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Big Deal Hunt: Cost of an outfitter can be well worth it
By Tim Renken Of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
05/04/2002
The first thing most people want to know about a Western big-game hunt is the cost.
We found one-week hunts that cost from less than $2,000 to more than $4,500 and some up to $6,000. Our outfitter, Spotted Bear Ranch, of Kalispell, Mont., charges $3,600 per hunter. That doesn't include an elk/deer license, which is costing us $1,100 apiece.
For $4,700, then, here's what our outfitter provides and why we think we need these services.
A Midwesterner who wants to hunt elk in Montana or anywhere needs, first of all, a place to hunt. We could have found a place without an outfitter. Montana, as well as the other Western states and provinces with elk, have millions of acres of public land, and their game departments have programs for connecting landowners and hunters. But these programs serve mostly residents. Outsiders like us couldn't hope to land in a good spot.
Our outfitter has for us a prime hunting area deep in the wilderness where there is very little hunting pressure and, presumably, many elk. Only in a wilderness can a person hunt with a rifle during the rut.
Our outfitter is also providing:
The guaranteed elk/deer license, which cost us $1,100. This is a premium price. If we hadn't paid it, we would have had to enter a drawing and likely wouldn't have gotten a permit for this year. Nonresident licenses in Montana for people who go through a draw cost $638 for a combo, $588 for elk only and $338 for deer only.
Pack stock to get us and our gear, plus food, tents, trophy, meat, etc., in to and out of the wilderness where, by law, all travel must be by foot or horseback.
A cook/camp aid. If we or our guide had to do these things we'd have a lot less time to hunt and have fun. We're not going there to cook and wash dishes.
A hunting guide, one for us two hunters. We could have hired a guide for each of us, but that's more costly. Also, we want to hunt together. Presumably, we could have foregone the services of a guide, but neither of us knows anything about elk hunting. And we'd probably get lost.
We could have saved a lot of money by hiring an outfitter that didn't provide as much service. We could have saved money by hunting in areas more accessible than the Bob Marshall Wilderness.
We could have hired people to do any of the many services, including people to pack out of the woods any game we shoot. But that gets complicated and we might not have saved any money.
Our outfitter's handling of any game bagged is an important item in wilderness hunting. After field dressing, skinning and quartering, an elk carcass still weighs between 300 and 450 pounds. A fair set of antlers alone weighs 30-35 pounds.
The meat must be handled properly and transported quickly to the locker in town when daytime temperatures in late September can be as high as 70 degrees and as low as 20 or even lower at high altitudes.
Next: Checking in with someone who has been there.
By Tim Renken Of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
05/04/2002
The first thing most people want to know about a Western big-game hunt is the cost.
We found one-week hunts that cost from less than $2,000 to more than $4,500 and some up to $6,000. Our outfitter, Spotted Bear Ranch, of Kalispell, Mont., charges $3,600 per hunter. That doesn't include an elk/deer license, which is costing us $1,100 apiece.
For $4,700, then, here's what our outfitter provides and why we think we need these services.
A Midwesterner who wants to hunt elk in Montana or anywhere needs, first of all, a place to hunt. We could have found a place without an outfitter. Montana, as well as the other Western states and provinces with elk, have millions of acres of public land, and their game departments have programs for connecting landowners and hunters. But these programs serve mostly residents. Outsiders like us couldn't hope to land in a good spot.
Our outfitter has for us a prime hunting area deep in the wilderness where there is very little hunting pressure and, presumably, many elk. Only in a wilderness can a person hunt with a rifle during the rut.
Our outfitter is also providing:
The guaranteed elk/deer license, which cost us $1,100. This is a premium price. If we hadn't paid it, we would have had to enter a drawing and likely wouldn't have gotten a permit for this year. Nonresident licenses in Montana for people who go through a draw cost $638 for a combo, $588 for elk only and $338 for deer only.
Pack stock to get us and our gear, plus food, tents, trophy, meat, etc., in to and out of the wilderness where, by law, all travel must be by foot or horseback.
A cook/camp aid. If we or our guide had to do these things we'd have a lot less time to hunt and have fun. We're not going there to cook and wash dishes.
A hunting guide, one for us two hunters. We could have hired a guide for each of us, but that's more costly. Also, we want to hunt together. Presumably, we could have foregone the services of a guide, but neither of us knows anything about elk hunting. And we'd probably get lost.
We could have saved a lot of money by hiring an outfitter that didn't provide as much service. We could have saved money by hunting in areas more accessible than the Bob Marshall Wilderness.
We could have hired people to do any of the many services, including people to pack out of the woods any game we shoot. But that gets complicated and we might not have saved any money.
Our outfitter's handling of any game bagged is an important item in wilderness hunting. After field dressing, skinning and quartering, an elk carcass still weighs between 300 and 450 pounds. A fair set of antlers alone weighs 30-35 pounds.
The meat must be handled properly and transported quickly to the locker in town when daytime temperatures in late September can be as high as 70 degrees and as low as 20 or even lower at high altitudes.
Next: Checking in with someone who has been there.
