Cheap alternatives for high calories and protein...think about it!

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VenomJockey

VenomJockey

Ancient AH Pilot, Retired CWO W4.
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Joined
Dec 31, 2017
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Ground beef runs about $2.80 a pound., never mind the price of steaks! Pork chops are even higher. Now think about hunting seasons, and buying a box of shells for your rifle or shotgun. Now think BEAR and WILD HOG. (And, for that matter, also deer, rabbit, raccoon, groundhog, muskrat, etc., etc.)

Bear meat has over 700 calories per serving and a hefty 89+ grams of protein.
https://www.yazio.com/en/foods/bear-meat-cooked.html

Wild hog has over 540 calories and a whopping 96+ grams protein per serving.
https://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/usda/wild-boar-meat-(cooked-roasted)

So for the price of a single cartridge, you could have a bear..or a hog. Plus, of course, a little labor, gutting, skinning, cleaning, butchering. But much, much, cheaper than paying high store prices. You just have to get out there in hunting season and do the deed!! You can have a freezer (or two) filled with high calorie /high protein meat for very little cost.

Think about it! Hunting pays off big time.
 
Boy meat is cheap where you're at! ground beef ( depending on what beef is used) runs $3.99 a pound here and up. Forget about a steak. They run anywhere from $8-$10 a pound. Pork is cheap here. Chicken is moderately high. Wait for a sale and buy big. Legs and thighs go on sale more than breasts.

I get what you're saying though. It is cheaper to buy ammo and hunt your own
 
WVDragonlady said:
Boy meat is cheap where you're at! ground beef ( depending on what beef is used) runs $3.99 a pound here and up. Forget about a steak. They run anywhere from $8-$10 a pound. Pork is cheap here. Chicken is moderately high. Wait for a sale and buy big. Legs and thighs go on sale more than breasts.

I get what you're saying though. It is cheaper to buy ammo and hunt your own
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Only if you cut and wrap your own does it save.

I can get 77/23 burger here for 1.90.
 
WVDragonlady said:
Boy meat is cheap where you're at! ground beef ( depending on what beef is used) runs $3.99 a pound here and up. Forget about a steak. They run anywhere from $8-$10 a pound. Pork is cheap here. Chicken is moderately high. Wait for a sale and buy big. Legs and thighs go on sale more than breasts.

I get what you're saying though. It is cheaper to buy ammo and hunt your own
Click to expand...

$2.88 a pound ground beef...https://www.walmart.com/ip/Frozen-73-Lean-15-Fat-Ground-Beef-Roll-1lb/122670802
 
Usual prices on minced beef or hamburger is $9 kg Aud (equates to $5.31 and a bit per pound taking in currency conversion rates) , rump steak is $23 kg Aud (equates to $13.59 per pound taking into account Aud - Usd currency converion rates).

Recently stocked up on rump steak at $4.72 Usd per pound, mince at $3.09 Usd per pound and chicken drumsticks at $1.17 Usd per pound (usually $2.35 per pound in US money).

For reference on weight conversions a kilogram is 2.2 lbs and our Australian dollar is worth 30 % less roundabouts than the Usd dollar currently.

We trade our labour and knowledge with friends for venison, pork and lamb too on jobs they don't have time or knowledge about how to do on their farms.

Eggs are a cheap alternative protein too (if meat is too expensive) if you get them free like we do as well as beans which we usually grow, blanch and freeze for the year @VenomJockey .
 
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1 bullet, 1 gun, scope, rings, mounts, another gun for hunting something else, another scope, rings, mounts, 1 tent, 1 boat to get into the hunting area, 1 boat trailer to haul boat, 1 truck to haul the trailer, 1 outboard to propel boat, 2 oars just in case, life jackets, flares, flare gun, throwable flotation device, fuel can for outboard, fuel jugs for spare fuel, fuel, skinning knife, boning knife, meat grinder, bone saw, camo hat, camo jacket, boots, rain gear, gloves, sleeping bag, fire starter, camp stove, pots, pans, utensils, snowmobile for winter hunts, 4-wheeler for fall hunts, another trailer to haul the ATV and snowmobile, 1 week off work, another week off work because I didn't find anything the first time, backpack, signal mirror, dental floss for making emergency shelter, folding knife, folding shovel, P-51 or P-38, flashlight, camp lantern, spare batteries, rope, sockets, wrenches, screwdrivers because there is no mechanic where I'm going, spare spark plug, light weight food, bug dope, sleeping pad ...

At $10/lb that steak sounds pretty cheap but that's not why I went hunting.
 
Pork has been cheaper than beef for a very long time. Get ready for the price of beef to become almost prohibitive due to more than 1,000,000 cattle dying in Nebraska alone during the recent storms and flooding.

Hunting can help keep people fed, but it takes a certain skill set and ability to get around. Chickens have been a cheaper and easier alternative for protein, when you raised your own. I wonder about all the costs for raising chickens now? Getting set up for chicks or chickens has many expenses. I see people selling their set ups and remember when my grandmothers would get their 100 baby chicks in the spring. Grandmothers never had the kind of money I see being spent on all the gear. A heat lamp or two over some large cardboard boxes or areas blocked off on the porch was how they did it. Their feeders and waterers had probably been around for decades.
 
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Caribou said:
1 bullet, 1 gun, scope, rings, mounts, another gun for hunting something else, another scope, rings, mounts, 1 tent, 1 boat to get into the hunting area, 1 boat trailer to haul boat, 1 truck to haul the trailer, 1 outboard to propel boat, 2 oars just in case, life jackets, flares, flare gun, throwable flotation device, fuel can for outboard, fuel jugs for spare fuel, fuel, skinning knife, boning knife, meat grinder, bone saw, camo hat, camo jacket, boots, rain gear, gloves, sleeping bag, fire starter, camp stove, pots, pans, utensils, snowmobile for winter hunts, 4-wheeler for fall hunts, another trailer to haul the ATV and snowmobile, 1 week off work, another week off work because I didn't find anything the first time, backpack, signal mirror, dental floss for making emergency shelter, folding knife, folding shovel, P-51 or P-38, flashlight, camp lantern, spare batteries, rope, sockets, wrenches, screwdrivers because there is no mechanic where I'm going, spare spark plug, light weight food, bug dope, sleeping pad ...

At $10/lb that steak sounds pretty cheap but that's not why I went hunting.
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Hubs went on a hunting trip last year for 10 days. It was pricey, especially considering the hunting licenses and such. Just one of his licenses was $600!:eek: Clearly he didn't go to save money. It is certainly cheaper to hunt at home, but there is the time commitment, bait, licenses, packaging costs, etc. like Caribou mentions. I can buy meat at the store on sale more cheaply than what hubs can hunt for. But, nothing tastes as good as fresh venison!

I do understand the point of the original post, (and we are avid hunters) but realistically it does cost more than just a bullet to put meat on the table.
 
Caribou said:
1 bullet, 1 gun, scope, rings, mounts, another gun for hunting something else, another scope, rings, mounts, 1 tent, 1 boat to get into the hunting area, 1 boat trailer to haul boat, 1 truck to haul the trailer, 1 outboard to propel boat, 2 oars just in case, life jackets, flares, flare gun, throwable flotation device, fuel can for outboard, fuel jugs for spare fuel, fuel, skinning knife, boning knife, meat grinder, bone saw, camo hat, camo jacket, boots, rain gear, gloves, sleeping bag, fire starter, camp stove, pots, pans, utensils, snowmobile for winter hunts, 4-wheeler for fall hunts, another trailer to haul the ATV and snowmobile, 1 week off work, another week off work because I didn't find anything the first time, backpack, signal mirror, dental floss for making emergency shelter, folding knife, folding shovel, P-51 or P-38, flashlight, camp lantern, spare batteries, rope, sockets, wrenches, screwdrivers because there is no mechanic where I'm going, spare spark plug, light weight food, bug dope, sleeping pad ...

At $10/lb that steak sounds pretty cheap but that's not why I went hunting.
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Jesus, just sling the rifle over yer shoulder, put a box of shells in yer vest, yer skinning knife on yer hip and go for a walk in the woods!!! :eyeballs:
 
That cost depends on where you are and what you are shooting.
Open the front door, take aim at the deer or bear that is eating your apples off the tree and you have meat, leather, bone and bait for coyotes.
It costs more to drive to the store than the meat costs.
 
Fish can be better for you depending on the habitat you fish. In Puget sound the fish are saturated with PCBs, lead and mercury. They don't recommend more than 6 ounces a week. Trout from the alpine lakes are clean and free of problems. You have to choose whether you fly in or walk in to those lakes. I have always walked in but I am not currently able to do that.
 
VenomJockey said:
Jesus, just sling the rifle over yer shoulder, put a box of shells in yer vest, yer skinning knife on yer hip and go for a walk in the woods!!! :eyeballs:
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You can do that??? What do I do with all this gear?

If I'm going low budget I'll set a moose trap in my front yard. That's a couple of pumpkins in the middle of the yard with the office window cracked open while I sit at the keyboard waiting to catch the big one.
 
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We back onto and own half the creek behind us and we would fish for yellow belly with garden worms. As it is on our own property we don't need a fishing licence and have all the gear here too. Cheap fish indeed. We are looking into getting compound bows are also a good device for hunting with should you not have a gun but again a good skill set it required and of course the gear cost.
 
Caribou said:
You can do that??? What do I do with all this gear?
If I'm going low budget I'll set a moose trap in my front yard. That's a couple of pumpkins in the middle of the yard with the office window cracked open while I sit at the keyboard waiting to catch the big one.
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I am surrounded by woods, and there is a small pond on the land to my north, within sight of my home. I set up bait stations along the edge of the pond and they draw in everything from deer to hogs, ducks to turkeys. Freezers are full of game, and other than the labor to gut, skin, clean and butcher them, I'd wager I don 't have $5.00 invested in the meat/fowl. (Well, not including the original cost of my rifle, shotgun, and knives.) VERY low budget and freezers are full!!
 
We can't eat feral pigs here because of the sheer virus, disease and worm load they carry.
Feral pigs in this neck of the woods are a reservoir species for antibiotic resistant strains of tuberculosis
that has been brought in from Papua New Guinea.
You find worm cysts throughout even the larger muscle groups on the hinds.

I'm not eating them.
 
The prices on meat vary widely depending on which state we all live including different countries too :) . I know there are price variances here in places like Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia where they pay much more than we do for meat and electricity than the East coastal towns and cities.
 
Shamrock restaurant supply has ground beef at good prices (under $3 a lb) but it's in bulk.
Stuff for chickens is expensive at first, Weedy, but once you have the stuff, it's not too bad. Some people though, spend a lot on their chickens. Money soakers like organic non gmo feed, specialty feeders and waters, heated coops, personalized egg cartons, etc....
My brooders are plastic bins with a heat lamp clipped on top. The bedding is newspaper with a little straw on top.
 
Sewingcreations15 said:
Your meat prices are huge too @Terri9630 and it looks like you are paying similar prices to us :eek: .
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That's what happens when you live 60 miles from the competition. You pay $5 a lb for ground beef or drive 120 miles round trip.
 
@Terri9630 the prices for hamburger was only the regular variety price and then the premium less fat mince is $13 kg. We are fortunate that we have quite a few independant small country grocery stores in close proximity to us so they tend to compete and there is a major supermarket too all about 30 mins one way from us or we can go to another town further out which is 40 - 60 mins one way if DH is doing a mowing job there.

We are getting more local knowledge for groceries and using google after exploring our local area and taking short day trips to towns near us.
 
VenomJockey said:
Ground beef runs about $2.80 a pound., never mind the price of steaks! Pork chops are even higher. Now think about hunting seasons, and buying a box of shells for your rifle or shotgun. Now think BEAR and WILD HOG. (And, for that matter, also deer, rabbit, raccoon, groundhog, muskrat, etc., etc.)

Bear meat has over 700 calories per serving and a hefty 89+ grams of protein.
https://www.yazio.com/en/foods/bear-meat-cooked.html

Wild hog has over 540 calories and a whopping 96+ grams protein per serving.
https://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/usda/wild-boar-meat-(cooked-roasted)

So for the price of a single cartridge, you could have a bear..or a hog. Plus, of course, a little labor, gutting, skinning, cleaning, butchering. But much, much, cheaper than paying high store prices. You just have to get out there in hunting season and do the deed!! You can have a freezer (or two) filled with high calorie /high protein meat for very little cost.

Think about it! Hunting pays off big time.
Click to expand...

When I add the cost of my time, hunting lease, gear, gas, miles, and meals while out the meat in my freezer is the most expensive meat per pound there is. I do love hunting though. I suppose it would be that cheap if I lived on my own hunting property in an appropriate area however.
 
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