I still say it is a business you are providing a service. If it costs more then charge more. If the land owner isnt giving you enough talk to him. I dont tip the ac man when he comes...

I dont expect anything for free, but dont tell me oh we come out and do x and gut your deer and etc, you should tip me. No that is your job you do it every day, figure out what you need to charge for your services to cover your cost and make a profit. Thats just my line of thought.

All true - Never done any of that. The animals I hunt are on family land so all the work is done by me (like so many others) and I pay alot of money for the opportunity to sweat and sometimes hunt (appreciate the outdoors). I think the best model is for outfitters to pay their employees well so there is not to depend on tips (and keep only the best). In any case, it doesn't sound like the pay is so bad for the scope of work. I would probably treat any tip as extra. That is how it works in my world.. I have a salary. Do a great job.. Any extra is a bonus. None of this topic relates to me but as one who has never worked for tips my outlook is somewhat biased. BTW my wife does work for tips and I do see the need for some professions.. Hand over a buck for a cheap beer.. No likey either..

Guides pay varies as well as what he does and is expected from him. Pay is from $100 per day and up for a very long day. Starts an hour before the hunters is up and ends hours after the hunter is done. His duties might include-scouting days to months in advance, blind settup, filling feeders, gutting, skinning, quartering, caping, photography, cooking, cleaning, dishwasher, maid, babysitter(for some hunters) or what ever he is asked to do. His hours are very long and do not start when you walk in the door or leave on your way home. I have been on both ends of this. I tip very well for guys who have gone out of their way to make it a fun trip. I tip something to each of them no matter how bad they are or how good they were. Guides are not full time employees under most circumstances on most ranches. They might have to use their own vehicle at times. Some might get free meals and lodging and some won't. It is a business but not a normal business. The A/C man is not coming in daily to check your unit to see if it is working right, if you are booking a hunt you are looking for success and the guide is the weakest link sometimes. Most of all a guide really earns his keep when he has to put up with a hunter who is trying to guide the guide. I have never hinted or asked for a tip and feel guilty taking one. I treat the guy who tipped me well the same as the guy who didn't. But when you do get a tip it makes you feel like all the extra effort you put out showed.

X100! if youve ever seen both sides you know how much a tip can mean... like stated a day rate can hardly fill the real cost of the work that been put in...some days are MUCH longer than others when you got a dozen or so deer come in durring the same night...then try and get everything prepared for the morning..and also ranch work durring off hours..and added time a guide will put in of his own to scout deer all to make sure have the best and safest hunt as possible... if you cant tip then thats fine but just know it dosnt hav to be alot even a good thanks and a handshake means more than just passin him/her off as just a tool

hmm... that sounds worth it for $100/day to not have to cook, clean, babysit other hunteres.....or drag animals off a mountain

And you know this how pack mule?

I agree.

now what's the chances all that mess I'm toting is mine considering my rifle was still in the case back at the vehicle?



my tip = $0

Repeat after me..."I love my wife, I love my wife....

only 1 pack was hers! and it was useless b/c it was full...

You have to remember that a waitress makes less than minimum wage, usually less than $3 an hour. She relies on tips to earn a living. A guide does not, but I'm not saying a guide shouldn't receive a tip. I've never been on a fully guided hunt, but I go deep sea fishing often and I tip the deckhand no less than 15%.

What about a semi guided hunt? Do you tip the guide or owner for pointing you in the right direction after a successful hunt?

I waited tables for 10 years and still bartend if the money is right. Do you know that the service industry people make 2.15 an hour? Also 15% is if service is bad and 20% is the rule now.
Never been on a guided hunt but kinda sounds like staying in a nice hotel. If you have someone carry your bags to room then yes you give them a little something. I can afford a lease for about $1500 a year and if you can afford $1500 for a weekend plus $1500 for a kill fee. If you cant give the guy 10% you either shouldnt be there or are a cheap S.O.B. IMO. If money is that little means that you can spend 5-10k on a week hunt then money is to no means that important to you so make the guys week and tip.

All that and not even the tip??

Well I'm sure to get beat up on immensely here but here goes.

I have been on several guided hunts in New Mexico for antelope, Wyoming for elk, and the Yukon for sheep,moose,grizzly.

I have never been on a guided Texas whitetail hunt. But I have whitetail hunted in Texas with a rifle and bow for about 40 years so I think I know generally what is involved.It is going to take some serious convincing for me to believe the services rendered by a Texas whitetail guide has much in common with the services rendered by a Wyoming elk guide or a Yukon sheep guide.

I ain't going to do it,but if I paid $10,000 for a 3-5 day 'trophy' hunt and my "guide" gave me the lay of the land,sat with me in the blind, and dressed my deer-he ain't gonna get a thousand bucks from me.

On my Yukon sheep hunt my life was literally in the guide's hands for 10 days in the middle of nowhere and every minute was spent working in furtherance of the hunt-he got the thousand bucks and then some.

I guide for fun not for the money. I enjoy being out in the field and want my hunter to have a really good time. I am retired and do not guide for the money but I can tell you I feel it is rude to come out hunt and not tip. Often I have seen them return the next year an no guide will hunt with them.

JMH from that then you are not doing it for fun! Its the money

Couldnt have said it better myself.

I've even heard of guides up there not getting tipped. By the time one of my buddies left from his sheep hunt he was ready to whip his guide and leave him out in the middle of nowhere.

I don't like when tips become a thing that is expected, almost mandatory. Tipping a hunting or fishing guide is a reward because he made you happy, exceeded your expectations, etc.

A good general guideline for great service is 10%. Tip more or less if you want or don't even tip at all. I've known a lot of fishing and hunting guides. The good ones always say tips not expected but appreciated.

At some of the prices I have seen these trophy hunts for I would have thought they were all inclusive. I mean the avg that I see are around $200-$500 and the kill fees are just crazy. I mean for what I understand of the trophy white tail hunts you just tell them what size deer you want to shoot and they put you in the stand that they think you will be most successful in. So I guess I dont understand what they are really guiding you to?

Yep there are bad ones everywhere-and it hurts a ton more when you run into one on an expensive hunt of a lifetime.I feel sorry for your buddy.

Because we had to sit in those blinds for two months to see what stand those deer are coming to. That's why you payed for the hunt, so you don't have to scout. And let me tell you, when it is 100° outside, it is a lot hotter in a blind with no wind to cool you off.

And when I guided, I got paid $1200/month, so tips were a big plus.

I do more than sit in a blind and tell you what deer to shoot. I educate the hunter on deer behavior, age,characteristics,etc. that they can take with them and use in the future.

I also keep them from shooting to small a deer that they would not be happy with.

I have to pull a lot of hunters off small bucks because they perceive them as large and haven't experience ground shrinkage alot

As a guide there is nothing more frusterating than working your butt off for a demanding guy. Trailing his wounded deer till midnight. Clean, quarter and cape deer and them leaving like they have done you a favor for hunting. I have been on both sides as guide and hunter. A tip is a great way to show graditude. I dont guide for the money and have on occasion handed off a ungrateful client to another guide the next year. I can also tell you the better tippers on a return hunt always get more from the guides.