gratuity
#1
Typical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Wichita Kansas USA
Posts: 699

i have heard all kinds of numbers on what to tip the guide and or cook. i would like to hear it rehassed one more time. is the 10% a base line to include all people helping with your hunt? with the price of hunts it could get awfully pricie just in tip money and i wanted to see what everyone else's thoughts were on this.
#2

depends on length of hunt too if you ask me. $100 for the cook, horse wrangler, etc... sounds about right to me for a week/6day hunt.
a $400 tip to your guide for a $4,000 elk hunt sounds like quite a good tip if you ask me, not to mention if the elk hunt cost you $6-9k, that would be $600-900 tip to your guide.
If your guide was good, did a good job I would tip accordingly, even if not animal was killed, although missing a trophy is just as good as killing a trophy in my book, you got your chance and you blew it, can't blame the guide for that one. But if your guide was a yahoo and you never even saw an elk or heard one in 10 days, I doubt I would be tipping anywhere close to 10%.
a $400 tip to your guide for a $4,000 elk hunt sounds like quite a good tip if you ask me, not to mention if the elk hunt cost you $6-9k, that would be $600-900 tip to your guide.
If your guide was good, did a good job I would tip accordingly, even if not animal was killed, although missing a trophy is just as good as killing a trophy in my book, you got your chance and you blew it, can't blame the guide for that one. But if your guide was a yahoo and you never even saw an elk or heard one in 10 days, I doubt I would be tipping anywhere close to 10%.
#4

10% on a high-end trip, 15-20% on a cheaper trip, I usually tip the owner a little less if he is doing the actual guiding, and usully nothing on a trespass hunt. Most guides are not getting rich and rely on tips. If the experience overall was just bad and the guide was lazy/had a poor attitude/was drunk, then stiffing him is in order.
#6
Fork Horn
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Grangeville Idaho
Posts: 138

Tip as much as you can realistically, everyone is different. One thing to avoid is giving knifes, etc. for tips. Guides have plenty of that kind of thing. Money is what's gonna put food on their table.
#8
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Allegan, MI
Posts: 8,019

the blur stated: "Guides, only on a harvested animal."
If a person does their best to get you on game, regardless of whether game is taken or not, then out of courtesy a tip should be given. Unless you go on a high fence, canned "guaranteed" shoot, I hope you are not going on the hunt just to kill! If you go in a restaurant and have fantastic service from your waiter or waitress, are you going to stiff them if the meal is lousy? No, you should go see the manager so the cook can be talked to!
If a person does their best to get you on game, regardless of whether game is taken or not, then out of courtesy a tip should be given. Unless you go on a high fence, canned "guaranteed" shoot, I hope you are not going on the hunt just to kill! If you go in a restaurant and have fantastic service from your waiter or waitress, are you going to stiff them if the meal is lousy? No, you should go see the manager so the cook can be talked to!