Guided hunts on public

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SamPotter
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Re: Guided hunts on public

Unread postby SamPotter » Sun Dec 13, 2015 12:07 pm

The OP's original question is an interesting one. The only thing I've ever been guided on wash salmon fishing last fall for my bachelor party. In that situation the guide had the boat and the gear in addition to the knowledge. And it was on Lake Ontario. Hunts out west or in Alaska on public land is usually on tens of thousands of acres. Hunting whitetails on relatively small pieces of public isn't exactly the same thing. I'm guessing the demand for a guided whitetail hunt on public land is low, so it's probably self-limiting. I can see someone using the opportunity to learn like in Dan's example, but for the most part I feel like guided hunts are for those that just want to shoot a big buck and they don't care about what sequence of events brought them the opportunity, except for how hard it hit their wallet.


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Horizontal Hunter
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Re: Guided hunts on public

Unread postby Horizontal Hunter » Sun Dec 13, 2015 1:26 pm

Singing Bridge wrote:When we develop our own opinions on subjects such as public land hunting guides, it is important to make an informed decision. I have walked right into a bear guide and one of his clients being killed with an AK47 and the bear hunter that killed them offing himself over it. It happened over territorialism on public land and I don't have time to give all the details tonight... but it is important to see what this can lead to on one end of the spectrum. Could these 3 deaths have been prevented? Maybe, maybe not...

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I remember that happening. It was national news at the time. It is amazing the lengths some people will go to over an animal. Mind boggling really.

I agree with Brandon.
Stands shouldn't be left on state property. Carry them in and out with you if you want to use them. This would prevent a lot of problems on state land. Everyone pays the same fee to hunt public land and it is first come first serve.

Bob

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Vegetarian: vejiˈte(ə)rēən/noun: old Indian word for lousy hunter. :o

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stash59
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Re: Guided hunts on public

Unread postby stash59 » Sun Dec 13, 2015 2:06 pm

I'd say a large percent of guided hunts out west is still on public land. And some guides/outfitters do act like they own the land. In Montana they pay a fee just to be a outfitter/guide. Then they pay a fee for an area. Usually an outfitter. Then the outfitter has his guides under him. This keeps multiple outfitters from using the same country. Actually paying a outfitter to go way back in the Scapegoat, Bob Marshall, Great Bear Wilderness Complex doesn't really increase your odds much. And the average age of the bulls and bucks killed isn't much better than the rest of the more accessible public areas either. Your paying more for a unique adventure that you get to hunt on.

Now fly fishing guides are another thing. There are way more conflicts with them than with the hunting guides/outfitters. The state doesn't really regulate how many can fish the same waters.

I'm not up on the Wisconsin hunting guide laws. Would be nice to hear how they work.

Singing Bridge that's an awful story. Just hope it was a good lesson on how to try and avert it next time!
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Re: Guided hunts on public

Unread postby bblefty » Sat Feb 20, 2016 12:35 am

Very interesting thread...

Out west would it be fair to say a MAJORITY of guiding occurs on Public land? Are all these drop camps for elk etc on private?
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Re: Guided hunts on public

Unread postby stash59 » Sat Feb 20, 2016 12:55 am

bblefty wrote:Very interesting thread...

Out west would it be fair to say a MAJORITY of guiding occurs on Public land? Are all these drop camps for elk etc on private?


Not any more!

More guides/outfitters are willing to pay for leases now days. Even alot of whitetail guides on private now in Montana.
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Re: Guided hunts on public

Unread postby Boogieman1 » Sun Jun 25, 2017 3:48 am

I was a fishing guide for awhile the prob I ran into was a lot of clients didn't really care to learn it was more to just pay afew hundred to learn a couple of your honey holes, then come back afew weeks later will there buddies and act big shot. I stick with folks who live along way away now. Any of u public hunting guides run into similar problems?
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Re: Guided hunts on public

Unread postby dan » Sun Jun 25, 2017 5:08 am

Boogieman1 wrote:I was a fishing guide for awhile the prob I ran into was a lot of clients didn't really care to learn it was more to just pay afew hundred to learn a couple of your honey holes, then come back afew weeks later will there buddies and act big shot. I stick with folks who live along way away now. Any of u public hunting guides run into similar problems?

I only took clients from out of state and interviewed them before letting them come. I turned down a lot but still got a few whack jobs that fell thru the cracks...

One time when we were earn a buck I had a group of guys from new york. I took them to a small public property that was loaded with does. I never hunted when I had clients, but these guys worked for the same company as me and although they lived a long ways away they were friends. They kept insisting I hunt too, saying they were just there to have fun. So I picked out 4 spots and let them choose which spots they wanted and I took the last one.

As luck would have it I was the only one to have a doe go past and I took the shot. My nephew, a non-hunter, was along helping guide and was in the tree with me. I hit the deer a little back and thought I might be in liver so even though the deer only went a short distance I thought better to give it some time.

When we got back to the trucks there was a sheriff there with his lights on interrogating the clients. When I walked up he said "You the bigshot guide ripping people off taking them on public land?" And just laid into me that I was a low life stealing peoples hard earned cash... The clients tried to defend me saying they new it was public land, but he was bent on harassing me.

He asked if anyone shot anything and I really did not want to answer, but decided it best to be honest and said I shot a doe. He jumped all over that saying "REALLY! the guide shot a deer! How convenient. Which one of you was going to tag that for your buck tag? Then he says did you track it. To which I replied No. And he said did you see it go down. Now I new what he was getting at but before I could comment my Nephew said, "Oh, its dead, We saw it go down :roll:

He says, Did you tag it immediately after killing it before leaving the scene? I explained, but to deaf ears. He accompanied me back to the deer while some deputies continued to harass my clients.

I tagged it and he said he was going to have the WDNR issue me a poaching ticket for not immediately tagging the deer. He asked to see my guides licence and I could not find it ( I had dropped my wallet earlier and everything got scattered. I told him the warden has seen it and never asks to see it anymore. He said I would be ticketed for that too. Then he went back to harrass an interrogate my friends. Me and my nephew dragged the deer up to the side of the road in plain site of the sheriff. When I looked down the paper tag was missing from the deers ear.

I tried to go back and find it, but couldn't and new they were watching me. So I ended up throwing it in the truck as is and driving home... I left it in my yard and went and bought a new doe tag (with that days date on it)... The next day it was eating at me so I called the local warden up and told him everything, even that I drove the untagged deer home.

When I got done talking he said "Dan, Im not issuing you any tickets, and he can't cause he don't handle wildlife. If anybody is getting a ticket its going to be him... Im getting really sick of him harassing hunters on that parcel cause he hunts it and wants it to himself. He paused a second and said congrats on the doe.

A week later I drove past the sheriff and he spun around pulled me over, started yelling about hunting looked over my truck and gave me a ticket for having a chip in my windshield...

Yea... I don't miss guiding.
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Re: Guided hunts on public

Unread postby swampyak » Sun Jun 25, 2017 1:25 pm

Dan. Gotta love people on a power trip. Unfortunately I seem to be a magnet for them
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Re: Guided hunts on public

Unread postby backcountrychronicle » Sun Sep 24, 2017 10:06 am

Boogieman1 wrote:I was a fishing guide for awhile the prob I ran into was a lot of clients didn't really care to learn it was more to just pay a few hundred to learn a couple of your honey holes...


I assume everyone local goes back to the honey holes after we show them. I've had guys even admit they went back, but still couldn't catch fish. They didn't learn as much as they thought, so they wanted to go again.

Out west, most guiding and outfitting is on public land, but there is a ton of money from selling "land owner tags" on private land. It's interesting to listen to the discussion about public/private land from your eastern perspective...

Here most land is public and many people (not me) wish they could hunt private lands.
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Re: Guided hunts on public

Unread postby MN_DeerHunter » Sun Sep 24, 2017 10:23 am

Dan that is a crazy story - sorry you had to go through that. Talk about a corrupt sheriff jeeze. Hopefully he is no longer working in public service


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