7 Great Money-Saving Deer Hunting Hacks
Die-hard deer hunters are resourceful creatures – especially those not sitting on a ton of money. To be sure, many of the everyday whitetail fanatics I know love any opportunity to save a buck or two (no pun intended). After all, deer hunting is an expensive hobby considering all the gear, clothing, gas usage, and God-willing, taxidermy. Further, for those of us who pay for hunting leases and clubs, we’re talking about a sizeable annual investment, and we would have it no other way.
These bona fide budget line items lead hunters to imaginative thinking – even entrepreneurial greatness. For this bunch, almost any indoor or outdoor household product can be viewed as a piece of gear. I’m guilty of this. Just ask my wife. In celebration of this mindset, here are a few hunting hacks that you should consider to offset the annual cash outlay inherent in hunting deer.
Can Hugger Sight Pin Cover
If you have invested the money to add a top-of-the-line bow sight, why not protect it with a homebrew cover? A few have hit the market in recent years, but not before I’d already come up with my own solution: the koozie.
A great invention for its original purpose, everyone has one or fifty of these laying around. This handy cover will slip over your sight between hunts and on the way to your stand. It also protects your precious sight pins from dust and debris from brush, thorns, and sticks. When you are finished shooting, it works to keep dust and debris out of your scope housing. Of course, it can double up as your beer or soda insulator back at deer camp. Again, for some reason, I suspect most deer hunters have one or two of these laying around. Pair it with a rubber band, and you can save one of the most important components of your bow.
Collecting Gift Cards
Gift cards are the deer hunter’s friend. I don’t know a hunter who doesn’t love getting gift cards to outdoor stores like Bass Pro Shops, Academy, or Sportsman’s Guide. Whenever someone asks for my birthday or Christmas list, the first four items are gift cards to these sportsman paradises. Over the years, I’ve collected my way to everything from optics and firearms to snake boots and popup blinds. Ask for gift cards or certificates to your local bow or firearms shop, as most businesses offer them these days.
Further, if you have unused gift cards lying around collecting dust, don’t let them go to waste. There are several ways to utilize them for your hunting efforts, including putting them up for auction or trading them for ones you want. So, if you have a drawer full of Starbucks cards and don’t particularly care for coffee, start your journey toward that new bow or buy the new arrows you’ve been needing.
Thinking Inside the Box
As much a part of our hunting history as the very weapons we use, box blinds are as useful as ever. “Shooting houses” are dotted across the American rural landscape. Many commercially-made ones have so many bells and whistles, it’s astounding. They can set you back a few hundred bucks too – in many cases, just south of $1,000. In the spirit of keeping it simple and inexpensive, make use of unused lumber, hardware, old metal – anything that will help form frames, walls, roofs, and platforms. Buy only what you’re missing. You’d be surprised how nice a blind you can build for little or no money. Like I always say, we are talking about a box for concealment and protection from the elements. You can decide on the amount of craftsmanship and features. Put on your camo creativity hat and get after it.
Tampon Scent Dispenser
Do you use deer scents and lures? If so, it’s your lucky day. If you find yourself purchasing any of the arrays of scent dispensing accessories on the market, consider walking into Walgreens instead of Cabela’s – for the cheapest box of tampons you can find. Better yet, ask your female mate or friend for a couple. With more surface area than your average scent wick, these household staples are ideal for absorbing and maintaining your favorite deer urine or pheromone-based lure. Sterile, effective, and maybe free, they can be hung from a tree branch or attached to your boot for a drag. Guys, be secure in your manhood. You can thank me later.
DIY Feeders
So many hacks, so little time. For those states allowing the use of game feed, feeders are a hot item. Today, there are decent budget alternatives under $100, but for the cost, they’re often lacking in quality and don’t last. There are also premiere models costing hundreds of dollars. Many hunters already make their own feeders. Still, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention at least one alternative.
It’s easy to make a free-choice gravity feeder out of PVC-pipe. Okay, I know this trick has been around forever but it’s still a good one. All you need is a drill, some pipe, fittings, and a tree. This is an effective way to provide deer corn or protein pellets on your hunting grounds. While these feeders don’t hold a lot of feed, they are sturdy and great to place near micro-hunting setups. There are several different ways to make them so use your creativity.
Face Paint de’ Vino
Do you have a wine bottle or two around the house? If not, get on the horn to your closest cabernet or chardonnay-sipping friend – not for the bottle, but for the cork. We’re not making a fishing bobber, rather hunting face paint. Use a lighter on the end of a wine bottle cork, and you have an instant smear stick to camouflage your face. The best part is that the soot washes off quickly and easily. I hear they can mask scent as well, but I honestly can’t verify it. I can however attest to their effectiveness in breaking up my ugly mug.
Peanut Butter Deer Attractant
Where legal, hunting over corn, pellets, or other granular feed can be enhanced by adding new attractants to the fold. Feeding something different than your neighbors can be a real tie-breaker for attracting deer to your hunting area. For example, in Texas, I’ve had luck feeding roasted soybeans along with corn with success.
Perhaps the quirkiest DIY trick I employ is feeding peanut butter. Yeah, you heard me. No, I didn’t come up with this myself, instead, I read about it on social media years ago. Let’s just say that I’m not too proud and will try just about anything legal. It’s as simple as cutting the bottom out of the jar and screwing the lid to a tree. In this way, you can simply screw the jar onto the tree and replace it with another one when empty; and in my experience, it will be. Here, it’s not about drawing a ton of deer but providing new alternatives. Of course, make sure to study and understand your local feeding laws. By the way, I recommend crunchy.
Hunting is an expensive undertaking. There are many ways to cobble together hunting gear and equipment. Whether you’re a tightwad, on a tight budget, or just like saving coin, try the above ideas or get creative and devise new ones.
Based in Texas, Jerald Kopp is President of 1st Light Hunting Journal. His articles cover a variety of topics about hunting and the outdoor lifestyle. Jerald is an avid outdoorsman with deer hunting and whitetails being by far his greatest passion. He was introduced to hunting and fishing at an early age and has been enjoying it for 40+ years. In 2005, he established the Empowerment Outfitter Network (EON) – a faith-based non-profit organization that provides hunting opportunities for disabled and terminally-ill children and youth. When not hunting, he spends his time traveling and enjoying life with Amy, his wife of over 30 years. Jerald and Amy have two adult daughters and a son-in-law.
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