Guided hunt cost

[bswear]

I received a catalog from Cabelas for guided hunts.  Am I really poor or what?  It seems to take at least $4000 to hunt elk.  anyone else feel my pain or do I need a new job?  Maybe I am not as serious as I should be, but with 3 daughters I don,t seem to have that kind of extra anymore!

[Izzy]

Cabelas hunts are expensive. But they are not the only outfitter and certainly not the best. Hunts are expensive these day but if you shop around or research DIY youll find bargains.

[LV2HUNT]

You may not want to look at the Sheep hunting pages      (LOL). Guides are nice but DIY still works just fine.

[David Yukon]

Up here full on hunt, run at about $10,000.... Crazy? Yep!!

[Whip]

Options are all over the board when it comes to guided hunts, and like Izzy says, Cabelas trend toward the higher end.  Meals, lodging options, guide experience, private versus public land, trophy quality, etc, etc, etc all factor in.
Like most things in life, you tend to end up getting what you pay for, although I think you would probably get more without Cabelas as your middle man.  
With good planning and research DIY elk is also very possible.

[Mike Vines]

In my opinion, a DIY hunt is worth every penny.  Success hinges on how hard you are willing to work, not how hard someone else is willing to work for you.

[Bjorn]

It depends on a lot of factors, age, who you might hunt with,  tags, what organization you pick etc.
Personally, if I were to hunt sheep I wouldn't dream of tackling that without a guide; if nothing else he could pack me out!  

[Bowwild]

I feel your pain, and have for most of my life!  I chose (with no regrets) a career that would put expensive things out of my reach, but I loved my "job".  Now I can scrape together enough to do some of the bucket list hunts not sure the body can afford it?

There are lots of moose hunts from Alberta east that can be done for less than $6,000.  I might also add that 3-4 DIY elk hunts on a $1,000-1,500 budget might not be as productive at putting an animal in your bow range than one guided hunt.

[Archie]

I mentioned the bush-pilot-fly-in costs of an otherwise DIY hunt to my wife, and she just about hung up on me.  She reminded me that we've never even been able to spend that much on a family vacation.

We are not a two-income family, and with a couple of young children... let's just say that I try to get as much as I can out of reading about your guys's hunts here on TradGang... because I know most are out of the question for me.

No real regrets, though; my family is #1 for me.  Bowhunting is just something I do when I can.

[rraming]

yep - expensive is correct

[McDave]

It's also important to understand your own personality. Would you really enjoy a guided hunt, or would the fact that you paid that much money and had an audience, so to speak, just put you under so much pressure that you wouldn't really have that good of a time.

I'm not saying that either a guided hunt or a DIY hunt is better than the other. Just that it's good to understand your own reactions to things. I remember I once played golf at Pebble Beach with a caddy. Beautiful day, beautiful course, but I felt under so much pressure to perform that I think the only one who enjoyed himself was the caddy.

[meleagris1]

I've done a number of solo DIY hunts for elk, and been fortunate enough to arrow 2 bulls in my last three trips, both bulls were 290-300", one in CO and one in ID.  On a solo hunt, if I kill an elk, total cost usually runs around $2500-3000, and $1500-2000 if I don't kill.  If you hunt with buddies of course you can cut that cost down a little.  $4,000 is on the lower end IMO for a guided elk hunt.

[JohnV]

$4000 is not expensive for a guided elk hunt that includes meals/lodging. That is a very modest price. For starters you are probably hunting private land where you will have far less competition from other hunters. There are a lot of costs associated with outfitted hunts and a typical outfitter has a very limited time window to sell hunts and recoup his costs and make a profit as well. There are very few cheap hunts these days and as someone else mentioned...you tend to get what you pay for.

[Ibow]

Originally posted by McDave:
It's also important to understand your own personality. Would you really enjoy a guided hunt, or would the fact that you paid that much money and had an audience, so to speak, just put you under so much pressure that you wouldn't really have that good of a time.  

There's definitely something to be said for that. My trip to Alberta this past spring was almost like that. After waiting years and years to go on a bear hunt like that, by the time the trip happened, I was feeling the pressure. The bear of my dreams was almost a foregone conclusion and at one point I almost told my outfitter to stop sending me the trail cam picts.    :p
On the other hand, if it was something I could afford to do every year, I would. It was the funnest hunt I've ever been on. I'm old enough to know better but if there's one thing I could have changed about the whole anticipation period, it would have been to put MUCH less pressure on myself and just enjoy the whole experience of bear hunting in Alberta.

[Ibow]

I might add that for bear outfitters in particular, when you look at the equipment and time involved for a guy who does it right for his clients, for the guy who charges $3-4000 for a hunt that's pretty much all inclusive, I really don't know how they make a lot of money on that, especially in places like MB, SK or AB. These guys have to just plain enjoy the hunt as much as their clients do.

[Rick Richard]

I know it hurts but the reality is they are not going to get cheaper.  The bottom line is you either bite the bullet and do it or dont and live with the regrets in your old age.

[killinstuff]

Like Ibow said (second post). You know what the guided hunt costs you but you don't know what it costs the guide.  All the ones I know have a real job in the off season so they can feed their family. And few ever get to hunt anymore cause they are guiding during hunting season.  They do it cause they love it, not the money.

[bswear]

I agree they are not getting rich and they need to charge what they charge.  Its just hard to know it isn't very likely to be something I can do soon.  Maybe this site could be a good place for some guys to team up for DIY.  DIY is OK with me but scouting for elk from OH is not going to happen so it really becomes a blind hunt.

[Ibow]

DIY is nice but some states and many provinces require the use of a guide depending upon the species.
 
Hunts are expensive but so are the costs involved in providing a client with a quality experience.
 
Not at all saying the Cabela's stuff mentioned above might not be a a little "pricey" but in bear & moose hunting in Ontario, Manitoba and Alberta, I look at what's involved if you've got a decent outfitter and there's no doubt it's expensive for the outfitter to.
 
Haven't had much experience in hunting any other animals so really can't comment on anything other than moose or bear.

[KSdan]

Based on the original post:  I grew up hunting, I have pics of five generations now, raised 5 kids, a grandpa now. Most who know me would think of me as serious. . .  

But I too have other priorities in my life, as well as ordained limits. I have MANY friends who can afford it. At the same time, I see guys who sacrifice the wrong things for it.  

Learning to be content and thankful is a great gift. There are MANY things your daughters will remember as you fill their souls. . .  AND it will probably NOT be the elk you got!  

A good DIY public whitetail doe with a garage sale bow is a HIGH END trophy for many.  Nothing wrong with that!  

Dan in KS