I booked a 1-day duck/goose hunt on the water in early October for my dads birthday present and wondering how much you would tip a guide. Never been hunting with a guide so not sure how this works.
Thanks,
Matt
Guide Tipping
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Guide Tipping
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I am 19 years old and hunt and fish as much as I can
Apex Sight
Trophy Taker Drop Away Rest
Beman ICS Camo Hunter Arrows
Rage 100gr Slipcam Broadheads
Scott Archery Release
I am 19 years old and hunt and fish as much as I can
Will the person doing the actual guiding be the owner of the business, or, an employee? It should make a difference. The owner keeps the profit, and if he is doing the work, should have more profit because he doesn't have to pay out wages. In that case a tip should not be required. If you get amazing service and results beyond what you have reason to expect, you can offer a sign of your appreciation, but it's up to you.
I think you need to establish first whether the guide is an employee or the owner of the guiding business.
I think you need to establish first whether the guide is an employee or the owner of the guiding business.
"Gun Control Laws"--trying to nag criminals into submission.
Hi5 is right, If he/she is an employee of a service than you should tip accorrding to the quality of the guide service you received. You shouldn't base it on the quality of havest but the quality of the guide. Go with the intent to learn form someone who knows more than you and you will probably really enjoy it.
“A hungry dog hunts best”
Lee Trevino
Every time you kill a coyote an angel gets a set of wings. OK, I made that up. But it should be the case.
Mike P
Lee Trevino
Every time you kill a coyote an angel gets a set of wings. OK, I made that up. But it should be the case.
Mike P
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Grizzly Adam
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dick195252
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The last Hog hunt i went on 2 years ago. The guide was so Fun and Funny to be around, allso very Knowledeable. that the trip cost was $170.00 that was with a Meat Hog harvested, skinned, and quartered [100 pounds] That i Tipped $50.00 on top of the $170.00 
I still remember his name [Daryl] and will remember till my next Hunt. Hope this has been helpfull.
I still remember his name [Daryl] and will remember till my next Hunt. Hope this has been helpfull.Exomax, Lumizone, Boo String, NRA, ACf, Member, [Proud Grandpa!!!]
Tipping hunting guides is a very subjective matter with just tons of variables so there are no hard and fast rules in my book. But here are some of the things that I consider when leaving a tip for a guide.
First, you must determine if the guide is also the outfitter or a hired hand of the outfitter. If he is a hired hand, I can guarantee you he is not being paid much by the outfitter and tips will be his primary means for a payday. You should determine this as soon as you arrive for your hunt.
Second, what type of hunt is it? And where is it? Both of these variables can impact the amount you will be tipping your guide. If it is a really “high end” hunt with costs in the thousands and thousands many go by the figure of 10% of the cost of the hunt. The hunt we recently went on in South America for doves and ducks might be considered a “high end” hunt but if you tipped 10% to the guides you would be tipping way too much. You need to consider the value of the dollar and the local economy when deciding how much to tip. Ten percent of our total bill down there paid to a “local guide” would have been seen as outlandish.
If it is a hunt that consists of several days and you are in a hunt camp, does the guide also do all the cooking and camp chores? Or are there dedicated cooks and other employees of the outfitter performing camp chores, if so, this affects your tipping calculations.
Day hunts are an entire different matter and many subscribe to the belief that a figure of around five percent is sufficient. This once again depends on the type of hunt. If you’re hunting geese and the guide puts out hundreds of decoys and calls all day until you get your limit, I do not think that five percent would be adequate. If you’re hunting a day lease for deer in Texas and the guide just shows you where your stand is, then five percent might be inappropriate. Every situation is different.
After all the variables are considered, I then turn to the most significant factor in determining what to tip my guide. How did my hunt fare. This is not about taking game. The guide cannot make the quarry appear with the snap of his fingers. But he sure as hell can affect the hunt in a positive or negative manner. Was your hunt a good experience? Did the guide do his best to present you with the best opportunity to take your quarry? How was his energy level?
I have been on the other side of the fence. I was a guide for a private duck club located just outside the Squaw Creek Wildlife Refuge near Mound City, Missouri from 1978 until 1981. The multi-million dollar duck club was owned by two men. One owned a large trucking company located in Kansas City and the other owned all the Honda dealerships in the same area. Both men used the duck club to entertain clients. I was a friend of the son of the man who owned the trucking company and he was the link to how I met the father and got the job. It also helped that I was (and still am to this day) one hell of a duck caller. I hope that doesn’t sound to “braggy” but you need to know that I was very qualified for the job. Some day I will take some pictures of my duck call collection and post here for you guys to see. I still to this day call in contests even though all my efforts are now pointed at whitetail bucks.
Anyway, in 1979 I was called upon to take some clients to hunt on behalf of the Honda dealerships. There were eight men and myself and my hunting partner. He was the second guide when there were over four hunters. We took four each out to the duck blinds. These men were all Japanese and only one spoke English. They were all some big wigs from Honda in Japan and they were touring the dealerships in America. I assigned the English speaking gentlemen to my partner, so I had no interpreter with me in my blind.
What a riot. These guys had never hunted before in their lives. They were clad in brand new camo picked up in Kansas City and some still had price tags attached. We had to have a firearms lesson before we could even think about calling any ducks. But I did check everyone of them for the proper license and federal and state duck stamps. When I was convinced that they wouldn’t shoot each other or me, I started to call when ducks would approach our decoys.
These guys were quick study’s and learned to shoot fast and stay hidden in the blind until they heard me quit calling and say “take em!” But hitting anything was an entirely different matter. These guys would unload all three shells on the flocks and never bring down a feather. But after each time they did this they were in their glory. They couldn’t have been happier if they all took triples! And when a duck actually fell from the sky doomed by some misplaced golden pellet from one of the guns, well the celebration lasted for twenty minutes. It was hilarious. The laughing was infectious and even though we had no idea what the other was saying, we communicated enough with hand signals and got on famously.
After the hunt we took them back to the club house to serve them food and refreshments. They sat around eating and drinking and just having a rollicking good old time. My hunting partner and I talked and his experience was similar to mine but he had the advantage of an interpreter so it made his day a little easier. Anyway, they called myself and my hunting partner into the dining area and presented us with our tips. The interpreter took great pains in telling us in English just how much the Honda guys had enjoyed their day. They then presented my partner and I with ten one hundred dollar bills each! A thousand bucks a piece! We told them that it was way too much but they would not relent. Talk about a tip to a guide, that one could have made the Guinness book.
I guided for other clients of both these men many times. Sometimes I never received a dime even though I did a bang up job. Other times I received very generous tips for the identical effort. It didn’t matter. If the truth be known, I would have paid to guide at that club. For a duck hunter it was heaven. And of course, I could hunt there myself when ever I wanted, and that was a very very large perk.
And last, if you are ever in doubt, just ask. Ask the outfitter, don’t be shy. I guarantee you he will not be shy in giving you an answer.
First, you must determine if the guide is also the outfitter or a hired hand of the outfitter. If he is a hired hand, I can guarantee you he is not being paid much by the outfitter and tips will be his primary means for a payday. You should determine this as soon as you arrive for your hunt.
Second, what type of hunt is it? And where is it? Both of these variables can impact the amount you will be tipping your guide. If it is a really “high end” hunt with costs in the thousands and thousands many go by the figure of 10% of the cost of the hunt. The hunt we recently went on in South America for doves and ducks might be considered a “high end” hunt but if you tipped 10% to the guides you would be tipping way too much. You need to consider the value of the dollar and the local economy when deciding how much to tip. Ten percent of our total bill down there paid to a “local guide” would have been seen as outlandish.
If it is a hunt that consists of several days and you are in a hunt camp, does the guide also do all the cooking and camp chores? Or are there dedicated cooks and other employees of the outfitter performing camp chores, if so, this affects your tipping calculations.
Day hunts are an entire different matter and many subscribe to the belief that a figure of around five percent is sufficient. This once again depends on the type of hunt. If you’re hunting geese and the guide puts out hundreds of decoys and calls all day until you get your limit, I do not think that five percent would be adequate. If you’re hunting a day lease for deer in Texas and the guide just shows you where your stand is, then five percent might be inappropriate. Every situation is different.
After all the variables are considered, I then turn to the most significant factor in determining what to tip my guide. How did my hunt fare. This is not about taking game. The guide cannot make the quarry appear with the snap of his fingers. But he sure as hell can affect the hunt in a positive or negative manner. Was your hunt a good experience? Did the guide do his best to present you with the best opportunity to take your quarry? How was his energy level?
I have been on the other side of the fence. I was a guide for a private duck club located just outside the Squaw Creek Wildlife Refuge near Mound City, Missouri from 1978 until 1981. The multi-million dollar duck club was owned by two men. One owned a large trucking company located in Kansas City and the other owned all the Honda dealerships in the same area. Both men used the duck club to entertain clients. I was a friend of the son of the man who owned the trucking company and he was the link to how I met the father and got the job. It also helped that I was (and still am to this day) one hell of a duck caller. I hope that doesn’t sound to “braggy” but you need to know that I was very qualified for the job. Some day I will take some pictures of my duck call collection and post here for you guys to see. I still to this day call in contests even though all my efforts are now pointed at whitetail bucks.
Anyway, in 1979 I was called upon to take some clients to hunt on behalf of the Honda dealerships. There were eight men and myself and my hunting partner. He was the second guide when there were over four hunters. We took four each out to the duck blinds. These men were all Japanese and only one spoke English. They were all some big wigs from Honda in Japan and they were touring the dealerships in America. I assigned the English speaking gentlemen to my partner, so I had no interpreter with me in my blind.
What a riot. These guys had never hunted before in their lives. They were clad in brand new camo picked up in Kansas City and some still had price tags attached. We had to have a firearms lesson before we could even think about calling any ducks. But I did check everyone of them for the proper license and federal and state duck stamps. When I was convinced that they wouldn’t shoot each other or me, I started to call when ducks would approach our decoys.
These guys were quick study’s and learned to shoot fast and stay hidden in the blind until they heard me quit calling and say “take em!” But hitting anything was an entirely different matter. These guys would unload all three shells on the flocks and never bring down a feather. But after each time they did this they were in their glory. They couldn’t have been happier if they all took triples! And when a duck actually fell from the sky doomed by some misplaced golden pellet from one of the guns, well the celebration lasted for twenty minutes. It was hilarious. The laughing was infectious and even though we had no idea what the other was saying, we communicated enough with hand signals and got on famously.
After the hunt we took them back to the club house to serve them food and refreshments. They sat around eating and drinking and just having a rollicking good old time. My hunting partner and I talked and his experience was similar to mine but he had the advantage of an interpreter so it made his day a little easier. Anyway, they called myself and my hunting partner into the dining area and presented us with our tips. The interpreter took great pains in telling us in English just how much the Honda guys had enjoyed their day. They then presented my partner and I with ten one hundred dollar bills each! A thousand bucks a piece! We told them that it was way too much but they would not relent. Talk about a tip to a guide, that one could have made the Guinness book.
I guided for other clients of both these men many times. Sometimes I never received a dime even though I did a bang up job. Other times I received very generous tips for the identical effort. It didn’t matter. If the truth be known, I would have paid to guide at that club. For a duck hunter it was heaven. And of course, I could hunt there myself when ever I wanted, and that was a very very large perk.
And last, if you are ever in doubt, just ask. Ask the outfitter, don’t be shy. I guarantee you he will not be shy in giving you an answer.