Loan for hunting

Does anyone actually need a 60k pickup or SUV or will a 1990 Honda Civic do the job? Wants verses needs are a hard argument we all struggle with.
Does anyone need to pay to go out of state hunting when they can hunt whitetails at home for basically free?

I personally would never take out a loan for hunting. I guess I’m also cheap. I would never pay $30,000 to go on a hunting trip.
 
I’ve been considering buying an expensive hunt that I probably shouldn’t.

If I were to pay what it costs, it would sting big time.
However, I could put down 8-10k for a deposit and it wouldn’t sting that bad.
Unless things unravel, next year I could do the same, as well as the following year.
Most good hunts are booking several years out anyway. Can you pay for it this way instead of scratching that huge check all at once?
 
Loans are for needs...cash is for wants. Unless it's zero percent maybe.
I have a real issue, so I'm told, with want vs need.... :). With that said, I would never borrow that kind of money for a hunting trip, but have no issues paying 75k for a truck, 50k for a boat....more for sports toys....and no, I did not need any of those at that level, but I wanted them at that level. To each their own, but I can at least recoup some of the money in the end, at the end of a hunting trip you have nothing tangible other than meat and memories....not that there is anything wrong with that for some people, but it's not for me I guess. I pay cash for hunting because it's always less than $2000 or so.
 
I personally would never take out a loan for hunting. I guess I’m also cheap. I would never pay $30,000 to go on a hunting trip.

What if you looked at it like this? ( not trying to throw stones, just a different perspective )

Taking the risk and moving a family to Montana impart for its hunting, isn’t an expensive gamble?

Fleshing this idea out is the could be considered the same type of calculated risk.
 
I’ve been considering buying an expensive hunt that I probably shouldn’t.

If I were to pay what it costs, it would sting big time.
However, I could put down 8-10k for a deposit and it wouldn’t sting that bad.
Unless things unravel, next year I could do the same, as well as the following year.
Most good hunts are booking several years out anyway. Can you pay for it this way instead of scratching that huge check all at once?

That is what we did on our recent family booking. On a more expensive one unless it’s rate locked you may be sending money away interest free for something that is going to cost more than what your wanted when it’s time.
 
I booked a sheep hunt for this fall for a dall, I booked in 2020 and had the money in pocket, but it was nice paying 25% every 6 months.

I've been saving my whole life and it's just the wife and I, drove the same car I've had since 17, (now 27), finally broke down and bought her a 4 year old car that she more than deserves.

I drive a work vehicle but my personal is over 20 years old.

I can look back and with making just a few different decisions over the last decade, and I would be in debt instead of still trying to believe what all transpired on the hunt.

Start saving yesterday dude, it's worth it.
 
15 - 20 years ago all I could think about was what trips I needed to take, what equip. I needed to buy, places I needed to hunt; it helped to keep me sane while working & living the rat-race.
Now at just over 50 I believe I'm turning a corner. The outdoors is a part of me and who I am, but I look back on the money spent on the few mounts I have and some of the equipment I've bought & DIY trips and to be honest it seems somewhat ridiculous to me now. So for me; no, a $30k loan to go on a hunt IMO would not be financially responsible and seems foolish, especially with growing children.
but to each their own, we make our own choices and live with them
 
I agree everyone should spend their money how they see fit, but I will share some of my thoughts having done some AK hunting, and having strongly considered doing some guided trips.

1. Hunting is like everything else a racket, it’s just like the wedding industry a dinner for 50 is $5000 but a wedding is suddenly $20,000. My buddy will get a flight for a pack raft trip in Sept for like $800, if he mentions caribou it’s suddenly $3000. Just a drop off float out, it’s dumb.

You can absolutely shave like $15000-$20000 off the price of a moose hunt if you do it DIY and figure out the logistics, and suffer a bunch.

2. Buyers remorse, kinda hard to know before you go how much you will enjoy or value an experience. I’m sooo thankful I was able to have those hunting experiences at the prices I did, cause for me juice not worth the squeeze.

Not sure I’d pay $850 again for a dall tag let alone go guided.

If I was a AK resident I’d definitely go every year, but I didn’t think it was some epic special thing that justifies the $40,000+ price tag.

Moose on the other hand, totally a $5000-$8000 experience.

Only point being it’s a pile of money and while a very cool experience, you can go up to Alaska and do everything but pull the trigger for like $2000 maybe less if you use airline miles.
 
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I say go for it. My wife would never be on board with it but go for it.

I would talk to my outfitter first and see if they’d let me book a hunt 5 years out and pay 20% annually until that hunt. If I miss payments I lose the hunt, he gets the money.
 
I say go for it. My wife would never be on board with it but go for it.

I would talk to my outfitter first and see if they’d let me book a hunt 5 years out and pay 20% annually until that hunt. If I miss payments I lose the hunt, he gets the money.
That's pretty close to how most high dollar hunts are currently by my understanding.
 
Moose on the other hand, totally a $5000-$8000 experience.

In my younger days I think I could have pulled it off. Now older and in a post military broken peak Dad bod performance level this kinda trip has to be guided or with dedicated hunting partners. My cow moose almost did me in, let alone the extra 1000 lbs the Yukon bull would weigh. So that forces it into more cost for everything.
 
What if you looked at it like this? ( not trying to throw stones, just a different perspective )

Taking the risk and moving a family to Montana impart for its hunting, isn’t an expensive gamble?

Fleshing this idea out is the could be considered the same type of calculated risk.
In my case, we both secured jobs and moved to what I consider a better place to raise kids. I wasn’t saying you shouldn’t do it, just saying I wouldn’t.
 
In my case, we both secured jobs and moved to what I consider a better place to raise kids. I wasn’t saying you shouldn’t do it, just saying I wouldn’t.

I probably won’t either, I missed the opportunity when we refinanced and didn’t take cash out. I was thinking it would be better to get it paid off faster. The math worked out we were saving around 28k in interest after closing cost for the same term as what we currently had.

Had I been thinking or had this discussion then I probably would have given it way more consideration.

If I could do what you did I would do it in a heartbeat. However, my wife isn’t onboard.
 

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