skilled hunter, and already posses the gear, then it could pay off to take your tag limit (if you do not have to miss work to do so), in NC, you can bag up to 5 deer, that would fill a freezer and then some.

The real good deal from a Alpha Strategists view is small game hunting, squirrels, rabbits, pheasants, these are the land equivalent of trout, a high return for a minimum investment.

I hunt and fish, and completely enjoy it, however that is a hobby, to hunt or fish to fill a roll in the Alpha Strategy, I would have to watch costs like a hawk, perhaps combining hunting during the day, and fishing during the evening, perhaps even having to run a trot line to get a good harvest of fish as a single line and hook is just not efficient enough unless the fish are literally jumping on the bank...

I've seen fish do that at my favorite fishing spot, but like any fishermen worth his salt, I'm not saying where that spot is....