Hunting Trips and Gas Prices

[Nemont]

I have heard from some of the guys who were planning on a hunting trip here that they were skipping it due to the price of gas. So I thought this article would help put it into perspective.

Don't give up trip because of gas prices
Tom Stienstra

Sunday, May 8, 2005


Will high gas prices cause you to take fewer trips this year? Shorter trips? Perhaps even cancel this year's road-trip vacation because it just costs "too much money" for gas?

When you fill up at the gas pump for a weekend getaway, do you cuss the high prices? Do you feel like you're getting gouged? Do you feel that while some people rob with a gun, that others do it with a gas pump? Yes? Join the club.

Then, while boiling in this sense of outrage, do you then get out your calculator and work out exactly how much more a 35-cent-per-gallon increase in gas will cost you on your next trip? No? Not many people do.

But the answers may surprise you.

If you drive 150 miles at 25 mpg, you will use 6 gallons of gas. Those 6 gallons at $2.35 per gallon would cost $14.10. With a price rise of 35 cents to $2.70 per gallon, the cost is $16.20, an increase of $2.10. That's right, a total increase of $2.10.

At 300 miles, the added cost of your trip is $4.20; at 600 miles, you pay an additional $8.40; at 900 miles, an extra $12.60. That's all.

What about a 3,000-mile month-long vacation? The increase in gas costs would have to be devastating, right?

Well, from the Bay Area, you could drive up to Oregon, take the Columbia River Gorge east, then sail through Idaho along the Clearwater River and through the Sawtooth Mountains, turn north up through Montana to Flathead Lake and Glacier National Park, and then detour into the Bob Marshall Wilderness. From there, you could then cut down through Helena to Yellowstone, and then head south along the Green River in Wyoming, into Utah and through the Wasatch Range, and then finally return to the Bay Area.

With the above calculations, the additional gas cost, paying $2.70 instead of $2.35, works out to an additional $42. Over the course of four weeks, that works out to an average of an extra $1.50 per day.

Before putting your dream trips on hold, take the time to calculate the specific increases in costs for yourself. While I join in the mass outrage over the recent price hikes across the board for fuel products and the stratospheric profits by those collecting the money, my take is this: I'm still going.

The actual increase for one of my typical 300-mile trips costs an extra $4.20, for instance, and that's the bottom line.

And then there's another outlook. Since life is sure no dress rehearsal, you'd best go and do all the things you have ever yearned for, no matter what.

 

[DRAFTSTUD]

Common sense, If it cost me $42.00 more this year than last to shoot an Elk, is it worth it? If you stayed at home just because of gas prices, you need to sell your guns, your time has passed.

 

[Tom]

Man, I paid a $1.95/gallon this morning. Its better than the last few weeks. Its way cheaper than in Europe. Except the war with the Arabs is expensive.

 

[JoseCuervo]

Tom,
If you add $300 Billion to the cost of your tank of gas, you will truly see the full cost.

 

[Tom]

Texas has wells, you add $300 billion to your tank of gas.

 

[Quiet_One]

Dang thats pretty high, not much better here it at least 2.15, or more, and some of my friend have new trucks, even older ones thos egas tanks are big it at least 150for my friend new truck,and say for my moms car, prob 30or more, it rediculous also watchin this from befre till now ur gettin older im only 23 dont feel like it

 

[Bandit]

lately here we have had prices ranging from $2.00 to a little over $2.25 so I would have to say, if you can't afford to get to where you want to hunt, then you need to five up hunting. Nah, I'm just being a smarta$$ but yeah the prices are still bad.

 

[1_pointer]

Not a concern for me. It' the same thing with premium bullets. Compared to the cost of a trip, the extra $8 for a box of Partitions or Barnes is chump change.

 

[dgibson]

You're right, it doesn't add a whole lot overall. But I would add that I'm sure that's exactly what the oil monkeys are hoping you'll think...it's just a few dollars, right? A nickel here, a dime there, and their net worth goes up a few million each time. But I haven't cut back on my driving, either, so I guess they'll just have to get rich.

Does anyone have an opinion about the new hybrid trucks? Will you buy one if/when the cost and availability are reasonable? (For one example that's now available in limited areas, click here .)

 

[1_pointer]

I noticed from your link that they estimate a 10% better fuel economy. Wonder what the price difference will be? If it's quite a bit, it'll take LOTS of driving to make up the difference...

 

[Curly]

Does anyone have an opinion about the new hybrid trucks? Will you buy one if/when the cost and availability are reasonable?

Hybrids are going to have to get a lot better than a 10% increase in mileage before I would ever consider buying one. Why not buy a diesel where you can get more power than a gas engine and better fuel economy? With a diesel you can burn bio-diesel if you wanted to. I wish the automakers would go more toward the bio-diesel route instead of pushing the hybrids.

 

[1_pointer]

The biggest fly in the oinment that I can think of with bio-diesel is that lots of marginal land might be put into growing the soybeans. Works fine on wet years, but dry ones can be bad, very bad.

 

[dgibson]

A lot of people identify diesel with black, stinky exhaust. Even if it's proven technically better for the environment than gasoline exhaust, it'll be a hard sell on many people for just that reason. Then there's the $4000-$5000 upcharge for a diesel engine.

 

[Quiet_One]

The person i know need a truck ok, well he got one, only big surburban it was about 65,000,thats whats it is worth, it was suppose cost prob half i htink he got it for 4,000, but the insurance whew, 800 a year the cost of a house,well the gas, 150 to fill it up, is it worth it well he got way more money thani have, anyway he got it set up real nice not real rich it has evrything u prob could well yes u can live it in really, it awesome, but the gas prices is just rediculous, thats the prob for alot of people why there is a bike

 

[Curly]

A lot of people identify diesel with black, stinky exhaust. Even if it's proven technically better for the environment than gasoline exhaust, it'll be a hard sell on many people for just that reason. Then there's the $4000-$5000 upcharge for a diesel engine.

People might enjoy the smell of a truck running on bio-diesel..........exhaust smells like french fries.

I wonder if there were more diesel powered vehicles sold in the U.S. if that upcharge would go down?

 

[ELKCHSR]

This only means, you will all have to just stay in the hills longer and take less trips to town or home...

 

[Elkhunter]

Well, being that where I hunt is only about 10 miles from home and I camp in my cabover camper, I don't really think about it.