Last week, we examined hunting from a poor man’s perspective. No doubt, there are a lot of good old boys who delight in listening to the sound of hounds announcing that they’ve struck a hot trail. By contrast, there are also folks who shop at Abercrombie & Fitch and begin their hunt with a meal prepared by the cook at the clubhouse where they dine with fellow club members prior to heading off to their private bedrooms to get a few hours sleep before setting out for the duck blinds the next morning.

At our unnamed duck club, there are usually about a dozen members who invest about $15,000 per year in dues to keep the club’s annual expenses covered. Each fall, as duck season approaches, the members get together and have their annual drawing to determine the rotation of the duck blinds. There is generally one blind per member, and members will rotate through the blinds based on how the drawing turned out. If you were the first name drawn, then you would get first choice of a blind on the first day of the season. On the second day of the season, you’d rotate to blind No. 12 and begin to work your way back toward blind No. 1.

A member can generally take one guest with him into the blind. It could be your son or daughter, a business associate, etc.

At a really prestigious duck club, there is a waiting list for openings to become a member. In fact, oftentimes a son will inherit his father’s blind when Dad gets too old to hunt.

After the morning hunt is over, the hunters return to the clubhouse for a nice lunch while the staff cleans and plucks the birds. Often there may be a friendly poker game after lunch.

It’s been said that there has been many a multimillion dollar deal that grew out of the bonds forged over ducks, cigars, brandy and poker. Naturally, if you entertain a business client at your club, you would be expected to deduct a portion of your costs from your taxes.

I think the quote was attributed to John D. Rockefeller: “I’ve been rich and I’ve been poor, and rich is definitely better.”

I suspect Rockefeller had it right. Another form of hunting that consumes vast quantities of money is hunting in exotic locations. Like Africa, Alaska or Kamchatka.

I recently did a quick check of the costs associated with a simple safari to Africa to hunt plains game animals like, impala, kudu, warthog and gazelle. A basic 14-day safari would likely run you in the neighborhood of $15,000 and change. Similarly, if you want to hunt the world’s largest land carnivore, the Kamchatka brown bear, you can expect to shell out at least $10,000 in hard-earned American dollars. Of course, the bears will probably be over 1,000 pounds and 9 feet tall. If you make a mistake, they will eat you — that’s pretty costly, but it could definitely be exciting.

Perhaps the most costly form of hunting of all is seeking the infamous African Big Five: the elephant, white rhino, leopard, lion and cape buffalo. Any of the Big 5 can kill you, and all are extremely costly to pursue. At the low end of the scale, a safari to hunt buffalo will run you about $30,000. On the high end, it can run all the way up to a white rhino (no they’re not endangered) which could run you over $70,000.

Ironically, in many areas of Africa it is hunter fees that pay for the conservation efforts that are increasing the numbers of these formerly rare critters.

Despite all the good that hunter conservation dollars do, an African safari is simply beyond the financial reach of most Americans. We poor working stiffs may have to be satisfied with hunting right here in the good old U. S of A.

Until next week, tight lines.

• Don Moyer is president and CEO of a consulting firm and has more than 20 years’ experience working with the outdoor recreation community, including anglers, hunters, backpackers, environmental groups and the public. He can be reached at don.moyer@gmail.com.