By Gage Brock
Years ago I went to an acquaintance’s house to sell him a bow for a back up. He was getting ready for yet another Alaskan hunt. When I went to his house to deliver his bow, I looked to the wall where caribou, dall sheep, sitka black tail and other impressive mounts were hanging. When I looked at all of his trophies I was jealous. I looked at him and commented on how lucky he was to hunt all of these animals. He looked back at me and responded, “ You could have the same, you just don’t want it bad enough.”
I was confused at this point and had to ask what he meant. He explained, “You can hunt any animal that you want, you just need to get your priorities straight.” Then he started to ask me these questions;
“Is that a brand new truck your driving? “
“How many new bows have you bought in the last year?”
“Do you have a second job?”
“How much are you saving so you can go chase Caribou like these?” (As he pointed to his wall.)
It took a little time for it to sink in, but I soon got his message.
There are several ways to save money for your dream hunt, here are a few that I have used successfully . These tips could make your dreams come true.
* Can you work extra shifts or days off so you can put extra money away? Is overtime available?
*Can you mow lawns or do yard work for extra cash?
*Do you have a best friend or know of anyone from your bow club that shares the same dream ? Are you compatible? If so you could share travel expenses to make it affordable.
*If you have old archery equipment lying around, do you really need it? Could you sell it and turn it into cash?
*If you get any cash gifts for Birthdays or Christmas, put that money towards your hunt..
*Take any loose change that you have at the end of the day and put it into a jar. You will be amazed how fast this adds up.
*Do you need to go out for lunch during the week, or can you bring leftovers from home and save the money you would have spent on lunch?
*When you make a purchase, ask yourself, is this a need or a want? If it is a want and doesn’t compliment your goals, re-evaluate your purchase. Look at how important that cable television or cell phone is to you. Is it worth doing without to make your hunt a reality?
“When you finally have the money that you need. Rethink what it will take finance your hunt. Are you going to stay in a hotel? Would it be cheaper to stay in a camper, or even a tent if the weather permits? Could you do this hunt by yourself and not use a guide?”
*When you have some money put away, think about ways to have it work for you. When I started my dream fund, I looked for a savings account with the highest interest rate. I even found that I could put the money into a short term CD and make more money from it than a savings account.
*When you have to make purchases for your hunt, make sure that you buy quality. For example, I have gone through several pair of binoculars in the last twenty years. They would always break or become fogged up when the weather turned bad. If I was lucky, I could go a whole year on one pair, or possibly two. I went to my hunt fund and ended up buying a pair of Leica 10×42’s. I knew that I wanted a pair that would last and not a pair that I would have to replace every year or two. I have owned these since the year 2000 and have never had a problem with them. If anything were to actually happen to them, Leica carries an excellent warranty from the factory
*Have you thought about swapping a hunt with someone? You both may have access to animals that the other doesn’t.
I ended up working out a swap hunt with a guy on Archery Talk. He is going to come to Idaho to hunt bear with me and I am going to go to Iowa to hunt Whitetail with him. If you choose to do a swap hunt you will need to be careful though, it would be pretty easy for someone to take advantage of you over the internet. When I first started thinking about this, I went back and read all of the posts and threads that he started to get a feel for his ethics. I needed to make sure that I would be working with someone that was honorable and I felt would give me 100% effort. I also had to make sure that I was going to meet his expectations.
When you decide that you are going to set and accomplish a goal, be prepared for obstacles. This is when you will have to get creative to overcome them. You need to realize that to accomplish whatever hunting goals you set for yourself, you have to want it bad enough and must be willing to work for it.
May all of your dreams become a reality !!!!
