Opinions on Guided Hunts

[HunterBK]

What is your opinion on guided hunts?

I have never been on a guided hunt, mostly because of the following reasons:

1) I don't want to pay for something I can do myself; and
2) I don't like the idea of someone else finding the game I'm hunting ahead of time and pointing in the right direction. I enjoy the hunt and I take pride in doing it myself.

The only potential benefits of a guided hunt that I can think of is getting access to land that is otherwise unavailable, and increasing the chance of taking a trophy animal.

Am I missing something here? I know that not all guided hunts are the same but, still, I have a hard time seeing why any serious, motivated hunter would want to go on a guided trip.

 

[invisible man]

I think that you are missing something. Lets say you draw a tag out of state or just out of your area,and you don't know much about the area other then the fact there are trophy bucks taken there every year. And lets say you have one week to go there and get it done. Your holding a premium tag you may not get a chance to hunt there again. How do you scout it make a plan and kill the buck of a life time in a place like that in one week without help? An area expert will up the odds greatly.

 

[breacher]

What is your opinion on guided hunts?

I have never been on a guided hunt, mostly because of the following reasons:

1) I don't want to pay for something I can do myself; and
2) I don't like the idea of someone else finding the game I'm hunting ahead of time and pointing in the right direction. I enjoy the hunt and I take pride in doing it myself.

The only potential benefits of a guided hunt that I can think of is getting access to land that is otherwise unavailable, and increasing the chance of taking a trophy animal.

Am I missing something here? I know that not all guided hunts are the same but, still, I have a hard time seeing why any serious, motivated hunter would want to go on a guided trip.

Hmm, lets see if I can be tactful with my response. There is nothing wrong with guided hunts. It doesn't mean you are less of a hunter. It doesn't mean a guide takes you to a chained up animal for you to shoot. Its doesn't mean someone isn't "serious" or "motivated" if you go with a guide. In fact, in some states ie, Alaska, you are REQUIRED to have a guide to hunt some species of animal if you aren't a resident. Does that mean non-residents that have hunted sheep and grizzly in AK aren't serious or motivated? If anything, those are far more demanding physically and mentally even with a guide that most other hunts in the lower 48.

I personally can't afford to go on guides hunts otherwise there are some I would definitely fork out the cash for. If you take pride in doing it yourself thats great but DIY'ers come across as elitist sometimes. In my opinion, I don't care if you hunt with guides or DIY. Its about enjoying the experience. But yes, to answer your question, in my opinion you are missing something...

 

[invisible man]

Its a matter of opinion BK. And you sure are entitled to it here on this site. In fact there are some people that believe if you hunt with a firearm you are not a serious hunter. They will say there is no hunting skill in sitting on a hill side and shooting a deer 200-300 yards away. They would say that takes great shooting skill, but not much hunting skill. But like Breacher said how ever a guy gets the most enjoyment out of it, its all good.

 

[invisible man]

Oh by the way, I don't know any of those people who would say rifle hunters are not serious hunters. :-X

 

[HunterBK]

I think that you are missing something. Lets say you draw a tag out of state or just out of your area,and you don't know much about the area other then the fact there are trophy bucks taken there every year. And lets say you have one week to go there and get it done. Your holding a premium tag you may not get a chance to hunt there again. How do you scout it make a plan and kill the buck of a life time in a place like that in one week without help? An area expert will up the odds greatly.

Thanks for the response. I definitely see your point, and that's what I was looking for- a good reason that a guy like me might want to use a guide.

 

[HunterBK]

What is your opinion on guided hunts?

I have never been on a guided hunt, mostly because of the following reasons:

1) I don't want to pay for something I can do myself; and
2) I don't like the idea of someone else finding the game I'm hunting ahead of time and pointing in the right direction. I enjoy the hunt and I take pride in doing it myself.

The only potential benefits of a guided hunt that I can think of is getting access to land that is otherwise unavailable, and increasing the chance of taking a trophy animal.

Am I missing something here? I know that not all guided hunts are the same but, still, I have a hard time seeing why any serious, motivated hunter would want to go on a guided trip.

Hmm, lets see if I can be tactful with my response. There is nothing wrong with guided hunts. It doesn't mean you are less of a hunter. It doesn't mean a guide takes you to a chained up animal for you to shoot. Its doesn't mean someone isn't "serious" or "motivated" if you go with a guide. In fact, in some states ie, Alaska, you are REQUIRED to have a guide to hunt some species of animal if you aren't a resident. Does that mean non-residents that have hunted sheep and grizzly in AK aren't serious or motivate. If anything, those are far more demanding physically and mentally even with a guide that most other hunts in the lower 48.

I personally can't afford to go on guides hunts otherwise there are some I would definitely fork out the cash for. If you take pride in doing it yourself thats great but DIY'ers come across as elitist sometimes. In my opinion, I don't care if you hunt with guides or DIY. Its about enjoying the experience. But yes, to answer your question, in my opinion you are missing something...

Breacher, thanks for your tactful and slightly condescending response, haha. In the spirit of good fun, let me take a crack at my own...

First, I never said there was anything wrong with guided hunts. I simply asked for people's opinions on them and gave some reasons why I don't think I would "enjoy the experience".

My notion of guided hunts obviously isn't that the guide leads the hunter to a chained animal, but thanks for clearing that up anyway, I guess...

And I think it goes without saying but I'll say it anyway- if a guide is required for certain game in a certain state, then that's a different story. I think you would agree that if Alaska did away with that requirement a lot of hunters would go without a guide. So I'm not sure that is a great argument for why people would want to go on a guided hunt.

I wasn't trying to sound elitist by saying I take pride in doing it myself, I was simply trying to give everyone an idea of where I'm coming from so they could tailor their responses accordingly.

That being said, maybe we can move your response to my other topic titled, "Tell me about arbitrary Alaska fish and game laws and please be condescending while doing so!"

 

[NBK]

Both are great and I have done both. So for example, I love going on guided pig hunts. I enjoy the whole aspect of the private property, the abundance of game and learning the knowledge from a guy that hunts professionally. It is just a good time in my book.

On the other side, I enjoy the satisfaction of a do it yourself type hunt and I do at least one major do it your self hunt (out of state) every year.

In fact there are some people that believe if you hunt with a firearm you are not a serious hunter. They will say there is no hunting skill in sitting on a hill side and shooting a deer 200-300 yards away. They would say that takes great shooting skill, but not much hunting skill. But like Breacher said how ever a guy gets the most enjoyment out of it, its all good.

;D ;D"In fact there are some people that believe if you hunt with a bow in a treestand you are not a serious hunter - They will say there is no hunting skill in sitting in a stand all day until an animal walks 10 feet below you and you wound it with an arrow. They would say that takes great skill, but not much hunting skill. But like Breacher said however a guy gets the most enjoyment out of it, its all good ;D ;D

 

[invisible man]

Come on NBK. Nobody would say that, That is ridiculous.

 

[NBK]

You always make me smile Doug!

Another thing to add (for me anyway). I have had the opportunity to be on a few very good guided hunts for different species. It has sped up my learning curve regarding hunting. And in my book, there is nothing wrong with that. Like several folks said in the above posts - I would hire a guide for specific premium tags to maximize my ability regarding time, knowledge and effort. So an example would be if I drew the G39 California tag. I would hire a guide to help me harvest the best possible animal.

Blah blah blah.

 

[invisible man]

I knew you would get a charge out of that one. I have a rifle I just don't know how to shoot it.

 

[breacher]

I knew you would get a charge out of that one. I have a rifle I just don't know how to shoot it.

I'd have to use my compressor to blow the dust off mine. ;D

 

[HunterBK]

You always make me smile Doug!

Another thing to add (for me anyway). I have had the opportunity to be on a few very good guided hunts for different species. It has sped up my learning curve regarding hunting. And in my book, there is nothing wrong with that. Like several folks said in the above posts - I would hire a guide for specific premium tags to maximize my ability regarding time, knowledge and effort. So an example would be if I drew the G39 California tag. I would hire a guide to help me harvest the best possible animal.

Blah blah blah.

NBK, both responses are very helpful, thanks!

Lord knows I could always stand to learn from an expert and speed up the learning curve

 

[BuckHunter]

Hunting is hunting. Do what makes you happy.

I hunted with a guide once in Texas my second year bowhunting. I had never hunted whitetail, and wanted to hunt private property. I was only there for 5 days with a lot of tags to fill. I learned a lot in those 5 days and came home with 5 big game bow kills. Those 5 days equaled to 4-5 seasons of hunting experience for me. But looking back, I have more personal pride for one of my DIY local bucks than my 130 class Texas slam dunk. ( No, I’m not saying that guided hunts or the state of Texas are all slam dunks) , but mine was.

So, My real point is this. We are all hunters. Gun, bow, re-curve, long bow, dogs or no dogs. If you shoot a doe, buck, pig, turkey of any size , with any gun or bow, guide or not, I’ll shake your hand with a sincere congratulations. Go out, have fun, and introduce new guys and kids to our sport. The fight for our hunting rights is going on right now. Stand together and support all forms, not just the little part that you like, or it will all be gone.

 

[stikbrandon]

Hunting is hunting. Do what makes you happy.

I hunted with a guide once in Texas my second year bowhunting. I had never hunted whitetail, and wanted to hunt private property. I was only there for 5 days with a lot of tags to fill. I learned a lot in those 5 days and came home with 5 big game bow kills. Those 5 days equaled to 4-5 seasons of hunting experience for me. But looking back, I have more personal pride for one of my DIY local bucks than my 130 class Texas slam dunk. ( No, I’m not saying that guided hunts or the state of Texas are all slam dunks) , but mine was.

So, My real point is this. We are all hunters. Gun, bow, re-curve, long bow, dogs or no dogs. If you shoot a doe, buck, pig, turkey of any size , with any gun or bow, guide or not, I’ll shake your hand with a sincere congratulations. Go out, have fun, and introduce new guys and kids to our sport. The fight for our hunting rights is going on right now. Stand together and support all forms, not just the little part that you like, or it will all be gone.

100% agree.... Well said jim

 

[Randomshot]

I do DYI hunts 98% of the time. In fact the only guided hunts I have ever been on have been pig hunts where the guide fee is just as much a trespass fee. That being said I have two points of view concerning guided hunts. The first is that they increase the cost of hunting but also increase your probability of success. In many areas outfitters charge exorbitant rates for property owner tags but it gives the hunters an opportunity to hunt areas that may take them years to draw. The guides have the best knowledge of the area and are able to track and pattern animals that an out of area hunter would not. In this sense I am all for guided hunts with the exception of the cost. On the other hand I do enjoy doing the leg work myself and the sense of satisfaction derived from knowing that I did it myself.
That being said I also know some of the hunts I plan to do in the future I can not do by myself since I do not possess things like a pac teams, or an airplane. For these hunts I am sure I would use a guide service. As the species and quality of animals I am looking for changes so would the methods used to take said animals. To feel that that being motivated is enough is not realistic.

 

[oneazbowhunter]

Well there ain't nothin wrong with hiring a guide!! Ill leave it at that.., lol

 

[NBK]

Well there ain't nothin wrong with hiring a guide!! Ill leave it at that.., lol

Ha ha - That's right Jeff!

 

[SoCalHunter]

I like hunting with guides because most of them are on private ranches that you would not be able to hunt unless with a guide. I also do it because I have limited time to be gone on a pre-scouting trips prior to the hunt these days.....single dad situation explains that part for me! Had some of the best times on guided hunts too!

 

[SoCalGuidedHunts]

Well there ain't nothin wrong with hiring a guide!! Ill leave it at that.., lol

I am with you on this one lol