By John Moschella
Hunting guides could be regarded as the athletes of the wild. In order to be proficient in their trade, they must master reading sign and finding game in its natural habitat. They must also be physically capable to the demands of their profession, whether setting up treestands, tracking wounded animals, or dragging the client's harvest out of the woods. They are a special breed of people who possess exceptional skills.
Selecting a particular guide for a hunt is much more than simply shaking hands on the morning of the first day. It requires an interview process similar to hiring a consultant. Knowledge and talent aside, there are questions of personality and hunting styles, all of which must be factored into the choice. And tipping is something that must be considered and figured into your budget.
I have had a few experiences with guides over the years, some of which were good and some were... well... not so good. Nevertheless, on every trip, I learn a little more about selecting the most appropriate guide for future hunts.
In one of my sojourns to South America hunting red stag in Argentina, my guide, who was very adept in finding trophy animals, prevented me from pulling the trigger in the expectation of securing the perfect shot. On several occasions, I put the crosshairs on the stag only to be told (in Spanish) to wait until we got closer. After hours of stalking, we eventually lost the animal as well the chance to fill my tag.
Much of the problem had to do with the fact that I was the first American to hunt at this camp, and the owner had no idea of my hunting style. Perhaps if I had explained to my guide that I cut my teeth negotiating the Allagash wilderness of Northern Maine (where the first shot might be the only one), that SCI stag would now be hanging in my library. The key here is communication. Make sure your guide knows your hunting ability.
A few years ago, I was hunting mule deer in northern Wyoming. On one hand, the camp was superb and the hunt was an exciting adventure. On the other hand, the experience became a lesson for both me and my guide.
I was hooked up with the "best" guide in camp. From my friends, I heard that he had the reputation of being knowledgeable, dependable, and hard-working. I anxiously anticipated a successful trophy hunt. The first day out, we quickly came upon a mulie, which we carefully stalked to within shooting range. After studying the deer, I realized that it was not remotely close to the B&C minimum score. As my guide and I bantered together, I cautioned him about his attempt to persuade me to shoot something which I concluded to be less than trophy class.
The following morning when I inquired how he could consider that deer a "trophy," he admitted that he really did not know what constituted B&C-class deer, and confessed that his plan was to find a potential shooter and hopefully convince me to pull the trigger.
"Selling the deer" is what they call it. The rest of the week, we spent judging the deer we scoped. By the conclusion of the hunt, he was able to field score a deer. What I learned from that hunt is to have confidence in my own ability; stick with my intuition, and do not let anyone "sell" me an animal I do not wish to harvest. One final word here, if you are going on a trophy hunt and cannot judge a trophy, then learn beforehand. There are plenty of articles in Buckmasters Magazine dedicated to field scoring animals.
I spent more than a decade hunting whitetails in Saskatchewan. In the early years, well before Milo Hanson shot the world record, the accommodations were primitive: outhouses, no indoor plumbing, no ATVs, no heated stands, etc., but the hunting was outstanding. The owner of the camp was an expert in deer behavior and possessed that uncanny knack of finding the "big ones." He was a guide first and foremost.
Unfortunately, as he became more business savvy, his priority shifted to making money. This was not to say that he did not always attempt to please his customers, but there was definitely a hierarchical order established for those who hunted his camp, based on the amount of gifts he received or the monetary tips from the previous year. A word of advice: if you plan to return to a particular camp, keep an eye out for "special" favors based on "offerings."
I had an interesting experience when caribou hunting several years ago in northern Quebec. My guide, who possessed just a modicum of English, was competent and hardworking. This later would prove for an interesting interaction. After harvesting a trophy bull, he began to dress the animal. As I usually do, I started to assist him. Apparently taken back by my effort to help in the process, he told me that it was his job to perform this task, whereby I carefully reminded him that it was my hunt and I retain the choice to assist or not.
In deliberate and careful English, I stated that for me the hunt was not just shooting the animal, rather I wanted to be part of the entire experience, one aspect of which was helping my guide even with the dirty work. After dressing the caribou, I threw a quarter on my shoulder and carried it to the canoe for the return trip. Apparently having won his gratitude, for the rest of the hunt, we shared our duties. The point is this, just because the guide works for you, does not mean that the guide has to do the work for you.
Sometimes the best guides are those on unguided hunts. At one camp in Nebraska, it was the responsibility of the staff to direct hunters to area stands in a couple of locations, after which the hunter chose the particular stand to occupy and for how long. One of the camp rules is that hunters should sit at least two days in a particular stand before they move to another location. It makes for an easily prearranged but not always successful hunt.
Nonetheless, staff members were on the constant lookout for pattern changes in the rut and reported their findings each evening. They would then direct hunters to those hot stands for the next day's hunt. Their role was certainly more proactive than reactive and an argument could be made that our unguided hunt was one of the most efficiently organized hunts in which I have participated.
Hunting Manitoba or any province in Canada in the late season is an exercise in survival. The weather conditions there can challenge a hunter's resolve as well as limit one's time in the woods. Now all outfitters take this into consideration when planning a day's trip. Enclosed stands equipped with heaters and the constant shuttling hunters in and out of the cold are just a couple of the late-season tricks to keep hunters comfortable. A few years ago, it was a different story.
I recall interviewing one outfitter for a trip and discussing my particular hunting modus operandi. I was telling him that I liked to sit out all day, when he reminded me that the temperature could drop well below zero so staying out was not advisable. I replied that I understood the weather in Manitoba and always came prepared to put in a full day's hunt. I decided to take a chance on this camp.
On the first day, my guide made it a practice to check in on me every few hours. When he realized that I was true to my claim, he made every effort to ensure that I could be set up for an all day sit. He even changed his strategy by setting up stands to comfortably accommodate hunters for that all day sit. Since that initial hunt, half a dozen years ago, the camp has produced more trophy deer, and sitting all day is now the norm rather than the exception. Its an excellent example of a guide/outfitter who was open to change and who made it his utmost intention to ensure that the hunter was successful and as comfortable as possible.
No doubt every hunter who has ever worked with a guide has his or her own stories. Mine represent just a few. What I have tried is to summarize some experiences, both good and bad and underscore the key points in choosing a suitable guide for a hunt. My experiences also illustrate how every guided hunt will be a different experience.
To help make sure there are more pleasant surprises than unpleasant ones, check out the qualifications of your outfitter BEFORE you book. If local laws require that guides be registered, make sure they have their credentials. Contact the state's department of wildlife as the first step.
Tactfully question your guides about their strengths and weaknesses. What are their individual successes? How would they hunt the area you are going to hunt? Talents aside, gain insight into their personalities. You chose your hunting friends carefully; the same should hold true for guides. A hunt can quickly turn unpleasant if the person with whom you are going to spend the week is, for example, the quiet type, while you are more of a conversationalist. Also, if you are hunting a foreign country and expect a language barrier, it might be a good idea to learn a few critical words and phrases.
Furthermore, make certain that the guide understands your style of hunting, including the kind of trophy you are looking. Even before getting to camp, give the outfitter a truthful evaluation of yourself so the two of you can develop a game plan for success.
Remember that it is your hunt; you are the boss. I have seen many occasions where hunters show up in camp and are given a set of rules which may be contrary to their particular style. For instance, if you feel uneasy judging or shooting an animal at a given distance, then tell the guide you want to be set up closer. It is your hunt; it is your money. The outfitter and guides work for you, not vice versa, but it is your responsibility to ensure that they know enough about you to make the hunt enjoyable as well as successful.
If you are on a trophy hunt and really want that book animal, first do your homework and be proficient in field judging the trophy. Second, ensure your guide knows a trophy when he or she sees one. Do not fall victim to the experience I had in Wyoming. Tell them in specific terms what you want, what you will or will not shoot.
I'll let you in on a little secret: all guides have egos. They want their particular clients to harvest the largest animal in the camp. Give him or her opportunity to claim bragging rights for the year by doing your part. By the way, if you are not a die-hard trophy hunter, that is also okay. Just remember to tell your guide what you are looking for on your hunt. Let the staff devise the best plan of attack based upon your input.
No discussion about guides would be complete without a word about tipping. I recall how many times on the last evening of the trip, the hunters would gather together and try to decide how much to tip the staff. Questions about the amount of the tip are commonly based on such criteria as tagging out, the size of the animal, how often a guide worked with the individual hunter, and even how hard. One cardinal rule here is to avoid a bidding war, especially if you plan to return the following year.
Unfortunately, money talks and the hunting profession is no different. Try to keep it genuine. Be fair and be reasonable. I used to hunt with the owner of a large American company whose tips might consist of an ATV one season or a truck the next. Guess who shot the largest deer in camp year after year? I do not hunt that camp any more, nor recommend it to my friends.
Also remember that unless you are inside a fence, there are things beyond a guide's or outfitter's control. Do your homework and know how to read sign well enough to know a good property when you see one. It's entirely possible to arrive at a camp and experience horrible weather the whole time you're there -- whether that is extreme heat or cold or rain, or anything else that can shut down game movement. But if you know what to look for and can recognize a good property and are happy with the treatment from your outfitter, it could be a place to return to on a future trip. When evaluating an outfitter or guide, learn to weigh the things they have control over and not those of pure chance.
Using a guide can be a successful and satisfying experience providing both of you know and understand the expectations of your hunt. Take the time to talk to your guide. Get a feeling of how he or she hunts. Make sure your guide knows the type of hunter you are. What are your expectations? Don't forget to do your part. Hunters have a responsibility to be prepared before a hunt and this is more than just packing gear and sighting in rifles.
Last, don't be pushed around. Remember, the guide works for you and with you, not vice versa... and be generous when tipping for a job well done. Guides also have to make a living.
John M. Moschella
Hunting guides could be regarded as the athletes of the wild. In order to be proficient in their trade, they must master reading sign and finding game in its natural habitat. They must also be physically capable to the demands of their profession, whether setting up treestands, tracking wounded animals, or dragging the client's harvest out of the woods. They are a special breed of people who possess exceptional skills.
Selecting a particular guide for a hunt is much more than simply shaking hands on the morning of the first day. It requires an interview process similar to hiring a consultant. Knowledge and talent aside, there are questions of personality and hunting styles, all of which must be factored into the choice. And tipping is something that must be considered and figured into your budget.
I have had a few experiences with guides over the years, some of which were good and some were... well... not so good. Nevertheless, on every trip, I learn a little more about selecting the most appropriate guide for future hunts.
In one of my sojourns to South America hunting red stag in Argentina, my guide, who was very adept in finding trophy animals, prevented me from pulling the trigger in the expectation of securing the perfect shot. On several occasions, I put the crosshairs on the stag only to be told (in Spanish) to wait until we got closer. After hours of stalking, we eventually lost the animal as well the chance to fill my tag.
Much of the problem had to do with the fact that I was the first American to hunt at this camp, and the owner had no idea of my hunting style. Perhaps if I had explained to my guide that I cut my teeth negotiating the Allagash wilderness of Northern Maine (where the first shot might be the only one), that SCI stag would now be hanging in my library. The key here is communication. Make sure your guide knows your hunting ability.
A few years ago, I was hunting mule deer in northern Wyoming. On one hand, the camp was superb and the hunt was an exciting adventure. On the other hand, the experience became a lesson for both me and my guide.
I was hooked up with the "best" guide in camp. From my friends, I heard that he had the reputation of being knowledgeable, dependable, and hard-working. I anxiously anticipated a successful trophy hunt. The first day out, we quickly came upon a mulie, which we carefully stalked to within shooting range. After studying the deer, I realized that it was not remotely close to the B&C minimum score. As my guide and I bantered together, I cautioned him about his attempt to persuade me to shoot something which I concluded to be less than trophy class.
The following morning when I inquired how he could consider that deer a "trophy," he admitted that he really did not know what constituted B&C-class deer, and confessed that his plan was to find a potential shooter and hopefully convince me to pull the trigger.
"Selling the deer" is what they call it. The rest of the week, we spent judging the deer we scoped. By the conclusion of the hunt, he was able to field score a deer. What I learned from that hunt is to have confidence in my own ability; stick with my intuition, and do not let anyone "sell" me an animal I do not wish to harvest. One final word here, if you are going on a trophy hunt and cannot judge a trophy, then learn beforehand. There are plenty of articles in Buckmasters Magazine dedicated to field scoring animals.
I spent more than a decade hunting whitetails in Saskatchewan. In the early years, well before Milo Hanson shot the world record, the accommodations were primitive: outhouses, no indoor plumbing, no ATVs, no heated stands, etc., but the hunting was outstanding. The owner of the camp was an expert in deer behavior and possessed that uncanny knack of finding the "big ones." He was a guide first and foremost.
Unfortunately, as he became more business savvy, his priority shifted to making money. This was not to say that he did not always attempt to please his customers, but there was definitely a hierarchical order established for those who hunted his camp, based on the amount of gifts he received or the monetary tips from the previous year. A word of advice: if you plan to return to a particular camp, keep an eye out for "special" favors based on "offerings."
I had an interesting experience when caribou hunting several years ago in northern Quebec. My guide, who possessed just a modicum of English, was competent and hardworking. This later would prove for an interesting interaction. After harvesting a trophy bull, he began to dress the animal. As I usually do, I started to assist him. Apparently taken back by my effort to help in the process, he told me that it was his job to perform this task, whereby I carefully reminded him that it was my hunt and I retain the choice to assist or not.
In deliberate and careful English, I stated that for me the hunt was not just shooting the animal, rather I wanted to be part of the entire experience, one aspect of which was helping my guide even with the dirty work. After dressing the caribou, I threw a quarter on my shoulder and carried it to the canoe for the return trip. Apparently having won his gratitude, for the rest of the hunt, we shared our duties. The point is this, just because the guide works for you, does not mean that the guide has to do the work for you.
Sometimes the best guides are those on unguided hunts. At one camp in Nebraska, it was the responsibility of the staff to direct hunters to area stands in a couple of locations, after which the hunter chose the particular stand to occupy and for how long. One of the camp rules is that hunters should sit at least two days in a particular stand before they move to another location. It makes for an easily prearranged but not always successful hunt.
Nonetheless, staff members were on the constant lookout for pattern changes in the rut and reported their findings each evening. They would then direct hunters to those hot stands for the next day's hunt. Their role was certainly more proactive than reactive and an argument could be made that our unguided hunt was one of the most efficiently organized hunts in which I have participated.
Hunting Manitoba or any province in Canada in the late season is an exercise in survival. The weather conditions there can challenge a hunter's resolve as well as limit one's time in the woods. Now all outfitters take this into consideration when planning a day's trip. Enclosed stands equipped with heaters and the constant shuttling hunters in and out of the cold are just a couple of the late-season tricks to keep hunters comfortable. A few years ago, it was a different story.
I recall interviewing one outfitter for a trip and discussing my particular hunting modus operandi. I was telling him that I liked to sit out all day, when he reminded me that the temperature could drop well below zero so staying out was not advisable. I replied that I understood the weather in Manitoba and always came prepared to put in a full day's hunt. I decided to take a chance on this camp.
On the first day, my guide made it a practice to check in on me every few hours. When he realized that I was true to my claim, he made every effort to ensure that I could be set up for an all day sit. He even changed his strategy by setting up stands to comfortably accommodate hunters for that all day sit. Since that initial hunt, half a dozen years ago, the camp has produced more trophy deer, and sitting all day is now the norm rather than the exception. Its an excellent example of a guide/outfitter who was open to change and who made it his utmost intention to ensure that the hunter was successful and as comfortable as possible.
No doubt every hunter who has ever worked with a guide has his or her own stories. Mine represent just a few. What I have tried is to summarize some experiences, both good and bad and underscore the key points in choosing a suitable guide for a hunt. My experiences also illustrate how every guided hunt will be a different experience.
To help make sure there are more pleasant surprises than unpleasant ones, check out the qualifications of your outfitter BEFORE you book. If local laws require that guides be registered, make sure they have their credentials. Contact the state's department of wildlife as the first step.
Tactfully question your guides about their strengths and weaknesses. What are their individual successes? How would they hunt the area you are going to hunt? Talents aside, gain insight into their personalities. You chose your hunting friends carefully; the same should hold true for guides. A hunt can quickly turn unpleasant if the person with whom you are going to spend the week is, for example, the quiet type, while you are more of a conversationalist. Also, if you are hunting a foreign country and expect a language barrier, it might be a good idea to learn a few critical words and phrases.
Furthermore, make certain that the guide understands your style of hunting, including the kind of trophy you are looking. Even before getting to camp, give the outfitter a truthful evaluation of yourself so the two of you can develop a game plan for success.
Remember that it is your hunt; you are the boss. I have seen many occasions where hunters show up in camp and are given a set of rules which may be contrary to their particular style. For instance, if you feel uneasy judging or shooting an animal at a given distance, then tell the guide you want to be set up closer. It is your hunt; it is your money. The outfitter and guides work for you, not vice versa, but it is your responsibility to ensure that they know enough about you to make the hunt enjoyable as well as successful.
If you are on a trophy hunt and really want that book animal, first do your homework and be proficient in field judging the trophy. Second, ensure your guide knows a trophy when he or she sees one. Do not fall victim to the experience I had in Wyoming. Tell them in specific terms what you want, what you will or will not shoot.
I'll let you in on a little secret: all guides have egos. They want their particular clients to harvest the largest animal in the camp. Give him or her opportunity to claim bragging rights for the year by doing your part. By the way, if you are not a die-hard trophy hunter, that is also okay. Just remember to tell your guide what you are looking for on your hunt. Let the staff devise the best plan of attack based upon your input.
No discussion about guides would be complete without a word about tipping. I recall how many times on the last evening of the trip, the hunters would gather together and try to decide how much to tip the staff. Questions about the amount of the tip are commonly based on such criteria as tagging out, the size of the animal, how often a guide worked with the individual hunter, and even how hard. One cardinal rule here is to avoid a bidding war, especially if you plan to return the following year.
Unfortunately, money talks and the hunting profession is no different. Try to keep it genuine. Be fair and be reasonable. I used to hunt with the owner of a large American company whose tips might consist of an ATV one season or a truck the next. Guess who shot the largest deer in camp year after year? I do not hunt that camp any more, nor recommend it to my friends.
Also remember that unless you are inside a fence, there are things beyond a guide's or outfitter's control. Do your homework and know how to read sign well enough to know a good property when you see one. It's entirely possible to arrive at a camp and experience horrible weather the whole time you're there -- whether that is extreme heat or cold or rain, or anything else that can shut down game movement. But if you know what to look for and can recognize a good property and are happy with the treatment from your outfitter, it could be a place to return to on a future trip. When evaluating an outfitter or guide, learn to weigh the things they have control over and not those of pure chance.
Using a guide can be a successful and satisfying experience providing both of you know and understand the expectations of your hunt. Take the time to talk to your guide. Get a feeling of how he or she hunts. Make sure your guide knows the type of hunter you are. What are your expectations? Don't forget to do your part. Hunters have a responsibility to be prepared before a hunt and this is more than just packing gear and sighting in rifles.
Last, don't be pushed around. Remember, the guide works for you and with you, not vice versa... and be generous when tipping for a job well done. Guides also have to make a living.
John M. Moschella