DIY or guided ?????

[Mr Nice]

It's a tough decision to go guided or not and they both have their pros and cons. I've done both with mixed reviews. On the positive side I've created a great friendship with an outfitter in Alberta over the years and have hunted with him 5 different times for moose and bear. My success has not been good in only harvesting a small moose (in the pic) in all those years but because of the friendship and memories made over those years I keep going back. 3 of those trips were archery moose hunts where I have had absolutely amazing encounters but it just wasn't in the cards for me to tag out. This past year I took my wife with me on a rifle moose hunt and we both had the time of our lives together and we recently booked a bear hunt with the same outfitter for spring of 22.

Two other positive experiences I have with guides are a Kodiak mountain goat hunt and an Idaho mountain lion hunt, both of these situations a guide was necessary for me for different reasons and I'm glad that I did it the way that I did.

On the negative side, I had a bad experience with a bear hunt in Manitoba where the outfitter commented on the bear that I shot taking me from a high to a low in a split second. Another negative experience I had was on a Wyoming elk hunt where I had a great tag just outside of Yellowstone and we horse backed into some great country. On this hunt the highly respected outfitter who was supposed to be my guide was off with another client and I was paired with a less experienced guide who put me on a "nice 320" bull that mysteriously shrunk to 286 when we got up to it with a statement I guess I was wrong. Ultimately I pulled the trigger, but I was an inexperienced elk hunter relying on his advice in an area with potential for 350 or better and I had a goal of 320 which is why I pulled the trigger on his advice. Upon returning to camp when the outfitter saw the elk he said why did you shoot that one I could have gotten you on one much bigger. Again leaving a very sour taste in my mouth.

In the future I'm going to try more DIY when possible and will be happier with a smaller animal that I know my wife and did together. I will consider drop camps where someone will pack us in and pack us out being we don't have horses to get into the deep country.

 

[Rich M]

It’s good to get all of this feedback, take it all in and decide what is best for yourself. Right out of college I took some time off and went to Wyoming to fill a personal dream of guiding. Hired by an outfitter, and our job was to go in and clear trails, scout and be prepared for the first hunter to arrive in 1 month. Outfitter would be back to camp in 3 weeks. When the outfitter arrived back there wasn’t anything impressive to report. I was thinking of how disappointed hunters were going to be. The outfitter just smiled and said “we’ll go for a ride in the morning “. Over that next week I truly found the value of an outfitter. It was the same country I had scouted but just knowing exactly where to be and at what times to be there. Little pockets, I didn’t even consider looking. It was real eye opening for a young lad haha. A good lesson.
There is a big difference between a guide and an outfitter. Good guides are hard to come by, simply because their lack of experience. Make sure you ask about your guide and how much time they have guided in that country. If you are lucky enough you’ll be guided by your outfitter.

This is a great example - the guy did you a favor and let you do your thing, then came back in time to teach you how to hunt the area. Real valuable intel.