Caribou Gear

Supposed "food shortages" in America and higher food prices. How do they affect hunting?

The cost of travel, NR tags, leases and trespass fees will in now way reduce food cost, it would actually make it more expensive.
So your saying "if" and that's a huge if this country has a major food shortage your still gonna apply for expensive NR tags and travel halfway across the country to shoot an animal to feed your family? LOL You could probably start your own beef herd with that money instead of pushing point creep up in tough times.😂😂
I'll be visiting the neighbors at night getting my beef!
 
I think we in Montana should do everything we can to curtail non-resident hunting to give our low income population more opportunity to feed themselves.
I would be in favor of that if Colorado did the same. Heck, I would even be willing to go up into Wyoming and help "herd" some of that game south as well. /sarcasm
 
I think we in Montana should do everything we can to curtail non-resident hunting to give our low income population more opportunity to feed themselves.
Didn’t you already go down this road once?

There’s probably not enough forky mule deer or doe left to feed to low income population anyways. Pesky non residents keep shooting them all.
 
Hard times are really hard on wildlife too. If we truly got to the point of starving then all of the recovery efforts of NA wildlife would be undone. It would take a while for some of the eastern states to shoot out deer but a long starvation period would cause it to happen.

What we are facing in the US is nowhere near that point. Meat isn't essential to life. If someone's two choices are a) learn a new skill that costs a decent amount of money and time to try to secure some meat or b) only buy meat you can afford and live off beans and rice then the average person is going to pick b. Meat consumption continues to decline in the US even in the absence of rising costs.
 
Even if you’re a resident and can do all of your hunting inside of your county and aren’t trophy hunting so don’t spend a lot of days afield, it’s still very hard to have your hunting expenses be less than just buying a side of beef or whatever you want.
Totally not true for someone in the midwest and I'm sure other areas as well.

Where I'm at, I would be shocked if there is a person that doesn't have a connection to someone who hunts. With that connection, in a time where money was tight and you decide to try and shoot a deer to help get some meat, you are likely talking less than 100 bucks to get it done.
 
Besides the complete blunder in the baby formula shortage, we are a LONG way from having widespread food shortages in the US. There will be massive food shortages in 2nd and 3rd world countries, but I doubt that will happen here. Price increases yes but not actual shortages.

Commodity prices (corn and soybeans mostly) are one driver of increasing beef prices but mostly it is the manipulation of prices from the big 4 meat processors. It's even worse in the hog market.

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So your saying "if" and that's a huge if this country has a major food shortage your still gonna apply for expensive NR tags and travel halfway across the country to shoot an animal to feed your family? LOL You could probably start your own beef herd with that money instead of pushing point creep up in tough times.😂😂
I'll be visiting the neighbors at night getting my beef!
I was responding to the OP that asked if more Americans would take up hunting because of food shortages/expensive food cost. I was simply stating that the cost of travel, NR tags, leases, etc would do no nothing to cut down cost of food but rather the wild game meat would actually cost more money than store bought food considering the price of tags, travel, leases.
And yes I do plan to pay to travel buy tags, etc. as long as I can afford it. Not because the food is cheaper but because I like to hunt.
 
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The 1st chart is live cattle prices in dollars per hundred weight over the last 10 years.

2nd chart is finished product beef in dollars per Kilo over the last 10 years.

Anybody see the disconnect? While there is a middle-man (feed lots) it doesn't make up for the huge difference in the prices farmers/ranchers get vs Tyson, Cargill, JBS, and NBP Co.
 
The 1st chart is live cattle prices in dollars per hundred weight over the last 10 years.

2nd chart is finished product beef in dollars per Kilo over the last 10 years.

Anybody see the disconnect? While there is a middle-man (feed lots) it doesn't make up for the huge difference in the prices farmers/ranchers get vs Tyson, Cargill, JBS, and NBP Co.
Agreed. That is why what beef I do buy, I go direct to a rancher and buy half-a-beef from them and get a local butcher to cut it up the way I want it. Even if it costs the same, I am happy to see those $'s go to the rancher and butcher rather than one of the big four.
 
What we are facing in the US is nowhere near that point. Meat isn't essential to life. If someone's two choices are a) learn a new skill that costs a decent amount of money and time to try to secure some meat or b) only buy meat you can afford and live off beans and rice then the average person is going to pick b. Meat consumption continues to decline in the US even in the absence of rising costs.
Meat certainly is essential to life. At least to a healthy life.
 
Hard times are really hard on wildlife too. If we truly got to the point of starving then all of the recovery efforts of NA wildlife would be undone. It would take a while for some of the eastern states to shoot out deer but a long starvation period would cause it to happen.

What we are facing in the US is nowhere near that point. Meat isn't essential to life. (If you are a bunny or a deer.) If someone's two choices are a) learn a new skill that costs a decent amount of money and time to try to secure some meat or b) only buy meat you can afford and live off beans and rice then the average person is going to pick b. Meat consumption continues to decline in the US even in the absence of rising costs.
Meat, dairy and eggs are essential to the strength and health of my own human body. My body doesn't fare well on just rabbit food. I will hurt badly without significant animal proteins.
 
I see no significant widespread shortage coming up. And if any one item becomes more expensive, beef for example, there are alternates in the American food supply chain, Turkey, pork, chicken, etc.

Not to mention Americans love of credit cards, beef gets more expensive just put it on the visa this month......😂

I see this as a non issue, and unlikely to effect hunting opportunities. I will say gas price has a far greater effect on hunting than grocery cost imo.
 
I'm sure we'll see threads by first time grocery poachers asking about:

What to eat/shoot/ wear/general advice not honey holes mind ya, just where to start/ field butchering/po po avoidance/ad nauseum.


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The secret is Soylent green, and the corollary secret is to jump on that particular bandwagon early on, cause if you don't have a seat at the table you are certain to be on the menu. Pat McManus wrote frequently about "FREE MEAT!" Very funny cause it was all basically true.
 

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