Tipping a guide ?

[Mojave]

So if a guide doesn’t personally scout before the hunt, no tip? I don’t really care how they lead me to skinning the cat, I would just like cat skinned.

I have seen both.

The guy that guided me in west Texas flew in for the hunt. He had only ever been there once.

Also been guided by a guy on his own land.

The days of professional guides who do nothing else, maybe build guns or are taxidermist are super rare. Mostly it is used car salesman and it feels like it anymore.

In Europe and Africa professional guides are more common.

 

[Overdrive]

A lot to unpack here.

First off, thank you for going your metrics. It is interesting to see what the payout is on your end.

I have been on 6 guided hunts. 2 in Europe, 1 in Africa, 1 in Maine and 1 in Texas.

In Europe it was a group hunt both times. Once a stand hunt for roe bucks and the other one was a driven hunt.

There were about 100 people at the driven hunt, it cost $1500 for two days, they fed us lunch both days, lodging was at a hotel that we paid for and they pulled all the game out of the field. I didn't get a shot at anything. I had two opportunities to kill something on the driven hunt, and both times there was a dog behind the game animal or one of the beaters. So I froze to death in a drive hunt tower for 16 hours and enjoyed taking photos of foxes (that were for some reason not on the game list). I didn't tip.

The stand hunt for roe bucks I shot 2, and had an opportunity to shoot the allotted 3, but missed one and wasn't paying attention on the 4th one. So I paid $1500 for two bucks out of 3. I tipped $150 between the guides. No meals or lodging was provided, hotel and my own meals in town.

Namibia was wonderful, killed 14 animals. Lots of drama between the other hunters in camp and the outfitter. I tipped the outfitters wife (cook) $150, and stiffed the guide as he left me at his house for 8 hours so he could fix plumbing for his wife. I speak Spanish and the other clients were from Spain, so they asked me to get involved. It was bullshit, then they conspired against me and the other clients.

Maine, tipped 10%. was what I could afford.

Texas. Was in camp with a guy that had more money in his pocket than I make in a year. They only had one guide and I spent 3 days waiting for this guy to shoot, I got to hunt for about 8 hours and shot a small aoudad. It was free range. Went home pissed off. The other client paid for my taxidermy, I tipped the guide $300 (about 5%) and drove home in the middle of the night pissed off. The other guy and I are now friends. Cook was amazing! Other guy shot the ark, they had elk, red sheep, javelina and mule deer. He killed one of everything. He had killed an aoudad the night before I got there. They called and told me to stop in El Paso and have dinner and get there late. I figured out why when I got there. 4 day hunt, I hunted for the last day. Everyone was nice, but they were milking the whale. Wasn't a good experience.

In Europe tipping is not a common thing to do. When I lived in Australia, they don't tip at all. Everyone on the planet expects Americans to tip.

I would prefer a system where the guide just makes more and the hunt cost a little bit more.

I have heard of guides taking a hunter for a big walk and purposely not finding them game. Because the guide thought the hunter would not tip. Nothing professional about that.

Sounds like you've had a broad spectrum of outfitters out there. I can't speak for any of them but I do feel fortunate that the outfitters I work for have a good reputation and return clients is very high, usually booked out 3 years in advance with repeat hunters.
I don't ever expect a tip, all I can control is how hard I hunt and push my hunters during their trip. I really can't think of any serious drama while I've been guiding. Maybe some little things but no one can control every aspect of a hunt. When in hunting camps we work together to make sure everyone is getting the best opportunity and it's truly a group effort. On the Colorado camp we may have semi guided hunters and guided hunters and there might be a little extra put in for the guided hunters but that's mainly for the use of horses daily. But we still put the semi guided guys in locations for an opportunity and they still have a guide helping them just not right beside them the whole time. But overall we don't look at who's got the fat wallet and cater to them, I could care less. I've actually noticed that it's the working class guy that saves up for a hunt every couple years is actually the better tipper and more appreciative than the guy that does a guided hunt every year and has money to burn.

 

[Super tag]

I hunted with an outstanding outfitter last year, my guide was also just amazing and is now a close friend, he worked his ass off, so much so that I marveled at the effort, no rest during the day, always busy hunting, spotting, glassing. Staying active. We saw a lot of game, he was very knowledgeable about the potential and specific about the expectations. We hunted from daylight until dark every day.
Guys like this deserve a serious tip, don’t be a tight ass, I gave him a very generous tip, he earned every penny. I enjoyed every minute of my five days I spent with him. It was the hunt of a lifetime,

I’ve heard stories about other types of guides, if I experienced a half ass, well then I’m sure I wouldn’t be so generous. If they work hard for you, be generous. Always use cash, have some respect, a gift card? Seriously? My hell, I’d be embarrassed if I were you.

 

[alaska_bou]

Prescouting time and expenses are always factored into the cost of a hunt. And most guides get paid for the full duration of a hunt even if their client tags out on day one. I certainly did when I was a guide. I was also reimbursed for any personal expenses.

Don't let any guide or outfitter tell you how much you are expected to tip. Anyone who is outspoken in advance of what they expect for a tip won't get my business. A tip is a "thank you" for hard work. A tip is not wages or an entitlement. Anyone suggesting 20% or more is "standard" is BS'ing people who don't know any better. A 10% tip is a good tip for any hunt, anywhere in the world and high dollar hunts that are $30k to $100k or more often see tip percentages much lower.

With that said, I have no problem tipping more (15%+) when I have a team of people that are all playing a role in my hunt or when a special circumstance warrants it. If I have porters carrying 70+ pounds on their backs so I can have a bit more luxury on a remote mountain hunt or if a tracker is diving in croc-infested waters to recover my hippo, you bet I will tip accordingly.

I depended on tips in the past waiting tables through college and working as both a hunting and fishing guide, but the tipping entitlement mentality in the USA is getting out of hand. It seems almost everyone has their hand out with tip receipts these days.

 

[Mojave]

Thanks!

I am an American, and have spent 15 years of my life overseas. Tipping isn't totally an American thing, but tipping in hunting is getting to be really weird.

The biggest one I don't understand is percentages tipped on Texas high fence ranch hunts. Guys are tipping 20% on a two day $15,000 ranch hunt. Or $3500 for 20-30 hours worth of work.

I have never made $3500 in 20-30 hours in my entire life. I can see giving a guy $150 a day or something like that, but the 20% concept is nuts.

 

[IsThisHeaven]

Prescouting time and expenses are always factored into the cost of a hunt. And most guides get paid for the full duration of a hunt even if their client tags out on day one. I certainly did when I was a guide. I was also reimbursed for any personal expenses.

Don't let any guide or outfitter tell you how much you are expected to tip. Anyone who is outspoken in advance of what they expect for a tip won't get my business. A tip is a "thank you" for hard work. A tip is not wages or an entitlement. Anyone suggesting 20% or more is "standard" is BS'ing people who don't know any better. A 10% tip is a good tip for any hunt, anywhere in the world and high dollar hunts that are $30k to $100k or more often see tip percentages much lower.

With that said, I have no problem tipping more (15%+) when I have a team of people that are all playing a role in my hunt or when a special circumstance warrants it. If I have porters carrying 70+ pounds on their backs so I can have a bit more luxury on a remote mountain hunt or if a tracker is diving in croc-infested waters to recover my hippo, you bet I will tip accordingly.

I depended on tips in the past waiting tables through college and working as both a hunting and fishing guide, but the tipping entitlement mentality in the USA is getting out of hand. It seems almost everyone has their hand out with tip receipts these days.

This is excellent. Thanks for posting.

 

[Hoyt Ag]

I guide elk, deer and bear in CO. I make 1200 for a 5 day elk hunt, usually at a cabin or lodge, horses if needed. If we shoot out early, there is a 99% chance I am asked to go to another property to guide or scout to help the outfitter out. There is always something to do. Never any down time.

Best tip I ever got was I had a very well off hunter from the east coast. We shot out by the 3rd day, both his elk and bear. We ran the meat to town to get flash frozen and deboned so he could leave the next day. He saw my tires on my F250 were needing replaced. Demanded we go to the nearest tire shop and put new shoes on it, plus a $1000 tip. He now hunts with me every year for 5 years now.

Worst tip was I had 3 hunters last year in 3rd rifle. 2 shot out and the other did not. The 2 that shot got very nice 5 and 6 bulls. Not a single dime from any of them. They left in the middle of the night for whatever reason. I still to this day have no idea what was their deal. I spent the nect 3 days on mulies and it made up for it with other customers.

I typically see 10-20 percent as the final tip. I have gotten a few guns and also one time got a free week at thier timeshare in Cabo. That was a pretty awesome deal. I do this as a side job and for the love of hunting. Ive established a pretty solid client list that I only have a few hunts open a year to new clients. 75% of my clients are return customers.

Tip if you want, or dont. If your guide truly works his ass off for you, I cant imagine not throwing something his way.

Tight lines and straight shooting!