Not much to add here. Yes, I have paid for guided hunts and will do so again the following year. I really enjoy being able to hunt in others states / Canada and experience different hunts than I have at home especially for the potential of a large buck.
Like others have said - "paying" is a relative term. To some that means a price on the hoof hunt in Texas, to others it means joining a hunting lease, but it could also mean paying a WMA stamp or the permit to hunt National Forest as like others have said - there's nothing free.
I hunt public land sometimes, killed several bucks and a pile of doe off public land but I prefer hunting private land and pay to hunt a large lease yearly.
