On a recent hunt I was on, a guide I was working with told me a story about a client he had taken hunting (I’ll leave his name and business out of this) who left him a rather- “interesting” sort of tip. This guide had worked each morning setting up decoys, making sure the hide was great, as all good guides do, and doing all he could to ensure the hunt was a success. It was. A limit of geese in the morning, and a limit of ducks in the afternoon. All three days of hunting. This guide was excited, due to the fact that the client and the party he had brought were all extremely well-to-do. They had flown in on a private jet, showed up with the nicest gear, and talked all weekend about their monetary status. This guide talked about how he laughed and joked with the party of hunters and thought that everything had gone great. However, no tips had been given. Finally, after the guide drove them all back to their private jet to fly home, which was a two-hour drive away at the nearest airport, the host of the hunting party said, “Hold on, I have something for you.” Finally! The tip he had been waiting for. The hunter came out with a polo shirt for his company, gave it to the guide, thanked him for his efforts, and walked away. The guide did what most of us would do at this point, and tossed it in the nearest garbage can.
That is not how you tip your guides. That is not how you reward them for all of their hard work. It is just not how you thank someone for all the hard work which provided the clients with opportunities to be successful. Not at all.
Now I understand that’s a bit of an extreme case (though a true story), but it gets the point across. If you go on a guided hunt, understand that you should be leaving a tip. Like going to a restaurant, you paid for a service, but a second party had to ensure you enjoyed your time. Whether you want to tip after each hunt, or leave a grand total before you leave is up to you- but leave a tip!
But how much? Well, it can vary. How much did you pay for the hunt? Was it $150 for a day? In that case, the tip may be a bit smaller than it would have been if the hunt cost $400 for the day. In speaking with guides all over the country, it seems customary that tipping your guide around 15-20% of the day’s cost is what the going rate is. If that seems too steep, you either need to get off your wallet and stop being such a tight-ass, or save up a bit longer and remember that a good portion of a hunting guide’s income is what they make from tips.
Well, maybe you went out on a hunt that sucked, what then? Do you tip less for a poor hunt? Remember, guides work harder on tougher hunts than the slam dunks. So the answer to that question is- no, no you don’t.
Now there are some exceptions, I understand that. I’ve seen times where the guide didn’t execute what was expected of them. Maybe they partied a little too hard the night before, or they made a few mistakes that they shouldn’t have. Or maybe they just plain out sucked. It happens, but those cases are few and far between.
And please, carry cash. Venmo, PayPal, CashAp- those are great for buying and selling all your used hunting gear, but they aren’t great for giving a tip. If you’re going to go on a guided hunt, (and if you’re looking for a good destination, you can find some great places here) carry an extra $100 per day. That will more than cover whatever tip you need to give to the guide.
Don’t be afraid to ask the owner of the outfit what he recommends to leave as a tip either. Most outfitters will be straightforward with you. They’ll tell you what is a customary tip to leave. If you have questions, ask! Don’t wait until the end of the hunt to try and figure it out. I promise your guides are working as hard as they can no matter what you tip, the only difference is whether or not you look like an asshole by what you give them for their efforts. So tip each hunt like you just had a banger, and at the end of it, if the hunting sucked, you can lick your wounds and find a different outfitter for another year. At least in the back of your mind, you can know you helped your guide make a living, while you took the time to do what you enjoy.
Now, I’m not the morality police, but I do know that hunting guides live off the tips they make. That 15-20% isn’t greed, it’s quite modest. If you pay $300 for a hunt, that $60 tip at 20% is just a way of thanking the guide for his efforts in helping you have a hunt that you otherwise wouldn’t have gone on.
I promise, if you tip your guides following the guidelines of 15-20% of the day’s rate, or simply asking the owner what he recommends, you’ll find yourself better prepared financially for the hunt, and the guides will appreciate you more for it. There are great guides and outfitters all over the place, and the tips they receive help them help you to continue having successful hunts
In addition to “the king” (hard cash money) I have heard that making your tip personal is something guides like. Something like your favorite beer from your local home town brewery or a product your home is known for (cheese curds in Wisco!). Or is this a waste of time? Guides tossing this stuff or is it worth the gesture?
Guides love cash… whiskey or beer , calls or gear. They can buy that but they want cash. It pays there bills. If they want to buy whiskey they will. If your Gonna give them $100 and a bottle they will me appreciative. Trust me they talk about cheap clients …. Jeff Stanfield
That’s a good one right there. Let me tell you this story. I had a guy call me and was wanting to hunt a few does as his public land hadn’t produced a opportunity. We set a date and met him at the ranch one morning at 6:00 AM. I drove a hour to meet him that morning as it was during the week we unloaded and got to stand first set was not great so we went back to the house and I fixed a little breakfast. We then went riding around to see if we could find any. We also had some spikes we wanted to kill so we drove up on one he shot and hit low on the animal i tracked it for 400 yards and lost blood so we a stopped search. We then came upon a doe and he shot and missed. It was around noon and was getting hungry we didn’t have much at the ranch cause it was towards end of season so I drove to town and got some bbq sandwiches. Came back and checked cards on cams to see where they have been hitting. So we went to another stand it’s now 4:00 pm. Deer start to come In and a big doe came to the feeder I said alright let’s shot that one. He said well. An you go ahead and shoot them for me I’ve already wounded 1 and missed another. I grabbed my gun and shot 1 she dropped rechambered and shot another I said alright let’s go get em. We loaded them up took to gut rack and I gutted the first one and let he down and said go get your truck he said oh I thought we would skin and qtr them cause I don’t really have a place to take them this late. You can imagine the look On my face. I said yes I do I have a dinner date with my girlfriend this evening he said I’ll help we can get it done rolling my eyes. I’ll buy her a margarita for dinner ok So it’s 6 pm now. She’s calling and texting and asking when I’ll be there. We skinned and qtr them and we finally get done it’s 7:30 now so we load up deer in coolers and He’s ready to pay 250.00 per deer right he asked I said yes. He hands me the money and says ok and here’s the 20.00 for the margarita. I said ok. With my hand still out. He said ok we good ? A long stare. Yeah sure we’re good. Let’s go cause it’s 8:00 pm now and I got a date. So 20.00 awesome. He said man thanks it was a great time and I’ll be back. Under my breath the hell you will !?!