Another debate thread
 

Since Quicksilver brought this up in the "Do you care what a buck scores?" thread.

QUicksilvers Quote: In a nutshell, I would be 10 times more proud of a six point taken on Pennsylvania state game lands than I would of a 180-class baited-in-with a foodplot Saskatchewan buck that is only available to those willing to fork out $3000 to go shoot one.

What do you guys think of guided hunts? Now NO I AM NOT talking about high fence hunts, please don't take this thread that direction!

But an honest to goodness fair chase guided hunt. Does that Trophy buck carry an asterick in your mind, because it was, for lack of a better term, easier. It required no scouting or real leg-work on your part. Just pay and go where they tell you.

Personally I have made 1 trip to Texas and it was great. Certainly a different style of hunting than in Ohio or PA. The memories are terrific and the stories from that trip are many. At that time it was the biggest Buck I had tagged, I have since tagged a bigger one in PA on State Game Lands! So there are opportunities everywhere.

I plan on going on a hunt next year..somewhere and the memories of that trip will (i imagine) be very special also.

I just wonder where the majority stands on these types of hunts. Obviously most of us watch them on TV.
Is this as simple as: Those that can afford to go are for it, and those that can't are against it? Hmmm not sure, let's hear it.

RE: Another debate thread
 

I have nothing against it, and I can't say that I wouldn't do it, but I would have a different "feeling" about the "trophy". To me, it's not "hunting" if you don't have to HUNT for the animal! You know, thinking about it, I don't know if I would hunt in that way, I would LOVE to go out there just to view the animals, but it seems to take the fun out of it all when you haven't done your own scouting and you haven't strategically placed your stands, ya know?

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Do it in a second! Would love it and cherish the experience. Nothing against it at all. If I had the time and extra few grand lying around I would be booking my hunt right now.

Does it have an astererisk? :eek:

I would say most definitley. If I took the exact same animal in my own area that I scouted and picked my stand location, everyone would know that it was ALL me :).

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IMO I wouldn't get any satisfaction out of a guided/gamefarm hunt. I enjoy the HUNT that we all enter the woods for every season. Having someone bait/find a deer for you is not hunting. Hunting is seeing that elusive buck/bull and coming close to bagging him but having to wait until tomorrow and hopefully you will find him again. I personally wouldn't pay to hunt I enjoy the hunt too much to pay and have it end in one day over a food plot that I have never seen before. It's not HUNTING.

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Well unless you hunt all by yourself all of the time, than you have been on a guided hunt of one kind or another. Anytime you ask a hunting partner about where they are, how to hunt it, or what do you think, It's like a guide.

I have a friend Lives out of state, every year I go hunt with him over thanksgiving. When we hunt on his farm from time to time, he tells me where to go, when to go there, and what I can expect when I get there. He is a good friend and a good guide. So I like guided hunts, especially when they are free.

RE: Another debate thread
 

I guess I got on a bit of a rant there.

If I was to say that a trophy buck that I paid to shoot wouldn't carry an asterisk in my mind, I'd be lying. Don't get me wrong, I'd go on a guided, pay-hunt, and I'd get a deer and be proud of it. I just think it strikes a nerve, in essence, you're getting the glory for somebody else's legwork.

I equate it to hunting livestock. On a pay-to-hunt ranch, wild game is de-facto livestock, bred to be big, protected from outside hunting pressure, nutritionally sound, etc. I just think that such animals, in my eyes, lend themselves more toward the majesty and growth potential of the animal and less as a testimony to the hunter's skill and cunning.

I won't be going on any pay-hunts anytime soon.

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The way I see it, a guided hunt trip is about the experience of the situation. In my life I would like to go on hunts for elk, pronghorn, and hogs, as I do not have the ability to hunt them in PA. I really doubt I'd go on a whitetail hunt. I can hunt them here. Shooting a big buck on a guided hunt would be cool and all, but unless there were some other circumstances besides just being dropped off and shooting what comes by, I'd have to say it wouldn't feel as sweet. If I was on a spot and stalk, or rattling them in off the ground, or even if i was presented several stands and I picked which one based on terrain, trails etc, then I would be proud and leave the asterisk out:D

RE: Another debate thread
 

For me hunting is a total experience, Not just a kill. With that said I enjoy every moment from the day this season ends. From late season scouting to shed hunting through the end of winter, to planting plots and scouting in the spring and spotting through out the summer, I love it all and it's a passion of mine.

Having someone say climb that tree and shoot a deer may me exciting when the moment of truth arrives or when a half a dozen 130"+ deer cruise by it would most definately in my mind carry an * next to it. I'm sure it would be a great experience and I won't knock those who hunt with guides but it's not my style.

If I had 1500$-3000$ to spend on a guided hunt I'd rather spend it on a lease in Big Buck country(If I could get a lease for that) in a place like Pike Co or the like.

RE: Another debate thread
 

I would if I had the money.

RE: Another debate thread
 

buck huntin girl, this isn't so much a contradiction to what you said but a qualifyer. I had a friend this year who shotgun hunts in Illinois. He did what he does every year, which is to go out and sit on the ground on his property and wait to see a deer. No prep, no scouting, no nothing. a few hours into the hunt the larget 12 point he's ever taken chases a doe right in front of him. He had the "no work" hunt that you describe for the guided hunts...

Personaly, I'd love the experience. I think I'd always know that I shot the deer for money and all that. But nobody I see on camera ever seems to be unhappy about what they shot. What I'm not sure about is if I'd pay that much money for the experience...

RE: Another debate thread
 

I go on atleast one guided deer hunt each year. Even though I live in this area, own a ranch, and get to hunt thousands of acres for free, I still book a hunt in this area each year. I dont care if I'm not the one who set up the deer stand or the fact that I didnt "scout" the buck. Getting the chance to step foot on some of these ranches, sitting around a campfire with 12 other guys that you've never meet before talking about hunting, being able to stay in a awesome lodge/ranch house, and getting to see deer that you've never seen before, this is worth the price of admission for me, getting a buck is just extra.

Personally I would never hunt public land for whitetails. For elk and maybe even muledeer I would, but not whitetails.

RE: Another debate thread
 

I have a question for all of you.

Why do people have such a problem with guys paying to hunt whitetails? I pay anywhere from $3,000-$6,000 a year on a whitetail hunt. Some of you guys probably think that I'm not a "Real Hunter" and/or that I paid to kill "livestock" etc. But if I said I paid $3,000-$6,000 each year on an elk hunt or a mountain goat hunt, you guys wouldnt have a problem with that?

It seems like there is a double standard when it comes to paid hunts. Its alright to hire an elk guide, and its alright to pay $15,000 for a dahl sheep hunt. But if you pay a couple thousand to hunt whitetails or if you hire a guide, then you did something wrong and your not a "true hunter". Why is this?

Personally I dont care if somebody pays $50,000 to kill a whitetail buck, it dosent bother me at all. Just like I dont care if somebody pays $150,000 to kill a bighorn sheep. Somebody wants to hunt on public land and is happy to see a spike then more power to them, but if I or somebody else wants to spend our money to hunt whitetails then that is our bussiness and we shouldnt have to defend our decision.

RE: Another debate thread
 

There are different stages throughout our lives that control how much time we can put into hunting. With family, children, money, and work issues there is little time for scouting and actually hunting. A guided hunt may be the best choice depending on our circumstances individually.
In my case all hunts are good- but when I do everything myself it is the most rewarding which makes a great memorable hunt. * I am lucky to have lots of time off.

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There must be a million different types of hunts, all ranging from very easy to very difficult. The fact that there's a guide doesn't automatically make it easy.

They all have their good points and their bad points. I say hunt the way you like and try not to knock the way others hunt. There's plenty of anti's out there working hard at that.

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I guess I am poor by some hunters standards. I cant afford a lease, guided hunts, four wheelers, and 5th wheels to stay in at camp.
I cherish every minute I get to spend outdoors. When I get a good buck it makes it all the sweeter knowing I put in the legwork. If someone wants to pay someone to do everypart of the hunt but taking the animal, it is their perogative. I dont choose to hunt that way. I also dont pay much heed to the record books(P&Y and B&C). Chuck Adams has taken many record book animals with a guide, that does not make him a great hunter in my book.
My greatest joy is being able to pass on the knoledge I have learned over the years hunting to my children.

RE: Another debate thread
 

bsscofield... some people get lucky I guess while others put a TON of work into every year's deer season, all year long.

I think it is more rewarding I guess to know that you did your legwork and know that it paid off... But of course that's just my honest opinion and I can't say that if I was GIVEN (not have to pay) the opportunity I wouldn't take it, I just wouldn't pay the money out for a hunt like that, although I wouldn't mind accompanying someone who DID as I said earlier just to get a look at the game out there, ya know?

RE: Another debate thread
 

I have absolutely no problems with anyone spending money on Whitetail hunts. But if I had $3-6,000 for a hunt it would be on a Canada Moose hunt. I love to hunt Whitetail deer but I can't see me spending a bunch of cash when I have Pope & Young's in my back yard. I realize I am lucky and a lot of hunters don't have the land or the finances to hunt trophy deer. This is just me talking. To each there own!!

RE: Another debate thread
 

I would like to go on a guided hunt at least once, Just to get a chance at seeing some monsters, I cant seem to find any around here, people on public lands shoot whatever they see with no care about the herd or quality of deer in the areas. Its too bad though because as many people that are out there hunting public lands they sure could make a difference in the herds around here. I think the experience would be awesome.

RE: Another debate thread
 

If the guide takes you out and puts you in a certain treestand then it is "shooting" and not "hunting". Like others said, the most enjoyment comes when you immerse yourself in the entire hunting experience, and not just shooting an animal. My uncle has been doing a rifle hunt in Alberta for the last few years and he has taken a few nice bucks. But when he described it to me I couldn't help but smirk. Not only do the guides put them in a certain stand but they are not even allowed to get down after they have shot a deer! They have to wait until the alotted time for the guide to come back and pick them up! I don't know how that would be considered enjoyable.

To each his own, but its not for me.

RE: Another debate thread
 

Bare in mind, most guided hunts are 3-5 days. A person does not have to give up hunting his current area and methods. He/she can still pursue the local deer population. Going on a guided hunt is just another opportnity to see some different land and different critters. Perhaps you can tag an animal that is of a different quality than what you see in your area. Certainly the opportunity to see as many as 10 quality bucks per session, on stand, is unique, at least for me.
Like I said, I had a blast, 4 of us went down to Texas, so it was like a mini- extension of our PA Deer Camp. This was a break from the usual solitude of my Archery season.
Actually where we went it was a 4 day hunt. The first 2 days we spent in a remote lodge. The "Guide" took us there the night we arrived, told us where the stands were and we all picked a stand, sight unseen. He told us how to get to the one we picked and that was the extent of the guiding. He went back to the main lodge -some 40 miles away- and we were on our own. He left us 2 trucks.
I was the only one to score from the remote lodge as we were somewhat picky. However the evening when I took Dad to the stand I got my deer from was priceless. I sat with him, we had bucks everywhere and trying to decide which if any to take was awesome. We decided to pass on all of them that evening and he eventually scored on a nice buck from the main lodge.
As a bonus, I got to hog hunt, which i've never done, and while I didn't score I did get to see some.
One of the most interersting things was when the Main man asked me to get some Turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. He gave me a left handed (I'm right handed) old remington 1100 and 1 yes 1 shotgun shell and told me to get 4 young hens. Believe me or not. I did get 3 young hens with 1 shot. There were hundreds and hundreds of Turkey that converged on the area once daylight hit. In fact Johnny Houston did a show from that very ground-blind, but he didn't shoot the turkey he just jumped out and scared them all.

It was different expirience and well worth the money and I didn't have to give up my normal hunting at home or at camp.