Guided Hunts--when would or have you done them?

[stealthy_bowman]

+1 for only if required. Honestly I hate hunting with a guide, I have done it twice nearly two decades ago and disliked the experience very much both times and vowed then to never do it again. However, I do want to hunt Africa and remote Alaska some day, so I will get a guide again then.

 

[buffybr]

I plan on living and dying having never been guided on a hunt. If I have any interest in hunting that is the only kind of hunting I am interested in. Those are my standards alone, and to each their own free of judgement. It is true that this reduces the opportunity for varied hunts across the globe, and I suppose my perspective could change, but there is a lifetime's worth of hunting within 100 miles of my front door.

In my opinion, you're missing out on some of the best hunting in the world, and for a great number of species of animals that we don't have at home.
I started hunting in my native state of Colorado, and for the last 44 years have successfully DIY hunted deer, elk, antelope, bears, sheep, moose, and goats within 100 miles of my front door. Years ago some friends and I did a DIY caribou hunt in Alaska, and had a great time. That hunt also opened my eyes to a great world of hunting beyond my home state.

After 35 years of my DIY hunting at home, in 1999 I went on my first guided hunt that was for Dall sheep and Mountain Caribou in Canada's Northwest Territories. That was a backpack hunt for two species of animals that we can't hunt in the lower 48 states. That hunt also involved a float plane flight into the base camp, and a Super Cub flight further into the McKenzie Mountains where the hunt took place. Beside the fact that Canadian law requires non-Canadian residents to be guided on big game hunts, the outfitter provided those flights and camps. On the actual hunt it was just the guide and me in the wilderness, and he didn't "hold my hand" on the hunt nor did he tell me which animals to shoot or not to shoot.

Since then I have gone on two more Canadian big game hunts, a half dozen hunts in Africa, and on hunts in New Zealand and Azerbaijan. Although it is possible to do some non-guided hunts in Africa and New Zealand, especially in Africa, it would take a lot more coordinating and planning to do a non-guided hunt, and I doubt that I would have been as successful as I was with a guide. Just the difference in languages would make many non-guided foreign hunts very difficult, if not impossible.

I can and have hunted and processed just about all of Montana's big game animals by myself, but at home I have all of the time I need to do that. On foreign hunts, I have limited time, equipment, and knowledge of the game and area. I would rather spend my time hunting in those countries, and leave the other work to the outfitter.

 

[corndog1]

After going to Canada DIY waterfowl I might consider an outfit if it was reasonable. The reason being half the time i spent up there was locating and obtaining permission to hunt. There are a whole lotta fields in Canada most of which do not have birds feeding in them.

 

[LopeHunter]

I often draw a tag for a unit I have never hunted and most likely will not ever have that tag again. I look at the best way to have a memorable experience on the adventure. If that can be done on public going solo then that is fantastic. If the tag is easier to draw because a lot of tags and pressure on public then might look into private before apply. If is an elk that is more than a mile from the trailhead then am not going solo anymore but would for deer, pronghorn, goat and sheep as getting the meat out is fewer trips. I have a guided hunt next week using horses to go miles from the trailhead and will be useful if get an elk down.

I also am with a guide on a hunt in October that I could probably do solo even though is for elk since are lots of roads. I almost certainly could kill a bull on my own that hunt within a mile of a road. I spoke with some hunters, guided and unguided, that had the same tag in the past and two of them said they had a very good experience with the same guide in different years while in contrast a couple of the unguided hunters said was a bit of a rodeo on the short hunt. Works for me.

My spouse points to the age on my driver's license and is obvious she not a fan of my solo trips out of cell phone range. I have my 40th high school reunion this autumn and the list of deceased alums is a lot longer than was at the 35th. So, I do more conditioning leading up to a hunt now. I considered no longer going on overnight hunts and was ready to spend autumns around the house. The call of the wild is strong when has been a part of each autumn for decades. I am not pleased am making a transition away from hunts I could have done on my own a decade ago but am pleased to be out there with a tag in my pocket.

 

[elkmo]

Alaska Grizz...law required it.

 

[geetar]

I have hired a guide to hunt open water ducks in coastal NC. The guy charges $125 a day per gun and has a bigger boat and more decoys than is practical for me to own and has them all rigged for open water. I live in more of a puddle duck hunting area and go diy on all that but when it’s practical cost and logistics wise I have no problem using an outfitter. I usually find them to be good Ol boys like me that enjoy hunting with blue collar guys more than white collar business execs that stiff them on a tip. Was once told I tipped better than the CEO of a major oil company. That’s just because I had a great time and was pleased with their hard work and knew he had kids at home just like me.

 

[geetar]

Also I have a horseback elk hunt booked for next year. It’s always been something I wanted to do and living on the east coast it really wouldn’t make sense for me to have horses and trailer them all the way west and then try to hunt with them so I booked an outfitter for that trip. My brother and I are doing it together. These are the types of reasons I have hunted with guides.

 

[davinski]

I did a semi-guided hunt for an early season rifle buck tag in the Maroon Bells. It was a rare tag. I had planned on DIY trip until I scouted up there a bit. I realized that if I found a buck in the first basin I hiked/camped into, I'd do ok. If I had to hop into basin after basin to find one, at that elevation, I'd likely get my overweight 40-something self into a pickle. I phoned the two available guides in the late summer and went with one with his "semi-guided" option. He had a young, new guide who was great with horses and knew what he was doing, just didn't know the area. I knew where I wanted to hunt. I was this guy's first client, had a blast and think it worked out great. It was more than a drop camp but less than a guided hunt. I don't know that option is always available, but would do it again since I'm not getting any younger.

 

[Jorge400]

Upland birds and ducks because I don't have bird dogs or access to good lands. All of my Africa trips have been guided. However, if it were legal and given have a chance, I could do quite well in some pretty remote areas of Namibia and Zambia .

 

[kmott]

I've nothing against guided hunts or those who go on them.
it's just , for me ,if I can't do it myself ,it ain't worth doing.
I have guided many hunts but none for profit.

 

[Frazier]

I’ve been guided 3 times. All international waterfowl hunts (twice in Saskatchewan and once in Argentina)

 

[thusby]

Hunting spree no bears over bait in the far north of Canada. Giant bears with no other way to hunt them in the spring. Yeah I pay a guy to bait but sitting over that thing with pits of hell mosquitoes for 6 hours a day.... I earn it.

 

[3855WIN]

Never been on a bad guided hunt or fishing trip. Always learned something and usually made a new friend.
I sure do enjoy the DIY hunts, as well. It’s satisfying to take your show on the road and succeed.

 

[Shangobango]

I would like to try it once and see how I like it. Would only reall consider it now on some pretty remote back country type hunt where it would be advantageous to pack in with horses.

Maybe I would lean more toward an outfitter than a guide...

 

[Pucky Freak]

Been on two guided trips on someone else's dime, and they were decent experiences. The one I paid for myself I did not like at all. I get more enjoyment out of a self guided hunt anyways. Sometimes my lack of knowledge about an area or species results in few sightings of game or no shot opportunities. This doesn't bother me. Half the fun is planning on my own and trying to figure it out. I also have more time than money and can afford to take 2 weeks off for a hunt whereas many guided trips are just 5 days. Some day I plan on moose hunting and I'm torn between Newfoundland and Alaska. The former is really the only guided hunt I would consider at this point in my life, and even then I'd prefer Alaska if I can meet some like minded DIY'ers to do a trip together.

 

[hank4elk]

I got a dropcamp on a small ranch near the Pecos Wildnerness 12 yrs ago & it worked out good for me. Unguided & ranch held tons of elk, that everyone was chasing the elk to...

 

[Hunting Wife]

We generally DIY everything to the best of our ability. The only things we haven’t have been sea ducks in AK, and Hunting Husband’s moose hunt with his dad. Sea ducks was a combo with Sitka blacktails, which we did DIY (if you don’t count a transporter). We picked the spots, planned the days, etc. but taking gear for two completely different kinds of hunting was just more hassle than we wanted to deal with. Having access to all the decoys and layout boats we could want was worth it.

The moose hunt was a hard decision, but my FIL wasn’t getting any younger and moose was the only thing he had never drawn. So he broke down and paid for a guided hunt in BC, and insisted Hunting a Husband join him. They got two great bulls and wolves. It ended up being their last hunt together- he passed away unexpectedly the following summer. Worth every penny.

Sometimes it just makes sense.

 

[sbhooper]

I have gone on one guided hunt-a moose hunt in Newfoundland-and that was for obvious reasons. I have nothing against guided hunts at all, but I always figured that I would lay out a bunch of money and not get nearly as good of an experience, as if I went solo. If I was into sheep, goats, grizzlies etc., then that is a totally different thing. I may cough up for a guided black bear, spot and stalk sometime, before I am too old to do it, though.

 

[antelopedundee]

If I had extra cash and nothing to do with it, it would be something to do just to say I've done it. What are the chances it would be like the ones on the TV shows? I'd prefer to retain a local who has a little pull and inside info. AFAIK there's no law against hunting with a friend.

 

[TC207]

I think the only guided hunt I would ever likely go on was if I can someday afford to go to Alaska for sheep, which would require one. Other than that I'd much rather put in the work myself.