Real world choices.

[Pathfinder76]

Like Dick, I’m done here.

[marky_mark]

I’ve found it best for new people to borrow til they can decide what it is that they need out of their first purchase
To me, it’s a waste of money to buy a single shot pos

You know what gets people into hunting and fishing? Having a good time with friends and to have some success.

Put it this way.... if you, me and Joe Schmo new guy, go fishing
I have a fancy sonar and im hammering the fish
You don’t have one and your not really catching too many
Where do you think new guy is?
Right beside me watching and seeing what’s happening
I let joe, use my sonar and spot and he starts catching fish like crazy too
Joe is hooked
And joe is buying one of those sonars for next weekend

Now say, just you and joe went. And you guys didn’t catch much?
Joe probably isn’t going to be too keen on waking up at 5 am on his day off to go next time

I believe time has more value today then it did before
Going cheap to save money will potentially make it a waste of time

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by KegRiver

See, that's exactly what I'm talking about.

Current price at Cabela's Single shot shotgun, $229.00
2 boxes of Winchester waterfowl shotshells $39.98
Fuel for scouting $50.00

That's doing it on the cheap.

You may scoff at using an off brand single shot but if it works what's wrong with making that you first shotgun?
Cabela's wouldn't be selling it if it didn't work.

I hunted geese for most of my life without decoys, and shot plenty.
I have never owned a shogun you would use. My current choice is over sixty years old and considered by many to be the poorest brand out there.
I use blinds made from local materials as does everyone I know. Cost, zero.
I don't use bird calls, I don't know how, and still get my bag limits often enough for my liking.

Of course there is always the possibility that a beginner may find a mentor who has calls and decoys and knows where the birds are landing.

I shouldn't have to say this but clearly it has to be said.

I'm not saying one has to hunt the way I do or use the tools I do, only that there are less expensive options if one looks at ALL the alternatives.

What you consider a goose hunt, isn't what many of us consider a goose hunt. If I go to the time and effort to scout a good field and get permission, I want good odds that we will get some close in shooting. If you don't have any decoys, the geese could easily land 100 yards away, even if you perfectly marked the X the day before and you don't even get a shot. If you have no blind, you are going to stick out in a combined pea field, and they will either flare out of range, or just land out of range. I gave prices based on what is required in our area to produce good odds of killing limits or close to limits on a regular basis, with proper preparation. We kill limits a good percentage of the time, so we are successful, but compared to many people, we spend a lot less. We started with no trailers, no full bodied decoys, no dogs, cheap blinds, we don't use high dollar ammunition, so that that is being successful relatively cheap.
Yes you can go out with no blind and no decoys , hope the geese land exactly where they did previously, hope they fly right over you hiding in a slough or bluff, or on a fence line, and every now and then you may get lucky, but you won't produce limits or anywhere near close to limits on a regular basis, and you will have many days where no geese come in range.
If you consider getting a goose or two now and then as being successful, good for you, but many of us won't get up at 4am, and go and sit knowing that our odds of getting good shooting are slim at best, and that it would take a lot of blind luck to get even half of our limits with no decoys blind, and a single shot shotgun.
As for Cabelas not selling firearms that don't work, there is a lot of cheap junk being sold that wouldn't stand up to a season of hunting, I have seen several brand new Turkish made cheap shotguns that didn't function properly from the very first day.
Again, my post wasn't about the absolute minimum cost of participating, it was about being consistently successful at a very reasonable cost.

[sns2]

Originally Posted by marky_mark

I’ve found it best for new people to borrow til they can decide what it is that they need out of their first purchase
To me, it’s a waste of money to buy a single shot pos

You know what gets people into hunting and fishing? Having a good time with friends and to have some success.

Put it this way.... if you, me and Joe Schmo new guy, go fishing
I have a fancy sonar and im hammering the fish
You don’t have one and your not really catching too many
Where do you think new guy is?
Right beside me watching and seeing what’s happening
I let joe, use my sonar and spot and he starts catching fish like crazy too
Joe is hooked
And joe is buying one of those sonars for next weekend

Now say, just you and joe went. And you guys didn’t catch much?
Joe probably isn’t going to be too keen on waking up at 5 am on his day off to go next time

I believe time has more value today then it did before
Going cheap to save money will potentially make it a waste of time

You nailed it, Mark.

[obsessed1]

There are lots of guys who can't spend 1000$ on a rifle and there's lots of guys who can. Myself I have a very modest single income ( under 80k)young family ( 6 kids) and still have found a way to own a few guns ( although none of them high end and have had great success both in Hunting and shooting/ sports. For the most part I would say always get the best you can afford and use what you got. You don't need the best, but be realistic about what you can do with the quality of equipment you have...ALWAYS skill trumps equipment however there is a point where equipment can hold you back. There's nothing wrong with being a one gun open sight 303 hunter if that's what you have/ can afford, chances are you will need to get to be a much better hunter and hone your still hunting/ tracking / stalking skills to a greater degree than a guy shooting a scoped 1/2 moa rifle.... At the end of the day Hunting does NOT have to be an expensive endeavor. I think for lots of guy a though there is a sense of pride of ownership ie...I can't be seen driving that....my house needs to be this big....my rifle has to.....you don't need a swarro to be capable of filling your tags however every time someone asks what scope to buy certain AO posters tend to point people towards it as the must have option.....I think this is what keg is referring to....it's not that it's bad advice for the guy asking the question but another reader might think anything less than that 1000$ option is just a piece of crap. When in reality millions of game animals have been taken with sub 200$ scopes
In life though snobs run both ways....it's either you don't spend enough or you spend too much...at the end of the day get the best you can afford and make the best of that tool and enjoy it as much as humanly possible and try not to be a snob about it.
Sometimes the no one needs better/ more expensive than me crowd comes off just as snobby as the oh you don't have a 1200$ scope on your rifle?

Like the great philosopher Cat said...run what you brung and I'll add keep your eyes in your own lane. Life not a competition

[sns2]

Originally Posted by obsessed1

There are lots of guys who can't spend 1000$ on a rifle and there's lots of guys who can. Myself I have a very modest single income ( under 80k)young family ( 6 kids) and still have found a way to own a few guns ( although none of them high end and have had great success both in Hunting and shooting/ sports. For the most part I would say always get the best you can afford and use what you got. You don't need the best, but be realistic about what you can do with the quality of equipment you have...ALWAYS skill trumps equipment however there is a point where equipment can hold you back. There's nothing wrong with being a one gun open sight 303 hunter if that's what you have/ can afford, chances are you will need to get to be a much better hunter and hone your still hunting/ tracking / stalking skills to a greater degree than a guy shooting a scoped 1/2 moa rifle.... At the end of the day Hunting does NOT have to be an expensive endeavor. I think for lots of guy a though there is a sense of pride of ownership ie...I can't be seen driving that....my house needs to be this big....my rifle has to.....you don't need a swarro to be capable of filling your tags however every time someone asks what scope to buy certain AO posters tend to point people towards it as the must have option.....I think this is what keg is referring to....it's not that it's bad advice for the guy asking the question but another reader might think anything less than that 1000$ option is just a piece of crap. When in reality millions of game animals have been taken with sub 200$ scopes
In life though snobs run both ways....it's either you don't spend enough or you spend too much...at the end of the day get the best you can afford and make the best of that tool and enjoy it as much as humanly possible and try not to be a snob about it.
Sometimes the no one needs better/ more expensive than me crowd comes off just as snobby as the oh you don't have a 1200$ scope on your rifle?

Like the great philosopher Cat said...run what you brung and I'll add keep your eyes in your own lane. Life not a competition

Another good post.

You know, it is funny how things go in cycles. At one point I would have agreed with you that there was a time where new people to hunting may have gotten the impression they were somehow using a POS if it didn't cost big $. It has been a while since I have seen / sensed that though.

Now what I see is a lot of guys doing pretty darn good at offering helpful suggestions within the parameters that questions are asked.

Even this thread, guys may not be agreeing with the OP, but they are offering suggestions they think make sense without any malice or arrogance.

Like Dick and Chuck, I too am out.

[catnthehat]

A person should start by getting the best they can afford, for sure, but it is up to them if they want to start real cheap or wait and get something higher up then scale IMO.
Depending on where a person lives they can start jump shooting waterfowl, a cheap canoe or jon boat can be camo'ed up etc.
I still hunt this way at times with a minimal number of decoys and brushed up camo.
It doesn't always work, but when it does it is very rewarding , even for only a few ducks or geese.
Staying within one's budget is the biggest and hardest thing to do I believe for most of us. if that means a $400 dollar rifle, so be it, if a person can afford more, so be it. I have gifted and been involved in gifting guns and gear to quite a few new hunters starting out, and some who had lost everything in fires as well, it never hurts to" be that guy" like Dick284 mentioned, but the intention is what is important , not the act.

It really is a personal thing , and for years the only way I was able to really afford to own all the guns I had was to buy guns, fix them up , enjoy them for a bit and sell them.
Getting proficient with what you have is the bottom line in my books......
And with that , I'm out as well.
Cat

[obsessed1]

Originally Posted by sns2

Another good post.

You know, it is funny how things go in cycles. At one point I would have agreed with you that there was a time where new people to hunting may have gotten the impression they were somehow using a POS if it didn't cost big $. It has been a while since I have seen / sensed that though.

Now what I see is a lot of guys doing pretty darn good at offering helpful suggestions within the parameters that questions are asked.

Even this thread, guys may not be agreeing with the OP, but they are offering suggestions they think make sense without any malice or arrogance.

Like Dick and Chuck, I too am out.

Oh man I agree 100 % my point about being a snob is real. It goes both ways...we all gotta keep our eyes on our own lanes sometimes and not get off on our own high horse.

[35 whelen]

I have some high-end quality guns and Scopes now ,but I also have a Savage 110 270 and a 870 Remington , 2 of the best most accurate guns ever made still have them over 30 years old.

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[KegRiver]

The last five posts round out what I am trying to say better then I ever could, so with that I too am done here.