The Budget: planning affordable swings
Budgeting for a swing is most likely more affordable than many think. I’ve received a significant amount of messages asking how much my slam cost, and while done as cheaply as possible I absolutely don’t want to know. This breakdown excludes the accepted hunting costs that come with any pursuit, such as camo, shotgun shells, etc. Any trip requiring you to fly will come with significantly more costs than a swing you can drive your truck to.
Driving versus flying is your first consideration depending upon the destination. I personally prefer to drive because I know that absolutely everything I need is with me. You can easily determine the known mileage your trip will encompass, and based on your vehicles fuel economy, then come up with the price you’re going need to allocate to this portion of the trip. Be aware of the fact that you are potentially about to depreciate your vehicle at a significantly accelerated rate, though. Vehicle depreciation is a real factor that not many people talk about, but for me it was financially undesirable. For a rental car, you can determine your rough fuel expense by taking the rough miles from the airport to the hunting locations and then vehicle drop off location.
For flying, there are a significant amount of variables that must be taken into consideration. You need to consider not only the price of airfare, but you also need to understand the cost of checking bags for both the departing and returning flight. I attempted to fly Southwest Airlines as much as possible because they allow for a carry on and two free bags of 50lb. weigh capacity. Many other airlines allow for one free bag with a $75 per additional bag fee. This quickly adds $150 to your overall flight, so be conscious of this when booking flights.
The other expense of flying is the rental vehicle. I always rented SUVs when I made trips via plane due to the fact that my gear was dry and secure, but it also offers the ability to lay down the back seats for a place to sleep. Renting a vehicle and dropping it off at an airport location that you did not fly into also becomes expensive. The rate for one way rental varies based on the popularity of the airport you’re flying home from. If you do drop off your vehicle at a different airport, and it’s a more major flying hub, this fee may be justified as opposed to the alternative, which is turning the vehicle around and driving back to the airport you flew into. If you call the rental companies they can easily come up with a quote for you to determine the more economical decision.
You’ll also now need to outfit your vehicle for your swing. The first thing I’d always do is find the nearest Walmart so that I could buy a cooler, comforter, pillow, food, water, beer, and any general supplies I could not fly. As a side note, if you buy a king size comforter, you can fold it under you as a pad and over you for heat. Yes it will become uncomfortable towards the latter part of your trip, but the comforter and pillow combined can be purchased for less than $30. Also understand that you’re not taking these things home with you. The reality is, you’re happy to throw them away at the end of your swing because the smell unbearable. For food, I ate as cheaply as possible and only budgeted for eating out once every 5 days I planned to be on a swing. Walmart offers inexpensive bread and sandwich meats which I would eat for lunch and dinner since I don’t eat breakfast. When I was successful, turkey would become my primary food source to ensure nothing went to waste and the only meat I flew home was the bird(s) I harvested during the latter portion of the swing. With all that said, I never got tired of sandwiches, chips, and turkey, and I was happier to have money in my pocket to buy tags and fuel than I was eating luxurious meals. In general, a 2 week swing would cost me roughly $200 for the things I needed while out of state. If I was driving to a state, I would buy food from Costco prior to my departure and I’d not only save considerable money, but I was able to eat a little better than just sandwiches as well.
Tags are what they are. As a standard, you are safe if you budget $200 per state that you’re planning to hunt.
Lodging as you can already tell was not something I budgeted for. Primarily, I prefer to sleep as close to the turkeys as possible because it allows for more pillow time. Lodging is an expense that may be acceptable for you based on the number of swings or states you plan to hunt each spring. Considering a cheap hotel runs around $70/night, this is an expense that can quickly balloon and place constraints on your financial ability to hunt states versus sleep comfortably. When hunting all day, roosting turkeys until dark and then eating dinner, you’re likely only going to be at the hotel for maybe a few hours. It’s a personal decision with whether or not a bed is important to you.
If you’re wondering about showers for how I pursued the slam, I’ll keep it brief by saying they were rare. Chasing 49 was raw for me and despite judgment, I enjoyed it that way.
Your top expenses will be tags and fuel for all of your springs as you Chase 49.
-Keith Ott
