It's hard to compare one guided hunt to another due to the different animals and terrain one would experience. Since we are just talking deer and probably just whitetailsince that is whatBuckeye askedin hisquestion... comparing coues deer to a whitetail is apples to oranges. Two different animals in many respects. Comparing elk to Whitetails also falls under that. But even if we are talking any animal... a DIY would still be more of an accomplishment if we are talking acoues huntto a guided coues hunt, elk hunt to a guided elk hunt, and a whitetail huntto a guided whitetail hunt. To pull it off yourself ( to me ) is the highest accomplishment one can do.

In " early in's " case where a guide is required, you can't compare that to a place where a guide isn't required. He was stuck with a guide. Sounds like he did his own hunting though, so I would be darn proud to.

I have helped ( non payed guiding I suppose ) a lot of people huntover the years with my son being one of them. Is it the same as a guided hunt?? Not even close to me. I am there to teach andhelp them to be better hunters and become self suffiecent. That is a big difference to me verses a guide who gets payed to find them a good animal for repeat bookings in the years to comes. They might teach a hunter a little depending on the hunter but it isn't to wean them from needing and wanting to use a guide. You don't make money that way which is their business. Granted they are also looking for a good reccomendation from previous hunters to future clients. With that said,I wouldn'tenvy a guide packing hunters in on horses for elk,climbing mountains after goats or a lot of the BIG GAME hunts. Tough job!! It doesn't compare to aWhitetail guided huntthough. Since the guide is with the hunter 100% of the time during the hunt for BIG GAME,I imagine they pass along a lot of useful information verses aguide on a whitetail hunt. Their service is quite a bit different then a guided deer hunt to my thinking.

Is it wrong to use a guide, tosit in a friends stand, get help from other hunters. Heck no!! As long as you are happy that is what is important. A DIY is still a bigger accomplishment to me especially for whitetail or any animal. I could still get enjoyment out of the others though.

Tim