What does "DIY" mean to you?

[whiskey 1]

I hate those damn fences Beastmode. Thats what got me hunting DIY to start with. I lived in texas my whole life and never saw a real mountain till i joined the marines. What little bit of "wild" that was left in texas went out the window with high fences, don't do anything but shoot a few does for meat anymore. I spend all the money i can spare on wilderness hunts now a days. DIY means YOU find it ,YOU kill it, YOU pack it out. Thats what kept me from out of state hunting at first, just seemed like such a huge undertaking to me. But after my first hunt in new mexico i will never hunt any other way. This will be my sixth year DIY with a bow and thats all i think about anymore.

 

[Rocky]

No guide or any help that you have to pay for

 

[Ross]

If I built the 12 foot high fence and put the corn in the game feeder all by myself does it count as DIY? I mean I did all the work by myself right?

This is funny, this would be and is simply shooting and killing, not hunting.

 

[Drummond Lindsey]

I don't see the point in being hung up on a label, unless you have something to prove. And if you have something to prove....then maybe hunting isn't the way you need to prove it.

I absolutely agree with you! I think that the term or label DIY is way overused and I just find it interesting that so many hunts get labeled as DIY when the only difference between what they are doing and a guided hunt would be a transaction involving cash. The point being it doesn't really matter.

I see guys here say that guides do all of the hunting and the hunter just pulls the trigger. Trust me when I tell you that in my experience guiding hunters this is the exception rather than the rule. We do get guys that couldn't kill a deer on their own if you put them in a high fenced petting zoo with a bag full of apple flavored corn and for those guys you'd be right about the guide doing all of the work. I would say that the vast majority of the guys I hunt with are competent hunters that expend a lot of energy that contributes greatly to the success of their hunt. I don't feel that their accomplishments should be diminished in any way, shape or form because they had help.

There are two instances that got me to thinking about this and I have been hesitant to post them but after seeing all of the responses I don't think it will be an issue.

This is from a story here on Rokslide about a "DIY" sheep hunt....

The big question confronting me last spring after the draw results were posted was ‘do I go guided or unguided?’ With the help of Gilbert Villegas, the WSMR wildlife biologist /hunt administrator, and the overwhelming support of three of my closet, hardcore hunting buddies I opted for a “Do It Yourself” hunt. Scott McRae, owner of Alaska Summit Guide Service, flew down from Anchorage. Kent Boyington who is the best hunter I know behind the optics drove down from Utah, and Scott Hargrove, my mule deer hunting mentor of over a decade came down from Colorado. The dream team was assembled and ready to hunt!

So this is a DIY hunt? Its difficult for me to see "DIY" and "Dream Team" in the same sentence but thats just me. According to the website of Alaska Summit Guide Service the owner Scott McRae has 25 years of experience guiding hunts. Obviously there is no way to know what the role of each individual was or how each guy but you have a wildlife biologist/hunt administrator pointing you in the right direction, you have the best glasser the author knew, his mentor of over a decade and a professional sheep guide of over 25 years on a hunt with you and this is DIY.

I bring this up not to try and discredit the author of the story. I want to make it VERY CLEAR that I would have done the exact same thing, in fact, if I ever draw that tag I'll invite every one of those guys down and give them every ounce of credit if I kill a ram there! Especially on a once in a lifetime hunt. In my mind the help of those guys doesn't diminish any part of his hunt or the terrific ram he killed but its difficult for me to wrap my mind around that being a hunt that was "Do it Yourself". The interesting part of this is that had one tag holder hired one guide there are people out there that would think less of the accomplishment and they would have done it with half as many people.

The only reason I started this thread was to try to gain an understanding of what "DIY" means to different people. There were no wrong answers given and they were all interesting responses. I just want to try to point out to the guys that look down on guided hunts or at least don't feel that its not as much of an accomplishment that there may be more to the story. If a hunt is performed legally and ethically it doesn't matter to me if a guy was on a solo backpack hunt in the middle of a wilderness or if he was on a one on one mule deer hunt with a guide or if he had the 3 best hunters he knew helping him on a once in a lifetime hunt they are all wonderful experiences that shouldn't be looked down on and they shouldn't have to feel the need to label it as "DIY" if it was a team effort. Just my thoughts on the subject.

I will end with another quote from the story above and its all that should matter at the end of the day and opinions be damned

Having three close friends I could count on come all the way down to New Mexico to share in this adventure meant more to me than the horns lying in the dirt; this truly was a hunt of a lifetime.

 

[muleymemories]

DIY is simple for me.... no guides, just a few close friends who come together to make a hunt successful. 75% of my hunts are with a great hunting partner the other 25% is solo, but I consider both DIY.

 

[philw]

No guide or any help that you have to pay for

+1. And I'm just curious as to whether any of the posters have connections to guiding services or similar services that are paid for relating to hunting?

 

[kaboku68]

I write out a last will and testament and leave it in the glove box. Pack up my pack and head out. Just me and the country.
I have been using an air charter recently but the song remains the same. Its not DIY unless you go by yourself.

 

[tstowater]

What is the point of this thread? If it is to say that you are better than someone else or trying to justify why you do things a certain way, then let everyone know that. Frankly, I enjoy hunting. I enjoy being in the outdoors, around people with like interests, seeing the animals and scenery. Success is not measured by dead critters, but by the memories created. This kinda reminds me of the traditional archery vs. everyone else debate as we are all going to spin our wheels and get nowhere. IMO. BTW, I do go on guided hunts, but I do enjoy the rest also and truly admire those who can consistently go solo in the backcountry and "get it done".

 

[rodney482]

No guide or outfitters

 

[justin davis]

No guide or outfitters

Yep exactly

 

[cmeier117]

I agree with this. Putting in the work and getting your self in and out by yourself.

No guide or outfitters

 

[Drummond Lindsey]

What if a person that happens to be a guide goes on a solo hunt? Would he be guided, or DIY?

What if a guy hunts with friends that guide but he doesnt pay them? Its basically the same as a guided hunt theres just no money changing hands. I realize that at this point we are arguing semantics but IMO it shows that the lines between what some would perceive as a "DIY" hunt and a guided hunt are a lot closer than most people realize or care to admit. Heck, in a lot of instances there is less help for the guy on a guided hunt than the "DIY" guy with a team helping him

Tstowater just asked what the purpose of this thread was and then wanted to know if I was saying I was better than somebody else or trying to justify why I do things a certain way. Truth is, I was just curious as to what the general consensus of what DIY meant to hunters and I thought that a forum that specialized in that type of hunting might be a good place to ask. I have never felt the need to justify myself which is why I am perplexed by others that look at any animal taken with the aid of a guide as less of an accomplishment. I am fascinated by that especially considering that there are a lot of guys that feel a DIY hunt simply a hunt without a guide but can include any number of "buddies" out there helping them. Again, arguing semantics here but I think that a better description of that kind of hunt would be an unguided hunt.

Anyway, thanks for all of the responses. Its an interesting topic to me

 

[cmeier117]

What if a person that happens to be a guide goes on a solo hunt? Would he be guided, or DIY?

I would call him a "professional" do it yourselfer .

 

[tstowater]

Drummond: Not referring to anyone. I was just seeing that this thread wasn't necessarily heading in a productive direction. I understand the purpose of your initial question and read the thread as I was interested in the responses. To a certain degree, it doesn't make any difference if I hire XYZ guide service or take 5 of my hunting fanatic buddies along (the 5 is usually increases the odds vs. the one guide) as I would consider neither to be DIY hunts. Beyond that, it comes down to splitting hairs and I can split them with the best. The only thing that a common definition of DIY would do would be to put everyone on the same page. I'm guessing that was the purpose of the thread. I want to encourage legal and ethical hunting across the board and not create friction between the various ways to hunt. Again, just my opinion.

 

[whiskey 1]

I don't think anybody is knocking somebody for going on a guided hunt or hunting with buddies. I love hunting with friends and family but if you don,t know the area your hunting or have some one whisper in your ear when to draw your bow, your not exactly doing it yourself. My first out of state hunt was in N.Cal with one of my best friends from the Marines. I had a great hunt, it was a blast but I didn't know where we were or where to go, sure I put out and I climbed as many hills as he did but all I did was follow him around and he ranged a nice buck for me but I didn't do anything myself except walk and shoot. Thats not really do it yourself. When I hunt now I spend countless hours on google earth, checking draw odds and looking at maps. I drive 8-14 hours to scout an area and then when I hunt its on me. If I mess up and draw my bow at the wrong time or range an animal wrong thats my fault and no one else's. And if I kill an animal 8 miles in I don't have anybody to call to pack it out,it's all on me. Sometimes I bring my wife and she has even ranged a buck for me but thats all the help she has ever been other than moral support. I'm not downing anybody or the way they hunt, and I'm jealous of you guys with buddies that hunt too, I was just answering the question asked. Never meant to upset folks.

 

[bigeasygator]

I think we're mixing two different conversations into this thread -- the definition of DIY (and what qualifies and what doesn't) and the connotation of DIY vs. guided hunts. These separate discussions are being brought together by highlighting just what it is that a guide does (and doesn't do) and also highlighting the fact that on a "DIY" hunt, someone who isn't being paid can also perform these functions.

To me, DIY, simply speaking, is hunting without a guide. I think there is more to the concept of DIY hunting though. Driving around in a truck all day looking for game doesn't evoke the DIY spirit for me either. DIY, in my mind, is about being in the backcountry, not on a road. Additionally, having a team of people help me out on a hunt doesn't bring up the connotation of DIY either.

I've hunted both ways. I'm not saying any one of these styles is tougher or more rewarding or "better" than any other. They each bring their own satisfaction. I've been on guided hunts where I've done more work and that were harder than any DIY hunt I've ever been on. Just because a hunt is guided doesn't mean you don't put in work nor does it mean you are simply there to pull the trigger. At times I've used guides the first time I've hunted an animal in an effort to better understand how to hunt that animal on my own the next time I decide to hunt them. I never once felt like I wasn't "hunting" just because I was hunting with a guide or outfitter.