The last deer I brought home was a fawn, and it got me just under 20 pounds of meat. The tag cost me $4. It was a cull in an overpopulated area, so tag costs were minimal. Normally the tags would cost around $18 for antlerless (doe) and $40 for antlered (buck). This is for white-tailed deer. I think a full grown whitey doe has 50 or 60 pounds of usable meat on her, but I don't really weigh them. A full grown Mule Deer buck can weigh 300+ pounds, and you'll get well over a hundred pounds of meat off of one.

If you can butcher and process the meat yourself (as I do) it is very economical and can save a family a lot of money on groceries. Even better if you hunt elk or moose as they are huge fucking animals. If you cannot process it yourself you have to pay a butcher shop to do it and those costs can vary. The place I used to get sausage made costs 3.50 per pound (finished weight, they add 30% pork trim)) for sausage or 50 cents per pound to just have them grind and package it for you. $10 per animal if they debone it for you. Depending how much meat you bring them it can easily end up equal to or more expensive than store bought meat.

The costs of the hunt itself can vary too. My rifle is a hundred years old and cost me a hundred bucks. An entry level hunting rifle (in canadian dollars) will cost at least 350, and that's with no optics. People hunt with rifles that cost thousands of dollars (and scopes that cost just as much or more). You also have to pay for fuel, which can be a lot if you hunt far from home. You use fuel while scouting too. Learning where the deer are and what their patterns/habits are. I don't waste money on camo, as I live on the prairies and someone dressed in forest camo laying in a snowy farmers field looks ridiculous. Other miscellaneous gear costs money too, though.

You can only hunt at certain times of the year, so usually it's more than one animal at a time. I'm hoping for 2 doe and maybe a buck this year. Possible a couple more does if they do the cull I mentioned again in January. That will easily last my family until the next hunting season, unless we share a whole lot of it.