Do you ever go on outfitted hunts?

[Night Hunter]

I go with Trophy Class Outfitters every year. Now I even guide for them. I plan on hunting Iowa this year.

 

[SpencerSS]

I'm mostly a do-it-myselfer. But some hunts warrent or require a guide/PH.

Mountain Lion, Sheep, Brown Bear(req)....

Almost any African hunt.

 

[Alaska_Seth]

I have hunted Roe deer and Wildboar in Germany, wildboar in Maine, and a variety of African plains game animals in Namibia.

All of it has been ok, Namibia the outfitter sucked and we almost went to fistycuffs but the hunt was fine.

I got married since then and am raising a family so I won't do as much for a while as I once did, but it is a priority for my wife for me to hunt.

I am going to New Zealand self guided next May with some Aussie friends. And I will probably hunt Water Valley alone next year if I can afford it for Sambar, Rusa, and Hog deer.

 

[Gone Ballistic]

I have hunted Roe deer and Wildboar in Germany, wildboar in Maine, and a variety of African plains game animals in Namibia.

All of it has been ok, Namibia the outfitter sucked and we almost went to fistycuffs but the hunt was fine.

I got married since then and am raising a family so I won't do as much for a while as I once did, but it is a priority for my wife for me to hunt.

I am going to New Zealand self guided next May with some Aussie friends. And I will probably hunt Water Valley alone next year if I can afford it for Sambar, Rusa, and Hog deer.

What variety of animals will you be hunting? I assume you'll be going to the south island. I know that the open, non-private areas are a hard find for Red Stag of any size anymore. They just are gettting too much pressure and the government game management has been very poor to encourage any type of regulations to allow any trophies time to grow. You can get on some private ground for them, chamois, tahr and fallow deer for less than you think. I know that the next time I go I'll pony up another $2K and do that. It makes sense to me after paying the amount it costs to go there. I hated the flight, way too much air time! Let us know how you did. You'll still have a great time, particularly if you've never been there. Stay away from Australia. Too **** many poisonous snakes. They have 11 of the worlds deadliest there.

 

[davkrat]

No, paying for hunting has just never sat right with me. I spend tons of money on permits for duck hunting at Refuges and I have absolutely no problem with doing that but paying someone to take me hunting just seems wrong.

 

[Alaska_Seth]

What variety of animals will you be hunting? I assume you'll be going to the south island. I know that the open, non-private areas are a hard find for Red Stag of any size anymore. They just are gettting too much pressure and the government game management has been very poor to encourage any type of regulations to allow any trophies time to grow. You can get on some private ground for them, chamois, tahr and fallow deer for less than you think. I know that the next time I go I'll pony up another $2K and do that. It makes sense to me after paying the amount it costs to go there. I hated the flight, way too much air time! Let us know how you did. You'll still have a great time, particularly if you've never been there. Stay away from Australia. Too **** many poisonous snakes. They have 11 of the worlds deadliest there.

I am an American living in Australia. I hunt here all the time. Of course there are snakes but there are snakes everywhere!

 

[cheytownshaun]

my first guided hunt is in March of 2012 for wild hog in Texas. to date i'm just a predator hunter, coyotes are my only kills to date. my brothers and dad are the ones that put the meat on the table. happy hunting all

 

[Buano]

I am an American living in Australia. I hunt here all the time. Of course there are snakes but there are snakes everywhere!

Yes, every continent we hunt on has snakes, but Australia has the greatest number of DEADLY snakes — and spiders. I love things wild, but have little love for things poisonous. It could be said I've done my penance, having been bit by a brown recluse and laid my head in a nest of black widows. The brown recluse bite took 6-months to heal & the black widow bites covered the back of my head & nearly killed me. At this stage I would rather face a water buffalo than something poisonous!

 

[theflyonthewall]

I haven't gone on any hunts in the wild wild west, as they say, but I want to. Actually, it's the wide open spaces that brought me to longrangehunting. I'm looking to put together a combined Elk and Muley hunt at some point in the future. I have A LOT of things to prepare first.

Why this pertains to this thread is that I'm doubting the idea of going on a fully-guided hunt. So I guess my answer to the poll question is that no, I would not use one.

However, my two choices would be a drop camp, or self-guided on public land. I have to admit that the idea of spending a week on a mountain, in a drop-camp scenario, and not seeing a single (target) animal, scares me away a bit. But that would be my preferred method if I can find a reputable outfitter that can prove some success with drop camps.

As a last resort, I'd do a self-guided hunt on public land. But if that's the way I'd have to go, I'd have a LOT more homework to do. Not only the areas I'd be willing to hunt, but also what the animals there typically do throughout the open season.

But....like I said before, I have plenty of preparations to make before I get to the point of making the really important decisions.

For what it's worth, I hope this discussion continues because some folks like me are really paying attention to it.

 

[Boss Hoss]

After further reflection------THE GOLDEN ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Yotekiller]

I never have. Hopefully I can find places to go on my own.

 

[devon]

I know that the open, non-private areas are a hard find for Red Stag of any size anymore. They just are gettting too much pressure and the government game management has been very poor to encourage any type of regulations to allow any trophies time to grow. You can get on some private ground for them, chamois, tahr and fallow deer for less than you think. I know that the next time I go I'll pony up another $2K and do that. It makes sense to me after paying the amount it costs to go there. I hated the flight, way too much air time!

How about this for a large stag, mind you its in the UK where i live, no snakes that will do you any harm and half the flight time!
Cheers
Richard

 

[montanaio17]

I am blessed to live in Montana where if I put in the work. Scouting, walking hours in the woods, I have a great chance at getting a nice bull every year. Deer are everywhere. I will never use one for that reason, but I under stand people living out of state using a guide. If you get off the roadway and beaten path there is awesome hunting here. Google earth is an awesome tool to use to find great hunting.

 

[Triple BB]

After reading some of these posts, I suspect a few of the folks who aren't going guided can't afford one anyway. Not sure what the point of posting is if that's the case. I went on a guided elk hunt last year and had a blast. Shot a nice bull, got charged by a large grizzly, and made some new friends. All things I'll remember for years to come. I'm doing a guided deer hunt in a few weeks. Can't wait to get into the high country for a week. Hoping to score on a good buck. I'm also mulling a guided elk hunt the end of Oct. My outfitter has a cancellation opening. I'm waiting see what we get for snow the first part of Oct before making a decision. If it looks like there's some migration out of Yellowstone, I'll be there. I've done four DIY hunts into the Thorofare and one up the Greybull River not far from there. It's nice to have someone else mess with the horses and handle the camp chores. If yer considering a guided hunt, its something I'd strongly recommend you do at least once in yer life...