Sunday, December 28, 2008
Economy, deer hunting linked
Mark Taylor is outdoors editor at The Roanoke Times.
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As Virginia's deer hunters appear poised to reach another milestone in terms of the number of whitetails killed this season, we can't help but speculate about what might be going on.
From a basic game management standpoint, the increasing total would indicate a growing herd, which hunters apparently are fully taking advantage of because of liberal bag limits.
But there are a couple of wildcards this season.
One is the new earn-a-buck regulation in place in eight counties where hunters have not been killing enough does to keep populations in check.
Another is the economy.
Based on preliminary electronic check numbers, antlerless deer kill numbers look to be up significantly in earn-a-buck counties.
But some critics of the earn-a-buck program aren't so sure. They think that some hunters have been using the electronic checking system to report antlerless deer kills that haven't really happened just to punch a tag and allow them to kill a second or third buck.
Electronic checking has made it easier those who want to cheat. And, unfortunately, some unethical hunters have probably been calling in those so-called phantom does.
To what degree it's happening is hard to say, and it will take a few years' worth of data to get even a basic picture.
For now, we're left speculating, and my guess is that false reports are just a small blip. What's really happening is that hunters are killing a bunch of deer, not only in EAB counties, but statewide.
And that brings us to the economy, which is what some people have been figuring is contributing to increased deer kills.
It may well be having an impact.
But should it?
We've all seen the jokes about what a pound of venison really costs. You know, by the time you factor in the cost of the new gun, all the gear, the fancy ATV, etc., it's $79 a pound.
But what if we take realistic look at it? Can deer hunting really help an average family stretch its dollars in tougher times?
First we have to consider the realistic meat yield of an average white-tailed deer in Virginia.
Deer weight varies depending on habitat. In the mountains, a healthy adult doe that hits 100 pounds field-dressed with the hide on is a good one. A yearling buck might hit 120 pounds.
But it's the Christmas season so let's be generous and assume the average deer carcass weighs 125 pounds.
How much meat do you get from a deer like that? Again, it depends.
According to the most believable formula I found, a deer that size would yield about 44 pounds of meat. Feeling charitable and assuming the butcher is skilled I'll bump it up to 60 pounds.
What's that worth?
Let's say 30 pounds is ground, 10 pounds is in roasts, 10 pounds in steaks, and the backstrap is another 10 pounds.
At $3 per pound for the ground meat and roasts, $6 for the steaks and $10 for the backstrap, that's $280 you won't be spending on beef at your local supermarket.
The cost of acquiring that meat? Well, that varies greatly, too.
On one extreme you have the landowner who sees a deer in his field, grabs the rifle his dad gave him, steps out the door and shoots it.
On the other hand you have the hunter who has to have the latest and greatest gear, plants food plots, pays a pretty penny to join a hunt club and hunts all available seasons.
We'll take a conservative approach to the guy in the middle.
His hunting license and big game license is $37.
A modest deer rifle is $500. Assuming it is used for 50 kills, that's $10 per deer. Shells are about $2, and we'll figure a deer takes one and sighting in takes 3.
Driving to and from the hunting area burns, say, $30 in gas. Again, we're assuming this guy hunts only during the two-week deer season.
Would anyone argue with the idea that the average deer hunter spends at least $150 annually on other gear, such as treestands, camo clothing, scents, etc.? It very well could have been less for many hunters this season. But it's certainly been higher in past seasons.
We'll assume the guy butchers his own deer at a cost of $5 for freezer paper as opposed to a $60 butcher fee. We'll also assume that days hunting didn't mean losing wages by sacrificing work hours.
The total bill comes to $240, so maybe we can say that deer hunting does make economic sense, especially for those who kill more than one whitetail a season.
I suspect that some hunters didn't go through that drill before deciding to put a little extra effort in coming home with something to show for their efforts and investments.
Ultimately, though, we know that modern hunting is about much more than making figures work on a balance sheet.
It still is recreation, and spending on fun stuff tends to take a hit during tough economic times.
But that hit is a certainly more palatable when the recreational pursuit can produce tangible, edible results.
