How much do you tip a guide?
 

I am going to Manitoba for a baited Black Bear hunt and I'm not sure how much I should tip my guide.

Ten percent seems too much, but five doesn't seem enough. The cost of the hunt is $2500.

Anyone want to weigh in?

Good Hunting,
Bowflex

RE: How much do you tip a guide?
 

First of all I’m glad you asked the question. I have never been on a guided hunt before but the question had me wondering what is appropriate? Let’s see…you tip the waiter who slops your food down on the table between 15 and 20% and that’s for just a few minutes’ of service and in the end what have they really done for you? Then if you stay in a hotel/motel for any period of time you have a maid come in and clean your bathroom, make your bed and take out the trash and most of the time we leave nothing. Two different ends of the spectrum…so what do you tip a guide for his services? He helps you find your animal, wrangles the horses, gut, loads and packs out your animal, then tries to make sure you have a fantastic time. To me 10% seems small and 20% seems a little high but, think about all that was done for you and on your behalf.

RE: How much do you tip a guide?
 

I've never been on a guided big game hunt, but it seems like it would depend on the service you recieved, his professionalism, and how many days he spent with you.

RE: How much do you tip a guide?
 

10-4!

RE: How much do you tip a guide?
 

15%.......depends on the service you recieved, his professionalism, and how many days he spent with you.

RE: How much do you tip a guide?
 

Tip what makes you comfortable. It is not like the waitress at the restaraunt, her tips are figured into her hourly wage.

Guides are paid a flat salary fee and tips will be greatly appreciated and even expected by some. My suggestion would be to ask the outfitter his opinion.

the issue I have with a flat % number is that not all guides or hunts are created equal. A baited bear hunt where you will be driven to your stand, left alone, then picked up, if you are lucky to get a bear, they will help track and get the bear out of the woods.

On a hunt like an elk hunt the guide is with you all day long.

The two efforts are not equal, and personally I wouldn't treat them as equal.

RE: How much do you tip a guide?
 

On a guided hunt I tipped the cook $60, my guide $150 and the cowboy that skinned out my elk $20. Everyone was happy, including myself.

This was a $3000 fully guided hunt.

RE: How much do you tip a guide?
 

Go with what feels right. Don't get hung up in the % business. If the food is good tip the cook what you feel is appropriate. think about if you had ate out those meals, you would have tipped a few dollars at each meal so 50 bucksfor a weekisn't outrageous. If your guide works hard for you tip him a c note or two.

RE: How much do you tip a guide?
 

Thanks for the repsonses.

This is a little different than most guided hunts in that we will be staying in town, meals and lodging are part of the package. We will tip the servers, but not at 15-20%. Probably a couple bucks per meal. Same goes for the housekeepers that will make up and clean our rooms. I appreciate how hard these people work and the crappy wages they make.

I know the Outfitter and guides work hard at establishing and keeping the bait stations stocked. And, its a lot of work after the hunt to get the animal out and skinned. I suppose something like $100-$150would be appropriate. Again, depending on the service provided.

Good Hunting,
Bowlfex

RE: How much do you tip a guide?
 

I tip dependent on the level of service. If theguide goes above and beyond I tip 20%. If the guide didn't work hard for me I wouldn't tip anything. A tip should show your appreciation of a job well done regardless of animals harvested since it is hunting (fair chase I hope). My outfitted hunts have always gone well and I gave a generous tip to show my appreciation. I alwaysd tip the cook.

RE: How much do you tip a guide?
 

I've been on guided hunts thruoutNorth America and Africa tipping is always a questionable item. In Africa a tip is expected and many companies print on the contract what is an acceptable % for everyone from the black whom washes your clothes to the PH. In parts of NA such as along the Rocky Mountain range fromnorth to south a tip is expected by cooks, guides,wranglers and I normally give 10% IF I felt their srevice was above normal for the industry. If I don't think they wenrt above and beyond their "jobs" I give them nothing,zip,nada...I do not feel it is my job to pay the outfitter's hired help, ifindeed he is under paying them expecting them to earn tips. I'd rather see him include their entire wages in the price of the hunt.
I've been on both sides of the debate..working as a wrangler and a guide. Busting my tail for some dude to get a shot at a nice bull elk only to have him miss it at 50 yds,then getting stiffed for a tip.
There is no way I'd tip a "guide" whom is putting out bait and dropping me off near it then driving an ATV in to pickup my bear as much as I wouldgive a elk guide whom bugled in my bull and packed it out without letting the meat get dirty.The bear "guide" would get a $20 bill the elk guide 10% of the hunt base price.EC

RE: How much do you tip a guide?
 

Ditto. 10% for a good job, 0% for a bad one, and anywhere in between for a job that warrants it. The most I have ever paid was 15% and that guy busted his tail for us and went WAY above and beyond.

RE: How much do you tip a guide?
 

I very much agree with this one except to state that I almost always tip something to the cooks and wranglers. I give the cook 5%, I give the wranglers $100.00 and $150.00 if they packed out my elk and I give the guides 10%. I have been a guide in the past and because I owned a portion of the business I never accepted tips. I never tip the outfitter if he is guiding me! He owns the business and got paid for my hunt.

Now all of that being said, when I am booking a trip, I ask to speak to the guide who will be guiding me, and I tell him upfront what my expectations are for the hunt and if the guide listens, I tell him how to please me and how to earn another 5% tip on top of the 10% but he has to earn it by fully scouting the areas that we are to hunt prior to my getting there. I want to see bulls, bears and/or deer on film and I send him a cheap video camera to get me the footage and we work together as a team to have fun!

RE: How much do you tip a guide?
 

Hi Guys:
This Kevin fella is way off base. If you act like that with a professional guide or outfitter with any scruples you will only make trouble for yourself. I feel like he is treating the guide/outfitter as a pimp not as a quality service provider. I am also offended that this guy has the low level of class as to suggest that others should act the way he does. I am an outfitter and a guide. There is NOT a lot of money in this for the outfitters with the right attitude. We provide a service that we believe we can do better than most folks and care deeply about pleasing our clients. If you have to offer a tip in advance to get a guide to work hard for you, then you are hunting with a guide/outfitter who is in need of a new career.
Sometimes folks can weasel their way into a position of apparent knowledge of things just by self proclaiming their expertise and giving themselves some sort of title that suggests they are someone folks should listen to.
As far as tipping guys, what I always say is if you can afford it and you feel the guide deserves it then tip as much as you feel comfortable with. Whoever your guide is wheater he is outfitter/guide or just guide, he/she is still the guide and if they earned one then give one you feel comfortable with. I have seen tips from a hug and a "sorry I can't afford a tip," to $15 and $500 to a brand new Jeep Grand Cherokee to guns to binoculars and knives. I can tell you from my side of this discussion, I appreciate every tip I get -- even if it's a hug and tears of happiness. If the guide earned a tip then give him/her what you feel comfortable giving. Even if it's $15 with a statement of wish it could be more but that's all you can afford.
Thanks for listening folks.

RE: How much do you tip a guide?
 

turkeyward,

I appreciate your comments on tipping and doing what you feel comfortable with. But tell me, what does the guide expect? I am sure every guide is a little different but there has to be a threshold you hear around camp away from clients. Do you ever hear anything like "I busted my butt and got him a big bull, packed it out and he gives me a sorry --%"??

I have always been curious as to what goes on behind the scene, what drives guides crazy about clients etc. I have never done a guided hunt, I have been lucky enough to be able to bust my own butt on DIY hunts and be successful. But, when I have just finished debonning an elk and am loaded to the gills I often think how nice a guided hunt would be.

Give us a little insiders look.

RE: How much do you tip a guide?
 

I've only been on two guided hunts, but from what I can tell from chatting with the guides (lots of time while elk hunting), the 2 things that drive a guide completely nuts:

1) The hunter who "knows" better than the guide and doesn't listen, which often causes a missed chance.

2) Miss-representing your abilities. where I've gone, and going again this fall, each hunter gets a questionaire to fill in, things from right/left handed (its an archery hunt), comfortable shooting distance, physical condition for hiking etc. Based on this you may get put in certain wallow setups/stands/blinds and may get assigned to certain guides (some guides LOVE hiking the steep stuff etc). By miss-representing things you setup a situation which will not go smoothly.

RE: How much do you tip a guide?
 

Hey Kevin . . . sounds like you "PLAN" all the fun out of it.

I am a guide. Have been (and a cook) in this part of the country for several years. Our outfitter talks to the clients. We don't see them 'till they get here and we get "assigned" to them. Clents are told that $100.00 tip is damn near expected. BUT! . . . You know deep inside you have to earn generosity, not expect it. If I'm guiding two hunters at once (very common for antelope especially), each hunter might go $50.00 each.
We as guides (concientious ones anyway) join in with the outfitter/landowner in the field for live scoutings and general checking out the area. A client can pay a lot for a guided hunt, and deserves to get his moneies worth. But they all have a different idea as to what that is. First thing we (I) do is find out about my client. What cal/bullet he's shooting, put a few through paper, what kind of hunting he does back home, what kind of "trophy" he's expecting, what kind of shape he's in, etc. All part of the hunt experience. You become an entertainer as well. We guarantee to put the client on a shooter, the rest is up to him. After the kill, we take care of everything. After the hunter harvests his animal, maybe we go fishing, bird hunting, a lot of guys from back east want a coyote.

IMO, percentages are for the waitress at the coffee shop, not the guide who just spent days huntingwith you in order to make your hunt experience memorable.

RE: How much do you tip a guide?
 

OK we've heard from a few guides/operators ...there are indeed some good people in the industry..I said some. but what about the caribou guide that flys into camp for the first time ever on the same flight you did...or the guide school 23 yr old whom drove the herd stock into camp 3 days before you arrived and has no knowledge of the area other than what the outfitter showed him on the topo map back at base...or the "guide whom drives an old stakew body 4x4 truck out to the bear bait dumps a 5 gallon bucket of table scraps onto the pile and sends you up a shaky treestand..then comes back 1 hr after dark stinking of diesel fuel from his regular job as a truck mechanic??????
Is there anyone whom believes these are not the industry standars and that good quality guides are no longer the norm? Rest assured when an outfitter finds a good guide he tries his best to hang onto them season after season but in lieu of a polished vet a trip to the local tap room is notunheard of looking for idled construction workers whom have some knowledge of hunting.
BTW I'vehunted with each of the examples I gave above over the years.

RE: How much do you tip a guide?
 

Thanks again for everyone's responses.

In talking with the Outfitter, the average tip is around $200

For those of you who are thinking of booking a guided hunt, do yourself a favor and check the Outfitter's references. I did and found out that some are really good while others are almost useless. You don't always get what you pay for.

I tip by the service given no matter what.

Good Hunting,
Bowflex

RE: How much do you tip a guide?
 

Like most of the posts said, tipping is a matter of what you think your guide deserves. I've been on several guided hunts, and with only one not so good, I gave my guide what I felt he deserved. Regardless of whether you get anything or not, its how hard did the guide work for you. Did he try to get you your game (which may have moved) or did he just sit in a pick-up all day and glass - pretending to be looking? If you aren't seeing game, did he talk to the outfitter and change stratagies? I've tipped from $100 up to $350 for services. I'm not rich by any sense of the imagination - at least not financially. It takes me a few years to save up for a hunt. I've been fortunate to hunt with some real down to earth outfitters. My last hunt for antelope and mulies was with an outfitter who I thing is first class and we hit it off right from the start. I'm going out with him for elk this year and I know I will have a blast. I'm not going to advertise here but if you send me a pm, I will tell you who it is.
In your case, it won't matter but if there is a group of you in a camp, I usually get the guys together the night before and ask them if they would like to pool all their tip money for the camp cook and put it in an enveloperather than each person tipping individually. Lets face it, some guys just don't have the money to tip as well as others. And this way, someone or all of you can take it to him/her with a smile and a thank you. Don't forget, this person was up at least an hour before you to make your breakfast, pack your lunch and probably went to bed after you when his chores were done. By the way, good luck on your hunt.

RE: How much do you tip a guide?
 

"The s.o.b. stiffed me!"
"The bastard can't hit anything!"
"Did you see that guy's wife? . . . I'd like to take her out and........"
Well . . . just some of the "behind the scenes" comments.
I just know this area for what is expected of the guide due to the type of hunting here. It's tough sometimes. And if you do your homework and research an outfitter, you should do pretty good.
Around here you might be hunting above 10,000 feet, t-shirts in the morning / and snow boots by nightfall. The drought can really screw things up. Up and down terrain to get to and out of that honey hole.
An outfitter/guide will earn his tip in this country. I see hunting shows where the outfitter drives up on an ATV, dumps some grain and molassis on the ground, and waits for the hunter to call him on the radio when he gets his bear. I'm thinking the best tip you could give him is, "NEVER PET A BURNING DOG!"

RE: How much do you tip a guide?
 

I have no problem tipping when sincere effort has been expended on my behalf.Twice in my life I have been on guided hunts,twice I have given tips.First guided hunt the outfitter was a thief who allowed all his guides to hunt at the same time the clients were hunting and then they attempted to conceal their kills from us suckers.Class act,I still tipped the cook it wasn't her fault he was a thief.
Second guided trip One on one with the outfitter,I knew the guy flat out lied to me when prior to booking with him when I had asked about Winter kill,he told me his area had not been effected.We saw a total of three deer in 6 days of walking and glassing,we were walking 10 plus miles per day.I still tipped him because he worked his butt off,he really tried to put me on game,he just couldn't find it and he knew why.Unfortunately some learning experiences are expensive and emotionally painful.An outfitter has to pay their bills whether there is winter kill or not,or whether a host of other things have happenned which can influence your hunt.I doubt I will ever use an outfitter again,my DIY hunts over the last 8 years have been a blast.If I do I will research the snot out of it.
I feel sorry for the smaller outfitters in a way because of the difficulty of finding good consistent help.Some outfitters are lucky to get two seasons out of a guide,how well can they know the country if that is the case?

RE: How much do you tip a guide?
 

tsoc in some state/areas/countries it is mandatory to hire a guide if you are a NR. I toolove my own DIY hunts and have taken 2 or 3 a year out of my home state many times over my hunting career.
Of late I've gotten into DG hunting in southern & eastern Africa. The option to tip is just that and option but you mustuse a PH whom is employed thru a safari company because of quota animals.
Like I've oftensaid I'm not after life long relationships with a guide, andbeing female I've endured more offers for tent partners and pats on my ass than I care to recall from guides whom expected a generous tip at trip's end...then I exercise my option and leave them "stiffed". EC