Does anybody have some information on being a hunting guide? Salary? education? how everything works? This would be a dream job for me and I need help getting to know more about that kind of job. Thanks
hunt a lot... hunt all types of game... learn game habits and how to find them in different settings... get real real good at it... find a good guide service and impress them with your knowledge and skill... then hope they are hiring...
Unless you own your own outfitting business, its not really something you could make a decent living at. I think about $2,500 per month is the top end and that would only be for a very few months per year. And, you give up your own opportunities to hunt.
Having been an elk hunting guide for 10 falls, the only reality is that you are being paid to hunt. When I finished, the pay for a very experienced guide was about $100 a day. Now that day begins at 4 AM and ends at 10 PM. If you are lucky you might get a nap in the middle of the day. I work construction and am a crazy bicyclist and still every year I would lose weight while guiding. You have to deal with some really rude people and your job is to keep them alive. (very challenging at times) As long as the hunters are seeing game, you are the best person in the world. When things slow down, you are the worst person in the world. Hardest work that I have ever done. It was also the best job that I ever had. Now from my wife's perspective............ "You drive out west and spend 45 days guiding and make $4500 before expenses and work from 4 in the morning till 10 at night. If you stay home with no expenses and work the same hours you make over $10,000. I don't get it!!!!"
Guiding is one of the most rewarding things I can think of to do for work. I've been doing in for quite a while and one thing I would tell you, is that you absolutely have to love it. Everyone here "loves" hunting... but do you really. Do you love it when the hunting is bad, when it's good, when the weather is horrible or you have a terrible hunting buddy? I would say of all the people I know that hunt, maybe 5% love it enough to not get burnt out. Do you love it enough to live vicariously through all your clients and be okay with not hunting much at all for yourself? Being a good guide is far more than being a good hunter. It's more about people skills and psychology in combination with being a good hunter. Can you make it fun for every different type of hunter, physical ability, etc when the hunting is horrible? Wages typically range from $150-$300 per day for our guides depending on what they're hunting and where at. Be extremely careful who you work for. Make sure you work for an outfit that is big enough to keep you buys for the whole fall, generally Western states have a longer fall season (Aug-Dec). You may make $3-4k a month in salary and tips could be $3-8k a month depending on the outfitter you work for, how well you do and what kind of clients you have. Its important to be able to do lots of things in a hunting camp rather than just hunt. Learn to cook (well), learn survival skills in the mountains, woodsman ship, work on chainsaws, mowers, 4 wheelers, learn to hunt with horses and work your tail off daylight to dark, you'll be alright. Do a search for guide schools, that's a good place to start.
How long ago was this? I think I'd do a little job searching :D, I don't know anyone that makes less than $150/day plus expenses.
