tiping your guide


mantis

Recommended Posts

Re: tiping your guide

I have a problem with being charged a couple thousand dollars to hunt for a week and then still be expected to tip $300 a day!!! I can't think of a thing anyone could do for me that would justify an extra $300 a day.

I just read an article (think it was in American Hunter) about how to tick off your guide in ten easy steps. One of the things was to "tip" the guide with a new hunting knife. I guess they already have plenty and some are offended when that is what they are given. I think it is rude to expect a tip after charging what they do. It is not that I don't value the service they provide, I just think a tip should be given when someone has gone above and beyond the "call of duty". If the guide thinks they deserve more money for what they do, then they should charge more up front.

I would tip well if I was given a clean and warm place to sleep, good food, and a knowledgable guide who takes his job seriously (whether I get what I am hunting for or not).

A lot of people have to save for a while to take a guided hunt and to expect an addition $2,100 for a week of hunting is outrageous!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Re: tiping your guide

There are a lot of guides and guide services that don't deserve a tip, let alone the fee that they charge.

However, there are many, in the case of bird hunting(personal experience) that go above and beyond their call. These guys put on a lot of miles on their personal vehicles looking for fields, are there an hour earlier than most clients setting up decoys and blinds. Then their is bird cleaning etc... and then back to scouting. Usually getting about 4 hours of sleep a night.

In my opinion these guys deserve it. I have just helped out before and could believe the amount of work that this job entails...when you look at it, the fee they charge is very reasonable and a tip is in order.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Re: tiping your guide

as for bird hunting..i would tip them a decent amount...nothing outragous though...as for big game...they charge enough for me not to have to give them a huge tip. i just priced out a trip to the milk river outfitters for my cousin and for the hunt...license..and plane ticket there and back it would be around $3700.....a $300 tip a day?? i don't think so...they are crazy if they expect that much..thats like goin on a cruise and tipping the driver of the for haulin you around!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Re: tiping your guide

I have guided deer hunts for several years. Everyone keeps saying for what they charge I don't need to tip. Well the guide is not getting what you are paying for the hunt unless he is also the owner. I have guided for outfitters that paid $100 a day & for some that didn't pay me a dime, just got what i got in tips. Tip or no tip I still try to get my guys a nice buck. Of course if I know I am getting a tip I will go the extra mile for you.I have guys that come every year & have gotten nice bucks several times that don't tip me at all. I am happy for them but I do not go the extra mile for them, don't get me wrong I still work hard for them. I also have guys that I know are going to tip me if they get their deer or not. Believe me if you know you are going to get that you really put more into it. I have been tipped by cigars,knives,guns & cash. It is nice to get something. I will tell you that there is nothing more disheartening than having a guy shoot a buck & you spend several hours tracking this deer,finally finding it, it is a 170 class buck & you have done all this work including getting the deer out of the woods, into your truck & take it to the taxidermist to be caped & the guy gives you absolutely nothing. I know this has happened to me. Someone like that will not be at the top of your client list the next year. I am not saying I won't do a good job for him the next time but I also know what to expect from him.I know these guys pay good money to hunt but there are alot of us guides that work our butts off for these hunters.I have become very good friends with several of the people I have guided, tip or no tip. I don't think a tip should be a % or set amount. It is what that individual can afford to give. Everyone is different. From my experience the guys from up North tip the best.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Re: tiping your guide

Having known a few guides I know they do not make a bundle of money and even that money is seasonal. They depend on tips to some extent to supplement what the outfitter pays them. With that said, I tip on the service provided with $20.00 as a minimum (unless the guide is a real sob) per day and topping out at $100.00 per day unless the guide really goes out of their way to make your hunt enjoyable. Taking of game should not influence tip amount.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Re: tiping your guide

[ QUOTE ]

I have a problem with being charged a couple thousand dollars to hunt for a week and then still be expected to tip $300 a day!!! I can't think of a thing anyone could do for me that would justify an extra $300 a day.

[/ QUOTE ]

I too feel that is way off!!! Then again, I cant see spending 3 or 4 thousand dollars on a hunt either! Funny thing, I bust my butt for my customers at work and I never see a tip! Let alone a raise in the last three years! If these guides are getting paid on a daily basis, THATS THERE JOB! If you think I am about to dish out another one, two, or three hundred dollars a day forget! Dont get me wrong, I love to hunt but Ill use that money for something else! Just keep hunting around here instead! I would rather use that money to take the family on a nice vacation.

Now if I was FILTHY RICH I guess it would not bother me! But I am not! I work too hard to line somebody else's pocket!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Re: tiping your guide

I have a few buddies that guide, and most of them are happy with just getting some token of appreciation. Maybe a set of binoculars or a scent lok suit or something like that. Cash doesn't have to be the tip. If you get the service and it's great, give a token of your appreciation. They don't expect you to go broke trying to tip them. Their job is demanding and any guide worth his salt will do his best for you to make your hunt a memorable one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Re: tiping your guide

For me it all depends on the effort put out by the guide. Whether I get a shot or not is a consideration as well, but not making a kill. If the guide gets me to the point to shoot, he's done his part. My tips range from $25-$100 per day. Some get more, some get less. One of my guides got some cash and a new pair of neopreme waders sent to her when I returned home.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Re: tiping your guide

Boomersooner got it there, I guide steelhead trips, and there is alot of work there, if its a trip like tominator and i had last year then i dont expect a tip, and probobly will wave the fee as well. Infact i dont really ever expect a tip on a trip, Unless the guys want to keep a bunch of fish and me to clean them for them. I hate filleting steelhead. Normally i get about 50 bucks.

I had some clients three years ago who, showed up hung over, broke two rods and almost lost an entire box of egg patterns(thats like a week of tying time) and then didnt tip a penny,Even though i ut them on fish all day. The trip ended up costing me money due to lost and broken material...His phone call didnt get returned the next year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Re: tiping your guide

Guiding is like waitressing it doesn't pay that great but your tips are expected to make up the differance. If you can't afford a decent tip don't bother-my worst experience was we put a guy in a honey hole a 160 class buck there-he shot a 4x4 might score 75 that I had to drag out of a half mile of deadfall-he gave me 5 bucks-well that and the hunter's that spend every night bragging about their bank accounts that don't tip at all. Trust me if those guys come back guides don't get mad they get even. Most of the guys I guided were more friends than clients in my eyes so if they tipped or not wasn't a big deal but if your gonna talk the talk you better walk the walk.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.