RE: guided hunts?
Excellent insight.
I would add that one of the most important criteria (once you're in your price range) is how long the outfitter has been working the area he is selling to you. If the outfitter knows the area very well, he knows the whys and wherefores to pass along to the guide and ultimately the hunter.
I've wirked as a guide for an outfitter. The Outfitter and the guides were for the most part from here and already familiar with the area. BUT! One of the most successful guides was a guy that came down every fall from his home in Alaska. Reason? The outfitter knew the hunt area and the animals habits within that/those areas. Every evening the outfitter and guides would get together andour conversation would be: "You take your client here" (and what to expect), and "you go there", etc. That way, we all had good habitat and opportunity for the client. AND were not in each others way. It was all private land too.
Two things you are paying for: Oportunity to harvest whatever it is you are looking for, and 3 squares and a cot. After that, things become less important.