Brian, I have guided lots of hunters, some very experienced, some almost their first time and I don't ever remember telling one what to shoot or when not to shoot. I have told a few to "shoot again" to keep a wounded animal from escaping or as insurance to keep US from getting killed. I also have suggested to hunters that a particular animal would be a good one to shoot at, since most of them just don't have enough experience to make that call. One of the hunting experiences I will never forget was Ryan Rothaar and his water buffalo, we made a nearly impossible stalk and when it looked like we might get a chance, I just told him, "you are experienced and know what to do, when I say get ready, take the shot anytime it feels right" and he did.
Everytime this topic comes up, it comes down to two sides, the ones who have never been on a real guided hunt and suggest that they just show up and a guide leads them over to an animal and says, "shoot that one" and then the hunter goes back to camp and breaks out the "good stuff", while the guide does the work. Well I am sure if you have enough money and I am NOT talking about the 5 or 6K hunts, you probably can find hunts like that, but I can tell you, some of the HARDEST physical hunts I have ever been on and the single hardest physically day of my LIFE were on guided hunts. I have nothing against anyone making their own choices on how they spend their money and I have never been on a guided elk hunt myself, I have been on several, diy and outfitted, but unguided hunts and I know what an unguided trad hunter, who has never hunted elk or in the mountains is up against. I know a group of guys, six or eight of them, from the midwest who went out to hunt elk every year for five or six years, these guys had killed 100reds of whitetails collectively and in all those years, they killed ONE elk, a spike bull and that was pure luck on a shot, that never should have been taken. After all that time they decided to go on a guided hunt and started to kill some elk, would they have done better to go on a guided hunt the first year, instead of going on the cheap and then doing it by themselves? I have no doubts. EVERYTIME I go on an elk hunt, by the last day of a one week hunt, I'm the only one still there, all those guys that were so fired up the day before the season are burned out and depressed after three or fours days of not seeing or getting close to elk, at least if they had a guide, ego alone would force them up the mountain another day or two.
Topic: Why not do it yourself (Read 918 times)
