Maybe in the Duck world you don't pay first, but in the world of elk outfitting you always pay for your hunt up front. I know of no elk outfitter that doesn't require payment in full prior to your hunt. We have a 1000.00 dollar deposit and we used to require balance by certified funds when your arrived on your hunt. We switched that over to complete balance paid by August 15th. Why? We would have hunters cancel a week before their hunt, a day before their hunt, and on two occasions we went to the airport to pick up hunters, only to find they never even got on the plane. After years of this, we changed our policy. We cannot book a replacement hunt under those conditions, we are just out that spot, and a severe loss of income. Hunting has seasons, and only so many hunts that can be booked, if you lose bookings, you are out for the year. At least now, with our August 15th deadline, we can book if somebody cancels, or have a chance to book. This keeps our cost down, and the hunters cost down for the next year.