2022 Inflation, hunt deposits, contracts and travel costs

[Tundra Tiger]

Some of this is, IMHO, different strokes for different folks.

I totally get @WAB's point about putting in the time. I moved to Alaska because apparently at a young age I wasn't smart enough to realize I should have found a line of work that allowed me to hunt more. (first 17 years: elementary teacher) But I was smart enough to know I wanted to hunt more so I moved where I could reasonably do so - Alaska. Do I score big every year? No. But I kill often enough to be happy with my hunting time, especially given where I get to do it.

I understand @justin wiles plight - which is why I moved to Alaska. But... I'll disagree on two things. Every moose or caribou I kill I am thrilled with. The same was true of deer in KS (home state). There is very little I've shot that probably would be "wall worthy" to most; I have never regretted a single harvested animal. Also... c'mon Justin... I STILL love time in a sleeping bag in a tent at 55; it's a part of the experience and I still get a big kick out of it. With the right gear I sleep every bit as good out yonder as I do in my bed at home. (just giving you a playful hard time; again, different strokes for different folks)

At the end of it all @375 Ruger Fan is right: the cost continues to climb, will likely continue to do so, and some are going to be squeezed out as it does; I just hope I'm not one of them.

 

[Deleted member 40394]

Some of this is, IMHO, different strokes for different folks.

I totally get @WAB's point about putting in the time. I moved to Alaska because apparently at a young age I wasn't smart enough to realize I should have found a line of work that allowed me to hunt more. (first 17 years: elementary teacher) But I was smart enough to know I wanted to hunt more so I moved where I could reasonably do so - Alaska. Do I score big every year? No. But I kill often enough to be happy with my hunting time, especially given where I get to do it.

I understand @justin wiles plight - which is why I moved to Alaska. But... I'll disagree on two things. Every moose or caribou I kill I am thrilled with. The same was true of deer in KS (home state). There is very little I've shot that probably would be "wall worthy" to most; I have never regretted a single harvested animal. Also... c'mon Justin... I STILL love time in a sleeping bag in a tent at 55; it's a part of the experience and I still get a big kick out of it. With the right gear I sleep every bit as good out yonder as I do in my bed at home. (just giving you a playful hard time; again, different strokes for different folks)

At the end of it all @375 Ruger Fan is right: the cost continues to climb, will likely continue to do so, and some are going to be squeezed out as it does; I just hope I'm not one of them.

I get it. It is the experience but I have killed tons of deer. Hundreds. I am at that point where quality is up there with the experience priority wise.
I hunt SC deer with dogs, ducks and turkeys to have the fun group experience with family and friends. When I go out west the small number of times I will be able to in my life. I want to come back with a big one. I will swim the ocean and jump mountains the whole trip if I knew it meant killing what I am after. Everyone is different.
I will still to this day swim through a group of alligators if I knew a gobbling turkey was on the other side of em. Lol

 

[CoElkHunter]

Many of us in the shooting sports business have been saying for years that this whole airline travel to remote places in the world thing is evolving into a hobby for the extremely wealthy. Alaska is a stunning example of this, the cost to hunt there are astronomical. Africa if you can overcome the travel cost and barriers is still a pretty good value considering what you get for the actual hunt. The great really established outfitters will survive in whatever part of the world, but there will be no room for much young talent coming up in that profession. What does that mean?,....there will be a last generation. People aren't going to re-mortgage their house to go hunting, at least if you have any sense at all. It would be hard to get the truth out of SCI, but if you ask,I know for a fact they are trying to figure out ways to get more people involved in their organization. Look for them to be reaching out in a big way to waterfowl and upland crowd (which is enormous but mostly locally engaged) in the near future, and most of that crowd would never pay what Africa or Alaska cost. But SCI knows that their main clientele is getting old and dying off, and most of their family members they are leaving their money too could care less about hunting. Why do you think you are seeing so many incredible high end hunting rifles and shotguns on the used market? There are indicators....Just my observations and opinions.

+1 on the value of an African hunt! I've never been on a "guided" hunt before for anything, mostly due to the outrageous cost to do so. I've done DIY hunts here and Wyoming for deer. elk and pronghorn. I'm going on my first African PG hunt this June. When you compare the overall cost of at least an African PG hunt on private land, with a PH and all accommodations, there's nothing close in North America for the value. Even with the added airfare. My buddy, his wife and son went to Newfoundland about 3 years ago on a five day hunt. My buddy shot a small bull moose (barely see the horns) and did get a nice Woodland caribou. His son took a cow moose and a very small black bear. His wife didn't hunt. When everything was said and done and he drove to Texas to pick up the 700lbs of meat, he told me he was at some $22k! He and his son have booked the same hunt for 2024, minus the caribou, which has jumped to $8k by itself. He asked me if I wanted to book with them and I declined. I'll go to Africa again, hopefully, and hunt a Cape Buffalo for that kind of money. Like many hunters here on AH and throughout the world, I'm not wealthy and have to decide what is of value to me and how much I can or want to spend in pursuit of my hunting pastime?

 

[Philip Glass]

And meanwhile Frontier Safaris, whom I’m hunting with, has had a package hunt with about the same price ($4K) since my first safari in 1997! I guess people have different ways of dealing with things.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

And meanwhile Frontier Safaris, whom I’m hunting with, has had a package hunt with about the same price ($4K) since my first safari in 1997! I guess people have different ways of dealing with things.

Same package at the same price for 25 years.....wow

 

[Philip Glass]

Same package at the same price for 25 years.....wow

Pretty close. The economics are different for those who’ve owned their own land for a very long time and have been hosting hunters since the 1980’s.

 

[Fixfire]

If I had put money down on a hunt with an agreed upon price, and the outfitted reneged on the price, I’d cancel and demand deposit back. I’d even forfeit the deposit rather than spend more $$ then try to enjoy an experience with an unscrupulous outfit.

 

[Mountaineer]

My next door neighbor had a contact on a new house. The contractor tried to tick him off so he wouldn’t buy the house. Why you say? Because he can sell it to someone else at a higher price in this red hot market. Some call it business, I call it bad business.

 

[thi9elsp]

My next door neighbor had a contact on a new house. The contractor tried to tick him off so he wouldn’t buy the house. Why you say? Because he can sell it to someone else at a higher price in this red hot market. Some call it business, I call it bad business.

That's happening here in Florida. Builders have an out clause that if buyers don't read it, allows the builder to cancel the contract. Multiple people are using the local TV station investigative reporter to root it out.

 

[Deleted member 40394]

That's happening here in Florida. Builders have an out clause that if buyers don't read it, allows the builder to cancel the contract. Multiple people are using the local TV station investigative reporter to root it out.

Shouldn’t need a lawyer to review a house contract. That’s when you know things are crazy.

 

[Doug3006]

Seems to me that outfitters who book years in advance for a set price assume the risk of costs rising in the interim.

 

[JPmbogo]

Seems to me that outfitters who book years in advance for a set price assume the risk of costs rising in the interim.

Totally agree. It's called contract law and rising prices in my mind do not constitute "force majeure" But on the other hand, people these days seem to be willing to be price gouged, like paying way over MSRP for a new vehicle or bidding wars on houses for sale. Caveat emptor.

 

[Red Leg]

To their credit, Profihunt, who is sponsoring my pending Kamchatka bear hunt, has reached an agreement with the outfitter to roll the hunt to next year. This hunt, paid in full, has been delayed by the Russians for two years due to the pandemic. This year, I have a personal conflict. I requested that I be able to make the hunt in '23. To their credit, they agreed. By the time of that hunt, that capital will have been long spent. They did not have to agree (particularly in the current international climate), but they did. I hope it is the sort of experience that I am justified in tipping generously.

 

[Doug3006]

To their credit, Profihunt, who is sponsoring my pending Kamchatka bear hunt, has reached an agreement with the outfitter to roll the hunt to next year. This hunt, paid in full, has been delayed by the Russians for two years due to the pandemic. This year, I have a personal conflict. I requested that I be able to make the hunt in '23. To their credit, they agreed. By the time of that hunt, that capital will have been long spent. They did not have to agree (particularly in the current international climate), but they did. I hope it is the sort of experience that I am justified in tipping generously.

They went above and beyond what’s expected by accommodating your personal conflict this year. There are lots of upstanding outfitters in the world. Sounds like Profihunt is one of them. Good luck next year and let the tips flow freely.