Gas prices starting to affect your scouting?

[virginiashadow]

I love to scout about twice a week in the off-season. But I calculated the cost of my scouting trips to be about $12-$15 a pop based on the current gas prices. That friggin adds up over a month. In a nutshell, my scouting has been reduced. Anyone else dealing with this as well?

[Singing Bridge]

I love to scout about twice a week in the off-season. But I calculated the cost of my scouting trips to be about $12-$15 a pop based on the current gas prices. That friggin adds up over a month. In a nutshell, my scouting has been reduced. Anyone else dealing with this as well?

Without a doubt, it is impacting my scouting. I am trying very hard to NOT reduce my actual scouting by carefully planning my every move... in other words, rather than just casually heading out to scout whenever time allows, I'm putting a lot of pre-planning into it.

As an example, my trips to Ontario are going to be fewer this year because of all the fuel expenditures along with a motel /food etc. for bear and deer hunting... the family budget necessitates this. BUT, I am going to make sacrifices in other areas- I am going to scout harder and longer, and drive all the way back earlier instead of spending an extra night at a motel, maybe sleep more in my truck while I am there, and so on... we'll see how it goes, but I've got to make up for that extra fuel expense somehow.

[Dewey]

All of my scouting this spring has been focused within 20 miles of home so gas prices have not really made a difference for me. That is where I do 80% of my hunting anyway the last few years so I thought I would focus here instead of driving up north. Much better quality deer in southern half of WI.

[muddy]

It's affected more than just scouting in my neck of the woods.

[BackWoodsHunter]

Its made it harder to justify sneaking out to the woods for a few hours just to hike around, or get the feel for a small corner or piece of a larger tract I plan to hunt. I know it will affect my shining as well in the summer and early fall. I also like to ride around the spots I am going to hunt and drive their boundaries (roads permitting obviously) and make a note of all the access spots and amount of people but I will have to stop doing that as much too.

[Hodag Hunter]

It simple terms....no.

The way I look at it, as long as the bills get paid, the kids fed and clothed and a touch into savings, what's left over is my play money. If the price of gas is going up, which it is, I will drive smarter (slower) and "take" money from another "want item" instead of missing a hunting or fishing activity.

For now my going out to lunch and dinner fund is cut. Been eating left overs for a while. Trying to quit smoking, again, and this will add more money to the play fund. Lord knows I could afford to lose a few pounds and quit the smokes, no better time than the present.

If our budget gets that bad that fishing and hunting is out, that means the world is coming to the end and moving the whole family north and planting the garden, burning wood and hunting and fishing when ever I want for food. The world will have to be in a pretty rough state for the last scenario to play out.

[BackWoodsHunter]

I'm in college, live on my own, and drive over 40 miles round trip each day to get to school and back. My gas fund is only so big. I started donating plasma, very classy I know, to get an extra 50 bucks a week to put in the tank. So the gas prices have started to hinder everything I am able to do and once this snow melts it may affect my scouting/time spent outside the city too.

[Hodag Hunter]

I'm in college, live on my own, and drive over 40 miles round trip each day to get to school and back. My gas fund is only so big. I started donating plasma, very classy I know, to get an extra 50 bucks a week to put in the tank. So the gas prices have started to hinder everything I am able to do and once this snow melts it may affect my scouting/time spent outside the city too.

I hear backwoods, being in school yet, every dollar counts. Been there done that and know what your going thru. Keep focused in school and the finances will straighten out when your carreer starts.

[BackWoodsHunter]

But I want it all now! LOL I work hard and usually can afford the things I want but with the gas hike its a real kick in the nads. Hoping the job I have for this summer really stuffs my pockets so I can hit it harder than ever before next fall.

[virginiashadow]

Today I just couldn't stomach paying the gas costs of scouting. I instead focused on my shooting all day. I am going to do what SB talked about in terms of scouting for longer periods of time on single days as opposed to multiple scouting trips over several days. I need to toughen up my legs anyways so I am going to put in some longer scouting sessions beginning next week.

[Dewey]

Once the weather gets nicer I will solve the gas problem by scouting with my mountain bike. Great exercise and it's free!!

[Swampthing]

Yes,definitely.I got my ole 95' Ford Escort Wagon at the shop,finally .It,s gettin a timing belt ,new battery.It,s looks like I,ll be making a lot of road trips with it this year.You can,t beat the mileage.I think it gets 35 mpg.

[PLB]

Just put 78 bucks in my truck. Leaving 2moro after work to go scouting all wknd in SW WI. over 200 miles one way! Gonna be a gas guzzling wknd!! Hopefully it will payoff come November!!

[DevinJD2007]

Hopefully you can find some good sign down there Dave have fun this weekend. Let me know the report!

[PLB]

ttt

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