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I am going on a semi-guided muzzle loader hunt for Whitetails in Iowa this December. I would like some direction on how much to tip guides on this type of hunt. 5 days with 3 meals a day provided. Thanks in advance for any help.

Ron

Tips....there is a giant thread on AR on tips

Personally I tip but the notion of paying a gratuity/bonus for doing your job goes against the grain and has gotten out of control....

The last time I used a guide he refused anything extra. I won't even offer next time.

Did you harvest anything?

Just tip him what you are comfortable with, some of these guys will tell you leave him your truck keys and a handful of cnotes if the alarm clock went off on time and the bologna sandwiches were damp with cooler water.

Or just a Kimber Montana if the hunt really sucked!

You and your guide will both know how much work he has done, and is willing to do to make your hunt one to remember.

Be fair and honest with yourself and enjoy the hunt.

http://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/1411043/m/5061045791/p/1

Click on this link.... it is a lot of info on tips

For an Elk guide, there is a recommendation that you tip around 10%. We use a different method when using a guide through an outfitter. We pay $4,200 to the outfitter for a five day, all meals, horses and guide. Two hunters with one guide. If we do not harvest an Elk and the guide has done a good job, we tip $300. If we harvest a single Elk we tip $400 and if the guide puts us on both a cow and bull, we tip $500. The outfitter has told us that her guides love that method and actually draw straws to see who gets to guide our group. Most of our friends that use guides tell me that they also tip in 10% range using the outfitter cost as a base. Also, we tip the packer if they clean and pack in the kill. We typically give $100 for each elk brought in. We also tip the cook around $50 a week.

Remember, guides usually do not get paid very much and rely on tips.

Hope this helps.

Tipping depends on success, attitude of guide and your conscience.

I was on a moose hunt in Newfoundland a few years back. It was the trip of a lifetime and I had a guide that did a great job and put me on the biggest bull of the four that week took.

In the end, I gave him a $400 tip and new DMT knife sharpener. I also tipped his wife-who was the cook. They were beside themselves with gratitude.

They needed that money a lot worse than I did and that was part of my decision to give generously.

interested to see where this thread goes.

so far it looks like 10%, $300-500 total for North America and that will make people ecstatic which means the two replies so far are probably higher than average for North America

Africa it seems as though there is a list of: PH gets XX amount, tracker gets an amount, laundry, cook, skinner, then maybe a few more random people and depending upon which scenario you read that can add up quite a bit

I have yet to go on a guided hunt but tipping 200-500 depending upon the organization, animal, ect... doesn't sound bad. Some of the African tips are a bit off putting to myself.

I think for a semi-guided I would probably be looking to tip the cook & whomever helps me drag the deer out since I'm guessing most of the guide's job will be to say "here is where you are sitting, we will be back for you at a certain time, if you shoot just wait for us to come get you" so not nearly the guiding of 1 on 1 where one will be more mobile and more reliant upon their guide

I'd add to this, "how hard the guide worked to get you your animal." If the guide worked his butt off but you didn't connect, it could be that it wasn't the guide's fault. Especially on mountain hunts where some hunters can't get around so well.

People who are paying for fully-guided trips in NA should factor in 10% as part of the cost, and if you can't afford the extra 10% (kind of hard to make that argument), don't go on the trip. On many trips 10% is a lot more than $300-400. Guides don't make much and they depend on tips.

Of course, after you've factored in the 10% the guide still has to earn it but most do or they don't last long.

My 2014 African hunt cost just over 10k for the hunt, lodging, meals, PH, tracker, field prep and all of the transportation from the airport, during the hunt and back to the airport.

I tipped my PH and my host family 10% combined with the PH getting most of it.

I did not give the outfitter any gratuity.

Africa is far more expensive than most tend to know....and as soon as you land in Johannesburg the hands are extended as Americans are known globally as tippers and givers of $$$....be careful

After airfare, gun licence, animal permits, hunt package, trophy fees, tips then exporting your crates home a 10k trip turns into 20k

Couldn't agree more smokepole.

Thanks for all of the responses. So far, it's looking like 10% is the going rate.

Ron

I hate even responding to these threads because I do guide for a living and a lot of times people dismiss my opinions because of it. Well, it's worth what you paid for it which is nothing so hear goes...

When I was younger I genuinely appreciated the tips because I wasn't making much doing it and it costs a lot of money on proper equipment, vehicle maintenance etc. As I've gotten older and become more financially stable it isn't as big of a deal financially but it is appreciated when offered.

On my NM hunts where I am the guy putting the hunts together and running the hunts I do not expect a tip. Again, it's appreciated when offered but I respectfully decline them and simply ask that they take care of the cook or any other guide that may have assisted in any way. I have always felt that most outfitters do not expect it and would rather have the guides and cooks taken care of. Good help is hard to find and that mentality is crucial to keep those guys happy. I have guys I hunt with quite a bit and they know that the camaraderie and genuine friendship is more than enough and at the end of the day that is worth so much more to me than a few hundred dollars.

10% is fairly standard as to what most clients do. So do more, some do less and some don't offer or feel it's necessary. From a tactical standpoint if you have ambitions to come back I would do 10% or a touch more and ask for the most experienced guide. That's what I have done on the guided hog and oryx hunt I went on. If I go back I know they'll have the best guys wanting to hunt with me

Again, it's different for every hunter, outfitter and guide but I would guess that 50% of the guys I hunt with are truly my friends and trying to tip me would just be awkward but I've been doing it a long time and I am fortunate to be able to pick and choose who I hunt with

If you're going someplace new and don't know the operation I would set aside 10% and let the chips fall where they may and see how it goes

Sorry but the old "if you can't afford the extra 10% don't go" is phugging bull chit..

Some.....most people have to save for years or even pull bank loans to hunt far off places

The 10% mark is become the standard?

Nuts IMO when factoring in all aspects

By all accounts there are many people in your everyday life that "we" need to be giving the 10% gratuity too....

Lots of low wage people in our lives that work hard for us....think?

No it's not. Unless you're a phugging piker unwilling to pay the guy who makes your success possible.

As I said, the guide has to earn it.

You want to talk about the cost of a trip to Africa, an AK sheep hunt will run you more.

The point being, if you can afford a trip like that, you can afford a good tip for a guide who earns it.

The 10% mark is the standard people typically use. No different that the 15% gratuity in a restaurant and just like tipping a waiter some people do it and some people don't. If you look at the hours put into a hunt, from leaving before daylight and arriving back to camp after dark it's not a lot per hour of effort.

Another thing I hear is "I tip less if I kill on the first day" and that argument is ridiculous IMO. If a guy has scouted his tail off and put in the effort before the hunt started then why ding him. The result is what you desired when you booked the hunt

If you're taking a loan you should wait a few years longer and save but I'm not a financial advisor so take it for what it's worth.

If you don't want to tip a guy for the effort they put in to what you're describing as a potential "once in a lifetime hunt" then don't do it. There's no law that says you have to do it or have to offer

We used to guide, hunts generally cost about 2500 bucks about 15 years ago.

If I got 100 from someone thats all I wanted at all, it was a nice thing, an extra 100 in the billfold, but you've paid for the hunt already, I'm being paid and if I'm not paid enough thats my issue and one reason I quit.

I HATE the idea of tipping actually... salary should be built in IMHO.

Of course I'm the type that would give you as much as I had effort wise regardless.... I"m either all in or all out.

I did receive a rifle once as a tip, that was about the biggest tip I ever got. The guy was a millionaire and I'd have just as soon had a 100 bill instead... but I still have it somewhere in a safe.

Where did you guide and what kind of hunt?

The outfitters and restaurant owners got it figured out don't they?

Hire a staff that the client does or doesn't pay for....and leaves it on the clients conscience.

One day Walmart might expect the customer to tip the cashier....to cover the salary shortfall

I have been on 4 guided hunts and used the 10% "rule" but my PH wouldn't accept it as instructed by him I spread the 10% around

By all means...spend your money any way you wish....bank loan....pocket money or savings