Tipping on guided hog hunts

[asaxon]

What are the guidelines/standards or range for the tip on a fully guided hunt? Bigboarstoppers post re prices made me realize I hadn't thought much about the tip for the guide. I didn't want to hijack his tread so I'm making a new one. I've seen a lot of posts in various places about prices but nothing about tipping.

I did tip Tom on my hunt but I didn't make it a big tip as we got it done in 2 hours hunting, the hogs were easy to recover - he just drove his pickup out into the field and we pitched them in the back, etc. Clearly, if it went two whole days and he (we) had to recover the hog(s) from some real distance down deep canyon (like we had to do with the deer at Catalina), then I'd have made the tip a lot more.

What are the suggested ranges (in % of cost or $??) from those of you who do these guided hunts and what guidelines do you use other than quality of service, e.g. length of time you hunt, ease of recovery, etc.

One way to not have to the tip too much is have your wife carry the animal out...just kidding.

That is my wife with the deer on her back and way in the background to the left is me struggling to keep up.

 

[Richmellott]

I have been on three guided hunts, and have tipped on all three, regardless of whether or not I scored (2/3 so far). I didn't do it as a percentage, I just gave $50 each time, and nobody complained. I also left a tarp for George once, and a bag of snacks the other time. I gave my first guide a box of those latex-free gloves for cleaning, and I got more thanks for that than the bucks. Seems like you should tip more, go ahead.

 

[EPic1856]

I gave a 15% tip based on the cost of the hunt. The hunt was about 3-4 hours and the guide had to get the pig back to the jeep. No easy task since I shot it at the base of a hill. He had to drag the pig about 100 yards uphill. He also, gut it and skinned it.

asaxon, as far as taking only two hours to harvest the pig. Do you think it was luck that your guide got on the pigs right away or do you think he did some scouting before you got there? I felt that my guide went out a day or two before I arrived and found their patterns. So even though I only spent 3-4 hours hunting, the guide spent more time than that getting me on the pigs.

 

[asaxon]

Tipping and scouting

asaxon, as far as taking only two hours to harvest the pig. Do you think it was luck that your guide got on the pigs right away or do you think he did some scouting before you got there? I felt that my guide went out a day or two before I arrived and found their patterns. So even though I only spent 3-4 hours hunting, the guide spent more time than that getting me on the pigs.[/quote]

I know Tom did not scout the area beforehand as we met the owner (the spry 84 year old lady) of the ranch we hunted and we talked with her about Tom not being there for a couple of weeks. I certainly don't begrude him the money nor the tip as I said - it was "priceless" to me. I am just trying to get a feel of how this crowd handled the situation. For example, in New Zealand and China, one does NOT tip for anything except under extraordinary circumstances while in the live aboard dive boat business, 10% of the fare is considered standard.... I'd factor in 1) time, 2) effort i.e. recovering a big pig a long way from where a vehicle can get, or hunting right up to the time limit if necessary, 3) the general attitude of the guide i.e. surly vs pleasant, 4) the willingness to accomodate requests like what kind of animal you are looking for, physical issues or whatever. However, I'm a newbie and I'd be interested in knowing what is done by experienced hog hunters who use these guides.

PS - I don't think it was "luck", I think the man knows the properties he hunts and he knows hogs.

 

[LuckyGunner]

Tipping

I tend to tip per the experience. Anywhere from 10-20%. It doesn't have to be a successful hunt, but a professional one.

I will over tip (might not be possible) for a great experience. I try to budget my hunts for double the advertised cost plus travel expenses. That way I don't have to worry about running out of funds.


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