Priced out of stalking

Savage 110 Carbon Tactical - Unmatched Precision - Viking Arms
Talking of expensive, has anyone else experienced a serious increase in the price of birds for the 2022/23 season. One well known Devon shoot I have been to the last few years has just quoted me £65 per bird and said they will no longer do 200 bird days, minimum 250. Might as well go Grouse Shooting at that price!
 
SussexSteve said:
Being out on deer full time I'm starting to think about my diesel costs. Keeping a chiller running 24/7 through the fallow season rising electric costs will also make a dent in my finances. Having to move to copper bullets for the requirements of the gamedealer at 3x the cost of lead! I'm wondering how many others are feeling the pinch and if it will drive people away from recreational stalking. With rising numbers we need more people out culling deer. If people don't visit grounds so regular no doubt some will lose permissions. Speaking to other guides some are already putting prices up next season. Worrying times ahead of an i being paranoid ?
Click to expand...
Poor choices at the ballot box make for poor futures. I'm not saying you made poor choices, I'm saying the choices are very, very poor.

Time for some of us to step up I think.
 
London Jaeger said:
Are UK recreational stalkers that price sensitive/tight? If prices are rising by say, 7.5% across the board, then can you not just raise your prices by 7.5%? Obviously broad approximations, but if you are charging £150 per outing, just up it to £175.

I am happy to be corrected by the professional guides on this forum, but surely your clients budgets are not so tight that a modest increase to cover the rising costs will be the difference of them booking or not booking? Its not like you are going from £150 an outing to £1,500.
Click to expand...
It's not just the extra £25 on a stalk though. It's the extra £50 a month on utilities, £25 extra on fuel, £20 extra on groceries etc it all adds up. There will always be people willing to pay for stalking, that's not going to change but it may reduce. What was once cheap enough to pay for 4 guided stalks a year possibly becomes only 2 or 3. It comes down to what needs to be paid each month and what you want to pay for each month.
 
London Jaeger said:
Talking of expensive, has anyone else experienced a serious increase in the price of birds for the 2022/23 season. One well known Devon shoot I have been to the last few years has just quoted me £65 per bird and said they will no longer do 200 bird days, minimum 250. Might as well go Grouse Shooting at that price!
Click to expand...
From what I am seeing this year already I would hazard that most estates will be increasing their prices by at least £5 a bird, and like you say the smaller days are falling by the wayside.

Everything is up in price, from poults to feed to gas to keepering costs. Estates are already pretty strapped at current prices (I know of few that actually turn any profit of note) and the increases just simply cannot be absorbed.

As for the increased minimum bag sizes, vexing though they are, I can see where the estates are coming from. It costs exactly the same to organise a 100-bird day as it does a 300-bird day...
 
Island said:
From what I am seeing this year already I would hazard that most estates will be increasing their prices by at least £5 a bird, and like you say the smaller days are falling by the wayside.

Everything is up in price, from poults to feed to gas to keepering costs. Estates are already pretty strapped at current prices (I know of few that actually turn any profit of note) and the increases just simply cannot be absorbed.

As for the increased minimum bag sizes, vexing though they are, I can see where the estates are coming from. It costs exactly the same to organise a 100-bird day as it does a 300-bird day...
Click to expand...

Yes, I apprecite running a shoot day obviously takes a great deal of effort and input, and the "price per bird" reflects an entire year's work, not just the running of a shoot day. But £65 really is getting up there, at 250 birds, thats £16,250 for the day or just over £2k per gun.

Again, I am not critising the shoot and they have to cover their costs at the end of the day, but its still eye watering to read that sort of quote.
 
nun_hunter said:
It's not just the extra £25 on a stalk though. It's the extra £50 a month on utilities, £25 extra on fuel, £20 extra on groceries etc it all adds up. There will always be people willing to pay for stalking, that's not going to change but it may reduce. What was once cheap enough to pay for 4 guided stalks a year possibly becomes only 2 or 3. It comes down to what needs to be paid each month and what you want to pay for each month.
Click to expand...
thats my point. If I am starting to think about how much im spending on fuel surely others are who are working hard to support a home wife and kids. It wont make any difference to me but others will have to tighten belts
 
SussexSteve said:
thats my point. If I am starting to think about how much im spending on fuel surely others are who are working hard to support a home wife and kids. It wont make any difference to me but others will have to tighten belts
Click to expand...
At the end of the day the business of business is business. You run a professional stalking business, not a charity. If some clients can no longer afford to stalk as much, that is of course shame for them, but a reality of life. For your business to be sustainable and to support you, prices have to be realistic.

There will always be new clients and recreational stalkers willing to book you if the service you provide is a good one (which I have no reason to believe it is not), if some older clients cannot longer afford a modest and justifiable price hike.
 
,like thousand of others in the uk i am on a fixed pension and my deer stalking gave me a little bit of pleasure and almost paid for its self when i started <1978> fast forward to today the returns from stalking leave me well out of pocket and has become a burden not a pleasure. good luck to those just starting,<not to the cowboys who shoot the deer day and night and sell to the back door of pubs and hotels.>
 
I dont have a mortage. Everything I/we have we own outright, house, cars the lot, dont owe anyone a bean.

But I do have very large leases to pay for, but compared to many they are very reasonable in cost, and its up to me what I cull off them. At £85 an outing for most of the year, its not a huge sum to pay for an outing in my opinion. Roe bucks I charge more £100 an outing. But then getting up at 3am in the morning and out in the evening until 10pm 4 or 5 days on the trot is, or can be tiring.
These prices have been the same for the past 8 years, no price increase. BUT I am going to put the price up this coming winter, but not by a great deal.

At days end its a business. I also employ another stalker, who is almost full time, and a bank of 3 others who help when they can. They get paid on a day rate, with expenses. Its not easy making a living from deer stalking, and its taken me a lot of years to get here. But I wouldnt change it for any other form of living.
 
My fully retired years will be based on full time guided stalking and other field sports .I’ve done pro gigs before but look forward to going full time at it .Same as Malc ,nothing left on tick ,all paid for so every penny needs to count .Two more years of semi retirement and I’m giving it a go .
 
sikamalc said:
I dont have a mortage. Everything I/we have we own outright, house, cars the lot, dont owe anyone a bean.

But I do have very large leases to pay for, but compared to many they are very reasonable in cost, and its up to me what I cull off them. At £85 an outing for most of the year, its not a huge sum to pay for an outing in my opinion. Roe bucks I charge more £100 an outing. But then getting up at 3am in the morning and out in the evening until 10pm 4 or 5 days on the trot is, or can be tiring.
These prices have been the same for the past 8 years, no price increase. BUT I am going to put the price up this coming winter, but not by a great deal.

At days end its a business. I also employ another stalker, who is almost full time, and a bank of 3 others who help when they can. They get paid on a day rate, with expenses. Its not easy making a living from deer stalking, and its taken me a lot of years to get here. But I wouldnt change it for any other form of living.
Click to expand...
Beats a 9-5 for sure. Your prices are very reasonable. Take my hat off to anyone guiding through the roe rut!
 
uptonogood said:
My fully retired years will be based on full time guided stalking and other field sports .I’ve done pro gigs before but look forward to going full time at it .Same as Malc ,nothing left on tick ,all paid for so every penny needs to count .Two more years of semi retirement and I’m giving it a go .
Click to expand...
7 days a week doesn't feel like it when you enjoy it. Packed in work 3 years ago and certainly wouldn't change what I do for the world. I go for a walk for the dog everyday morning and evening and if we bump into a few deer along the way even better :lol:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Natural Environment Bill Guest Stalking
2 3
Replies
58
Views
3K
slider
slider
New Deer Stalking App - First Light
2 3 4
Replies
69
Views
4K
sy247
S
Are you allowed to sell humane dispatch?
Replies
13
Views
1K
Rafter
Rafter
Daily Telegraph - ‘It's fight or flight... deer are not Disneyfied mini-humans’
Replies
7
Views
723
HonestJohn
H
Just Starting Out
Replies
5
Views
204
bullet chucker
B
R. Macleod & Son - The Best Hunting Companion
Back
Top