I've been on 3 guided mule deer hunts in New Mexico where the quide was included with the hunt. All 3 where really great and provided lifetime memories. The guides were local guys who lived in the area and knew where the deer were. Was worried when on my last hunt my guide had a family emergency and a 19 yr old neighbor stepped in. I was pleasantly surprised at the knowledge of this kid and he ended up putting me on a really nice 4x4 mulie. This kid had great eyes and he could really spot deer. I was really thankful how he stepped in and did such a great job in an emergency situation.
Another classic video, Dog! Only piece of advice I think should have been added: if you're paying for a guide, do yourself and the guide a favor and get into shape first. If you're a client who is too fat to walk a 5K at a slow pace or your knees are too fucked up to ride a boat on choppy seas for several hours, you have NO BUSINESS paying thousands of dollars for a guide. This applies to any wives or friends who tag along too. Get that diet or gym membership or knee surgery you need to get into shooting shape, then start enjoying your new life outdoors!
This was an awesome video. I never learned how to hunt big game from my dad (he taught me how to hunt waterfowl only), so I need to hire a guide to learn big game hunting. Additionally, people need to remember that even John Taylor, Pondoro himself, learned how to hunt from a guide😁
Spent most of my" growing up years" in the bush, I've always been unimpressed by the SCI loud mouth types that know everything & are rude to the local native people.
Also, calling guides you had good hunts with before is a great way to find an awesome guide for a different hunt. Most experienced guides have access to a big network in the hunting professional community: if they don't know a guy, they probably know a guy that does.
Love this video. I have been fortunate enough to have had some great guides and outfitters in my hunting career and very few who were crap. I also do my best to do my part in any given hunt. Keep up the excellent work!!
After hunting elk in Colorado for about ten straight years, and having a miserable guide experience, I came to the conclusion that a guide that "rents" his horses is a no-no for me. always select a guide that has his own horses and equipage. You'll be a lot safer.
Guided for years in az and new mex. Quit because of the exact things DD is talking about. Had cry baby clients and unsafe gun handling clients you name it. Had one guy nearly blow my hat off with a 300. Had another who was upset that we hadn't shot an elk by the morning of the fifth day. Actually tried to start a fist fight with me....which i was very willing to accommodate..lol. at the last minute he realized his mistake. Took him back to camp to talk to the outfitter . Had a guy muzzle me 3 times one day. Kept warning him. Finally took his gun and carried it. Also as a guide working for an outfitter i was always promised certain perks and things that always somehow never happened. The other problem i always dealt with was after i finished my hunt with my clients i always had to fall in and do the work for the lazy or non skilled "guides" in camp that couldn't even handle a downed animal. Half the time they couldn't find any game at all just for lack of effort. Guys would kill an elk and leave it lay for 4+ hours trying to call in help to quarter or load it. Never get a knife out. Wait and cry about no help. Not just bad clients....bad guides and clients did it for me. I did however take some great guys out and had some great hunts and some great memories. Its a real bad deal when you get paid to hunt every day and people can ruin the best job ever. DD is a wealth of knowledge and information. Listen to this guy about hunting ethics. This is the biggest downfall in the hunting culture. You long range 'targe practice on live animal' guys especially.
Every guide in the business has multiple stories of near-death experiences involving poor gun handling by clients. Most game wardens have had similar experiences. It makes you wonder if the training that people receive at the state level is adequate to receive a hunting license.
I've been guiding for 15 years and I look at it like this: if I want to go do a hunt I've never done before in a place of never hunted is hiring a guide the first time cheaper then having to come back a second time if my hunt is unsuccessful. The answer is usually yes by a long shot. There's no such thing as a free hunt. Add up your transportation costs, food, beverages, lodging, licenses or tags, misc. hunt-specific gear and wear-n-tear on existing gear, incidentals, etc. then estimate the difference in how much time (put a dollar amount on your hours) you'd are going to invest in doing the necessary homework to mentally prepare for the hunt you've never done before. That's the amount you're risking consciously risking by not hiring a proven professional the first time. When you pay a guide, you're placing the responsibility of achieving a successful opportunity to harvest the animal you're hoping for. Then all do what he said you need to do to prepare for the hunt, and execute the shot. That allows you to focus on enjoying the experience of the hunt the entire in the field. If everything goes right and you want to do it again, you already know whether or not you need to hire a guide next time.
Excellent advice. After hearing horror stories from a couple of my friends who are great hunters (one of which I know is a outstanding mentor) about how they had to quit being guides because of the horrible clients they had ( mostly from Atlanta GA). Even though I only use guides for hunting with bird dogs, I always want to be a good client. After watching this video I can see somethings I have overlooked. Thank you for illuminating me.
Another very informative video DD. I’ve never hunted or fished with a guide but hopefully one day I’ll get to do some western hunts and use a guide out there.
Another topic that should be addressed is The Guide's Ego. Over the years I have become pretty dang good at glassing up game. Better than some guides even. One Alaskan hunting trip guide I had was from, and lived in, Alaska during the off-season. I realized later why. It's the only state big enough to house his enormous ego. He didn't appreciate it much when bwana out-glassed him. Conversely, I had a very young and talented guide in Montana who was very humble and even complimented his hunters on their glassing abilities. Very interesting and informative video, DD! Thanks!
Good content, I worked as a Big Game guide for various outfitter's for quite awhile when I was younger. I always worked really hard for the clients, some of which were prepared and many were not. I was told by the first Outfitter/ employer, don't let the client make any decisions. Don't put up with bad behavior. We generally got our Game, and it was all horseback. If the dude hunter brought a Weatherby Mark V, I took my old Husky/ .270 for insurance. My advise- on Elk hunts, get fit long before the trip, you will enjoy the hunt twice as much. Get properly shod , break those boots in. Get a reasonably decent rifle and practice on paper alot, call yours shots and dryfire when you can. I was once that 20 year old guide, I had killed Elk and other Game on my own and had savvy around horses and mules. Sometimes , a 20 year old is who you want. Good Luck , folks
Could not agree more. I personally have hired fishing guides a few times in areas I was unfamiliar with; Rainbow fishing in AR to Striper fishing in OK. I have often found tho that you tend to limit out FAST with guides lol. Worth their weight in gold
Interesting DD. Living and shooting in the UK I have only used the Forestry Commission rangers a couple of times in lowland stalks in Scotland. Great professional guys , tipping is not allowed as they are paid a salary. They do seem to like the client placing a few zeroing shots comfortably in a small group, not surprisingly of course.
Man, 21 minutes of nonstop useful information. This should be mandatory viewing for anyone remotely considering using a guide. Excellent production DD.
Great video sir. Many people don’t wanna talk about these two topics and I’m glad you did bring them up. Especially being a good client I’m sure there are a lot of good guys out there that are blind to be bad because a client was a bad client. Keep up the good videos
I would only add one thought to the discussion of an excellent presentation. Saving up for a hunting trip is like saving up to buy new gear; you generally get what you pay for. Save the extra cash for a proper guide and forget about guide services. Building a relationship with a guide is like the relationship you build with a trusty rifle. Thanks DDO!
@@gauravshrestha4776 A guide service is not run by an outfitter who owns the business and personally attends to you. There is a staff of guides, sometimes people who are not hunters, that have been run through a short training course and are paid to escort the clients to the assigned hunting area. Can it work? Yes, of course. Are you going to get the best experience? Not likely.
@@gauravshrestha4776 The owner should be willing to tell you exactly who is going to be your guide and quote their experience in years as their employee plus their total number of years as a guide. If you are unclear about anything the contact should be able to answer pointed questions. Failure to give straight answers and failure to return calls about same are the giveaway.
I thought I was the best client. They always ask for my signature and take photos of me. I'm what you might call the catch of the day, and the Bounty hunter. Nice content, keep it rolling.
Really great advice on being a good client and proper tipping. It's what keeps guiding alive and well. Do you ever wonder why most tradespersons hardly ever get tipped?
That has happened to me before in Africa by a cleaning lady (we caught her in the act). The PH fired her, and immediately made up for it by waving the trophy fees on several animals. It turned out being a great trip and I tipped them well. Luckily, my money/passport/valuables always stay with us.
Only time you should hire a guide is if your hunting out of state just go hunt if your new to hunting you will learn better than if you hunt with a guide
I disagree as well. I have often killed elk in the back country by myself and every damn time I am packing those quarters up the mountain, I often ask myself, “Would you pay $5k or more to have someone help you right now?” The answer is always a resounding, “YES!”
I would disagree too, from having an extra set of eyes, to having access a feed of hunting-related information that only exist verbally among locals, to having someone to help carry stuff and process an animal in the field. Heck, even a bad guide has value as a pack animal or your sous chef.
