Guide/Hunter Clash: How To Still Be Successful

I've been fortunate enough to guide hunters professionally for 19 years. The 2017 season will mark number 20. In that timeframe, my clients have killed over 500 animals and the majority of them have become friends. But, and there's always a but, there are a handful that didn't turn out so well.

Right out of the chute

It's dang funny now but at the time, it wasn't. My very first day guiding, I got lost. I had two hunters. I dropped one at a spring head and took the other guy on a seven mile hike. Right at dark we missed a bear standing in a side drainage. No big deal, it was only the first day. We hiked up out of the little drainage and headed toward the truck. After an hour and a half of hiking, I realized something was wrong. We should have been at the truck but we weren't. For several hours I tried to contact the outfitter by radio but had no luck. Finally, I decided to drop back into a nearby drainage and start a fire, we were gonna be spending the night. My hunter wanted no parts of that. So, I hiked to a higher point and called on the radio again. This time I made contact with the outfitter. He was not happy. I was embarrassed and totally forgot that I had a second hunter still out there, somewhere. The short version of the rest of the story is pretty simple. We got back to camp around four in the morning and both hunters were pissed the rest of the hunt, even though one guy missed and the other killed. When the hunt was over, Greg, the guy who connected, told me that he'd forget the whole first day ordeal if I got him a 6x6 bull during his bow hunt that upcoming September. I had a shot at redemption and pulled through. Whenever Greg and I run into each other, we laugh about my greenhorn lack of direction. You don't always get second chances but in this case, luckily I did and things worked out.

Most times, guides don't get second chances. My recommendation for such situations? Hunt hard and let the cards fall where they will. It might be your first day or 10 years into it but you're gonna get turned around at some point. If your clients can't understand that or take it in stride, shame on them. For you, it's just part of the job and for the hunter, it's just part of the experience.

Lots of money, no brains

Years ago while guiding in Wyoming, I found myself dealing with a client who should have never been on a fair chase hunt. Everyday he wanted a catered hot meal at lunch and a massage. Which was fine, as long as he wasn't expecting me to give him the massage! He complained constantly about the lack of shooting opportunities and so on. On the third evening of the hunt, it happened. The biggest typical whitetail I had ever seen strolled out of the timber some 450 yards away. This giant read the script perfectly as he chased a doe right at us, stopping broadside at 225 yards. I gave the excited whisper “kill ’em” command. Nothing happened. To my disbelief, that jack-wagon just sat there cross legged and did nothing! My excited whisper turned into a whisper scream! “Bleep, bleep, kill him” I quietly shouted. The shot never came. I threw my binos and punted my spotting scope. The hunter could have cared less. He was going to shoot a 200 inch deer at his buddy’s preserve in Indiana the following week. Suddenly, part of me was glad he didn't kill him. He didn't deserve such a deer and such a deer didn't deserve to die at the hands of such a moron.

Moral of this story? If you are guiding, you should always have a tag in your pocket that has your name on it and you should always carry a rifle. Opportunities like this only happen once in a blue moon. Don't rely on someone else to put the Booner on the ground.

Just kidding

Your job is to put your clients on game. If they can't capitalize on opportunities, that's on them, not you. It's your job to keep your cool. And, it's still your job to keep on hunting and to do your best, no matter how frustrated you may be.

The long drive

Finishing up bow season was a welcomed relief. I was ready to chase mule deer with thunder sticks.

My first group of clients arrived and we headed two and a half hours south to mule deer camp. While I was gone, the owner of the the ranch had guided an early arriving hunter to a mid-70’s buck on the 190,000 acre spread. Excitement levels were high as I got the new guys settled into their rooms in the bunk house. The excitement didn't last long. The fellas I just drove two and a half hours started complaining because they booked a “hotel” hunt and that's what they wanted. I explained that we just got this ranch and a hotel stay wasn't a viable option, as the closest hotel was back where we started this journey, two and a half hours away. Didn't matter, they would sacrifice five hours of sleep to have nicer beds to sleep in! And that's what we did. Got to the hotel just before midnight and headed back out just before three in the morning. The outfitter was furious at the situation and quite frankly, had every right to be. He had extended his business and himself to give his clients better opportunities and all he got in return for it was an extra expensive fuel bill. I was told to “get them done,” which in layman's terms means; get them tagged out and the hell out of here! So, that was the plan. The first two antelope and mule deer bucks we saw, were gonna die. Then I hit a conscience roadblock, I couldn't waste a guy's tag on a lesser animal just because they were being idiots.

We ended up hunting all five days, killing four animals and burning well over $500 worth of fuel. The hunt ended and all was well, or so I thought. Turns out, they promptly complained to the outfitter that I didn't do a good enough job mule deer hunting because my heart wasn't in it! That all stemmed from them asking me what my favorite animal to hunt was. I responded that it was a close tie between archery elk and mule deer or whitetails anytime. So much for being honest. I should have “honestly” made a mistake on a pair of fork horns the first day! Anyhow, they wanted to book back for the following year. Too bad, so sad, we were booked till the end of time!

Lessons learned? Always do what's right. It's their hunt and you should try to accommodate the best you can but there are limits. When you do run into “bad dudes,” be smart enough to let them find another outfitter to annoy. By the way, my favorite animal to hunt, is what I'm hunting for right now!

Adios

The great thing about guiding is that you only have your clients for a short period of time. If you run into a bad apple, they will be gone within the weeks time.

This is their vacation, their time, their money and obviously, their hunt. Treat them like you would want to be treated if the shoe was on the other foot.

Hunters going on guided trips need to take note as well. Guides are busting their butts for you. Everything we do or think about doing, revolves around getting you an animal. Things will not work out. The weather and animals won't corporate. Be respectful of that.

At the end of the day, the guide and hunter who work together like a well oiled machine, are the ones who are most successful.