Playing Dirty Pool???

[String Cutter]

If a man hires a guide to take him hunting... Lets say for elk in Co on Public Land??? And the customer uses a GPS to mark all the honey holes the guide is taking him to so he doesn't have to use the guide next year.. IS THIS PLAYIN DIRTY POOL????
I mean the guide has spent all this time and effort to locate good hunting spots. Is the customer taking food out of the guides mouth for next year???
Is this a commonly done thing???

[Blackhawk]

Yes, dirty pool it is.  

I know a couple guys here who hired a guide for waterfowl hunting.  After he took them on public land for some great hunting, they just marked the location and now go on their own, bragging to all their buddies about the "stupid" guide.

[pronghorn23]

I don't think its fair to do that.

I know fishing charter captains commonly guard their spots for reefs and such and would very much frown upon someone bringing a GPS and marking them only to return with their own boat next time.

Funny how all these new technologies have all these drawbacks or things never thought of before.

[Lefty]

Doesn't really matter if it is common or not.  I personally would feel it is wrong.  It would be like you buddy taking you fishing to a good spot and then ever weekend he wants to fish it, you are already there.  
  Learning technique from someone you hire is one thing, but moving in just to squeeze them out of there fee, in my opinion is not right, public land or not.  Just because it is legal doesn't make it morally right.

[BowHuntingFool]

Dirty pool it is!

[BWD]

I believe the guide should get his fee in advance, and the first time the client pulled out his GPS to mark a location, he should have to use it to find his way back home. As far as the pool goes, he might win the first game; but, he would surely get a loose rack the second time around. The same goes for fishing holes.

[freeman]

If someone paid me to show them how to hunt, I wouldn't be too dissapointed to see them out there doing it on their own the next year.  But then again, I don't make my money charging people to hunt.

[Mechslasher]

took a "good friend" of mine to one of my duck hunting honey holes one time.  the next year i went out to set my decoys and he, and his father-in-law, had already set out a spread and looked at me like i was trespassing on them.  i learned that lesson very well.  i never show a hunting spot unless i wouldn't mind that person hunting it without me, because chances are they will.

down south here, public land is public land.  if i were the guide, i wouldn't take local clients.

[zwickeyman]

You got it Mechslasher. I have taken too many yahoos to my good spots, don't  take any one to a sweet spot unless you don't care if it doesn't stay sweet.

[zwickeyman]

And by the way, I think someone who would GPS a guides honey holes is a chicken S@#t

[String Cutter]

I feel the same way Z-Man... Never even occured to me to do it??? But I was talking to a co-worker (nonhunter) About wanting to go elk hunting but not really being able to afford a guide... He said to just use the best guide you could afford then use a GPS every year after... Sounded like a good idea for about a 1/10th of a second...til I started thinking NO!! Now that would be a really F@#ked up thing to do to another person... I could see if maybe after the hunt pulling out the map and asking for the guides help for places to hunt next year. But to hunt right where you paid him would be really missed up. But I bet ya there are guys that do it...

[tradfergie]

No way, most of us hunt trad, because we don't like to take the easy way out.  We put our time talent and love it to doing it this way. I truely belive that you will not find someone on this sight who feels it is okay.  We do this for the enjoyment of the hunt and not the kill.  The kill adds to the whole experience but not the sole reason.  For that reason and that reason alone I believe most of us on here would not.  Why take the time to make your own equipment.  Pratice for hours to get that personal relationship with your hunting equipment, then to steal the information that someone else put their love and passion into

[HATCHCHASER]

Dirty pool yes.  But asking for advice on where else to go is ok.  I usually take a few float trips when I go out west fishing and ask the guides for advice on other places to go.  They are not giving up their honey holes, but usually direct you to some purty good spots.

[Izzy]

DIRRRRRRRTY for sure.

[vermonster13]

Originally posted by tradfergie:
No way, most of us hunt trad, because we don't like to take the easy way out.  We put our time talent and love it to doing it this way. I truely belive that you will not find someone on this sight who feels it is okay.  We do this for the enjoyment of the hunt and not the kill.  The kill adds to the whole experience but not the sole reason.  For that reason and that reason alone I believe most of us on here would not.  Why take the time to make your own equipment.  Pratice for hours to get that personal relationship with your hunting equipment, then to steal the information that someone else put their love and passion into

If you're hiring a guide aren't you taking a short cut anyways?

Counter point. Is it ok for someone to earn a living on public land guiding? How should the locals feel about someone bringing folks from outside into their hunting grounds for cash? How about when the larger guide services lease up all the land in an area that folks used to hunt for the asking in the past? If you didn't use a GPS just memory and a map would that make it ok?

(Playing Devil's advocate here)

[tim roberts]

Dirty pool yes!
Though another suggestion is, for very little money, you can call Game Management Agenicies, and ask questions, you can buy topo maps, I prefer the real paper ones opposed to ones on the computers, as you can sit down and study the whole map.  Buy a few books and study about the animals you want to hunt.
There are lots of ways that are inexpensive to do a hunt in another state.

[Horner]

Mmmmmmmmmm good point!!!! VERMONSTER13

[HATCHCHASER]

Yes, good point indeed David.

[wingnut]

Out west most of the land is public and most of the guided hunts are on public land.  They usually get there hunters back away from most access with horse however.

One way to cut costs is too go on "drop camp" hunt and have the outfitter put you on a spot but not pay for a guide.

Or you can DIY pretty easy in many west states if you do your homework.

I also think it is really low to go on a hunt to get GPS readings so you can steal the area from a guide.

Mike

[Shifting Shadow]

Perhaps the guide should say 'no gps devices allowed on this hunt' before the hunt is booked. Then if one is discovered the guide could refuse service next time.

Something that happened to me - I told a bowhunting "friend" about my honey hole. Now every year he and his son rifle hunt there.