Ryan Barnes for SPLIT REED
As waterfowlers, it’s just built into our DNA to start planning for our next season as soon as we can. I know in some cases I’ve started planning for next season before the current season is even over. We do it in hopes of having a better season than the last. We try to plan different strategies, different tactics, different setups and different gear to use. We make arrangements with landowners and try to find new spots to hunt. There are great amounts of effort that we put into enjoying our time in the field. Sometimes, though, as we make our plans, it might not be a bad idea to make plans to go out on a guided hunt during your upcoming season.
Going on guided hunts allows the hunter to get out and experience new places and new experiences that they might not ever experience otherwise. For instance, here in my home state of Utah, you might never experience a flock of more than 500 snow geese coming into your decoys during the Spring season, but shooting all three species of teal during a hunt isn’t anything that hasn’t been done before. While in the state of Missouri, a flock of 500 snows is pathetic, but shooting anything more than a greenwing teal might be unheard of for some people. That’s why I would suggest that as you make your upcoming plans, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to plan out a guided hunt in an area you’d like to visit, chasing a type of waterfowl you’d like to harvest. Letting some of the nation’s best guides help you accomplish these goals as you pursue them.
Going on guided hunts allow you to get out and see what other types of hunting is done in this great country. The hunting in the Western US for puddle ducks is going to be far different from that of hunting diver ducks on the Eastern side of the country. Booking these hunts allows you to gain different experiences and have different stories to tell. Not to mention the different types of trophies you can bring home from your travels to mount on the wall. Trophies that you would have never been able to take had you just stayed in your home state, or even your state’s flyway.
Now some people might turn their nose up at the idea of going on a guided hunt. They have the “DIY or don’t do it all” stigma. The reality is, if you’re only willing to go on hunts that you can do yourself, you’ll be robbing yourself of countless experiences and hunts to harvest multiple trophy ducks and geese. Unless you already have contacts in a certain area, or you’re hunting a similar scenario to what you’re comfortable with, you need a guide to be successful. A guy from Pennsylvania couldn’t just go to the Great Salt Lake and expect to be successful on his own. He needs a guide to help show him where to go, how to hunt the area, and how to be successful. These guides have made a living on helping their clients kill ducks and geese. So sit back, and let them do their job.
But what if money is an issue? This can always pose a problem. Some outfitters charge $2,500 for 3 days of hunting with lodging and food. While others charge $250 a day, but you’re on your own for lodging and food. I would recommend figuring out where you want to go, what you want to hunt, and any other perks of the trip you would like to accomplish (a great resource to use is Splitreed’s hunt booking tool, where we can help you narrow down which outfitter is right for your desired hunt) and then figure out how to budget from there. The reality is, there’s no reason you can’t have an awesome, 3-day hunt for around $1,000. And, most outfitters offer a discounted rate for groups, which allows you and your buddies to go for a cheaper rate. So as you think about all the money your wife or girlfriend spends on clothes and “me days”, think about that trip to the Pacific Northwest chasing duskies and cacklers you could take, or that trip to the upper Midwest with big pintails and mallards as they come bombing into the decoy spread.
Another perk to going out on guided trips is the connections and friendships you make. Oftentimes you hear people say, “The hunting was good, but the company was better”. Friendships made out at the lodge or in the duck blind can be lifelong, and what a more unique way to make friends than when you’ve traveled from all over the country to sit in a blind doing something you all enjoy doing.
This doesn’t mean that every guided hunt is perfect. Don’t ever be the client that whines about the hunting being bad or the one who makes things difficult. After all, the guides are trying to help you kill wild birds, but they can only do that to the degree that the birds will work the spread. You should always understand that a guided hunt is an opportunity to make new friends, meet new people, and see new places. If the hunting is great, that’s even better.
Everyone should make an effort to go on a guided hunt each year because it allows you to see the amazing things that the world of waterfowling has to offer. From the Eastern Shore in Maryland to Knox City, Texas. There’s some great waterfowling all over. And if you consider yourself a true waterfowler, don’t disservice yourself by not getting out and seeing these amazing places and hunting with these amazing guides. They can help you shoot your trophy ducks, they can teach you new hunting tactics to take home with you to your own blind, and more importantly; these hunts can build friendships that last long after the hunt is over.
