RE: Possible Career
 

I know lots of guides. They love the life style and are flat broke. Most work long hours, have zero benefits and make about half of what any resouces job pays.
Outfitters have lots of expences and lots of income. How else do you affort 2 or 3 planes, trips to vegas and sheep shows. They drive big 4by4 diesel trucks. They offer their guides 3 months work every year and fire them the day after the hunter leaves. Most hope the hunters tip you big so they don't have to pay you much over min wage. Those 10 sheep and grizzly hunts bring in 25 grand. Ten grand for trophy moose or elk. Most hunt outfits cost a million bucks but can gross 400 a year.
So if you have a choice, be an outfitter. Guiding is mostly for the short term.

RE: Possible Career
 

I have thought about being an outfitter some day. Im only 16 now, so I have a while to wait. I think it would be awesome. The only thing is that outfitters probably can't hunt, can they?

RE: Possible Career
 

Trym COAGS in COlo Springs. Top operation. They'll have all the info and training you need and anwer your questions too.

RE: Possible Career
 

There is a very wide range of guide jobs and wages. Our local fishing guides don't work that hard and put some pretty good funds away (mostly 1/2 day trips). Often tips will outway wages. Some jobs are hourly and some salary...some daily rate. I worked seasonally for one outfitter who paid $100 a day and I was in the woods for generally 30 days at a time.....I never spent a cent during that stretch of time except for a couple bucks at poker. Hunters seemed to tip $100-$500 as a general rule on our ten day hunts. Geeze, that figures a $3000-$4000 check for a month! There are several larger outfits that will work people year round and treat people quite well. I've had some great adventure and made some wonderful lifelong freindships, done the things that dreams are made of. Start with a reputable guideschool and shop around for work. I suggest you check out the large hunting lodges advertised in some of the fancier hunting magazines. And ya, you will not always like the people you guide...hell, I met someone I didn't like at the grocery store the other day....big deal! If that's your ambition, go for it. Adventure and exciting work ain't all bad.

RE: Possible Career
 

I know i couple fulltime guides the have fun with there job but arent rich.

RE: Possible Career
 

A decent guided elk hunt costs at least $4,000. Most good hunts on private land begin at $5,000, and go up from there. The last private land hunt I was on was in New Mexico. At base camp, we split up into 3 separate camps, with 9 hunters at each camp. The hunt was $5,500. At 27 total hunters, the take that week was________!!!80% of the hunter's tagged out the first day. I do not know who was making the money, but somebody sure was. If it is what you want to do, just be smart and get your slice of the pie. I believe it is a very large pie. Tom.

RE: Possible Career
 

its just something that every outdoors man would love to do...i would do it if the price was right

RE: Possible Career
 

Whoa, on the negative comments. My neighbor at my country house is a guide. In the off season he is a forest fire fighter. This guys has five trucks and crews and just bought a sixth truck. Some years he doesn't get called out. Last year he made $300,000 fighting forest fires. Of course he has business expenses.

Some years are good and some are bad. Lately they have been good. MV out!