do you consider guided hunts really a hunt?

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outlawskinnyd

New member
hey now.

while i think guided hunts are a nice novelty type thing, i dont consider it a real hunt. its more like hide and seek. its one thing if you are getting into deer hunting or elk hunting and take some guided hunts to learn.

i just discovered a pheasant farm maybe 30 minutes from my apartment. im going in 2 weeks and im sure im gonna have a blast. but still, i dont think anything compares to suiting up and grabbing the bull by the horns and heading out into the woods to go after the game of your choice.


if your into bear hunting, and you want to go after a bear, what is more of a hunt for you? doing all the research yourself, finding the best spot to go. roaming the wilderness and tracking these things for yourself. taking one out close to sunset, then going back the next day to retrieve itor taking a guided hunt and having all the work done for you, all you gotta do is pull the trigger


if your into phesant hunting. what is more of a hunt to you? paying to release birds at a farm and shooting the birds with a guide or going on someones farm and taking in all the scenery, watching the cattle do whatever cattle do. seeing the big windmills spin in the wind (ok im getting a little carried away here) and walking through real fields that produce the very food essential to our being. id imagine its 10x more exciting to shoot a bird you hunted rather than one you payed for at a pheasant farm.

now this example might rub some of you the wrong way

if you have the head of a 10pt'er on the wall, and you got it from taking a guided hunt, can you really say you hunted that trophy? all you did was walk in, make reservations, pay money, have someone walk you to where they all are and you pulled the trigger. can you with a straight face say you "hunted" that trophy deer?
 
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To each his own. What may not seem sporting to one may be all the other can manage. I hunt wild birds all season behind my dog and extensive research on said game, but once season is over we will hit the preserves for the dogs sake.

Everyone has a different idea of sport. For instance some shoot deer over bait, some shoot deer in food plots, some run deer with hounds, some spot and stalk. I say if it brings you satisfaction go for it, if it doesn't then don't, but don't scoff the guy that does. Just my .02.
 
thats a good point.

im just trying to get a good discussion going. i feel this topic is often thought about but no spoken about much.

me, personally, i consider it more of a novelty than a hunt. but that doesnt mean i rag on those who do preserve hunt.
 
Very well put QH, I agree. I don't hunt big game at all. Due to age etc. But I love my Upland birds. I was to a Game Shooting Preserve last week. It was mainly to get Lens and my pups introduced to Pheasants. I will say this now. The birds did hold tighter than wild birds. But that is what we wanted for the pups. We did not know where the birds were in the cover. Watching the pup work them out was like the real thing. Flushing and making our shots at them was just like normal. All in All, other than knowing there were 5 birds planted someplace in the field. I would say it seemed like a regular hunt. I had the same elation when I hit the bird and P.O'd when I missed........Bob
 
You still have to connect with your shot. I have guided guys on wild birds and that is always the truth. I don't guide often but I do get called on occasionally to fill in for some guys. I have never seen it as simple as just pulling the trigger. At the same time where I live bird hunting is big business and if walk on to the wrong property, a guide fee is better than a tresspas charge and loss of hunting privelages. If a guys lives somewhere where because of Job, Family, whatever, he only gets to go out one time a season and he uses a guide, as far as I am concerned God Bless Him. He is still buying a lic, not taking up space on public ground, and getting to something he enjoys. I have found a lot of these types of guys are great supports of organizations like PF and DU.
 
There is a huge difference between your " canned" hunt and what one would get from the use of a guide. I have employed the use of a guide from time to time, especially in South Dakota, and the hunt seemed pretty much the same to me. Sometimes we got into birds and sometimes we did not. Sometimes i shot well and sometimes not. Whether or not i painted my face, did not shower for a week, covered my self in deer urine and killed the buck with my bare hands, has little bearing on my level of pride in my trophy. Those of us that hang trophies on our walls probably have other issues anyway. Just like what was said earlier, nobody should feel ashamed of hunting regardless of how it is done. OK, maybe the shooting of exotics in central Missouri, or a " wild Buffalo" hunt on the plains.
 
Like some of the others have pointed at, I don't see guided hunting in the same light as I see preserve hunting. I have never paid a guide, but would under the right circumstances for mule deer, elk, or sheep. I would also do it if hunting a long ways from home for birds if I didn't have the time to scout, or property to hunt. I do view guided hunts as actual hunting, as long as its fair chase on wild animals.

I view released bird hunting kind of in the same light as deer hunting on a high fenced ranch. I don't really see preserve hunting as the real deal, just use it as a way of getting the dog on more birds to improve his/her skills. Yeah its also fun to shoot a few more birds, but it just isn't the same. I could never see myself hunting on a high fenced ranch for deer or elk or exotics though, just a personal thing I guess.

Too each his own as well. It does bother me knowing some locals that have some 7x7 elk on their wall that they pass off as having hunted to the edges of the earth for, when in reality they paid big money to have it let out of a barn into some guys pasture.
 
outlawskinnyd said:
thats a good point.

im just trying to get a good discussion going. i feel this topic is often thought about but no spoken about much.

me, personally, i consider it more of a novelty than a hunt. but that doesnt mean i rag on those who do preserve hunt.
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sure is different than what came across in your first post

I agree with cheesy's post
I guided my father, brother, sister, uncles, and relatives on many quail hunts-
they guided me on some hunts- brother guided me in Alaska- nephew guided me on a few elk hunts- can say for sure none were easy- non were paid to guide

canned hunt, or where game is planted is different- just depends on quite a few factors on if they are like real or not

many wouldn't have a clue if an animal or birds were put out and they were allowed to go hunt- just depends again on some critical facts

preserve or game farm hunts- nothing wrong with them-
heck- it's the off season- see nothing wrong with letting some loose and guys or father with son and or daughter going out and having a good time- or working dogs

if someone was going to say how about we meet up and pitch in on birds, work the dogs, cook up something, sit arround and talk- plenty of folks would think about it- see no reason why someone should think it's bad
 
I would consider any fair chase hunt a real hunt, guided or not. High fence hunts I don't consider a hunt. To me that is picking the side of beef from a herd that you want to buy. I can't stand watching those high fence hunts on TV. But it works for some.
 
I do alot of guiding in the winter but there is a difference you are hunting wild birds not planted birds they are 100% wild and peaple seem to enjoy that more that the preserve hunts
 
FCS raises a good point, "Fair Chase", even though the birds we were hunting were released birds. The dogs still had to hunt for them. Yes, the fair chase did apply. I had one that flew right into the sun. That happened a few times with wild birds this past season. Never fired a shot at any one of the 3 of them.............Bob
 
Nothing at all wrong with guided hunts. Not everyone knows the ropes or has the time to scout, get permission & hunt multiple times a yr. If I only had a couple days to hunt period or was going to a brand new area that I didn't live anywhere near or pursuing a particular species that I knew very little about - I would consider it, it sure is a heck of a lot better than a total crapshoot or finally figuring it all out just in time to have to leave! :thumbsup:

Never had all-that-much luck really on most of the few guided hunts or fishing trips I've been on (you get what you pay for & I can't afford to pay for much). Overall I have done much better on my own & thoroughly enjoy the challenge/learning-curve of figuring it all out for myself even if it takes longer or there is less game involved - but guided hunts & fishing trips definitely have their place & are sometimes a heck of a introductory experience to leave a positive taste in the mouth & wanting more for newbies & kids! :thumbsup:

Beware Guides: Personally, on the rare occassion when I do part with my hard-earned money for a guide of any sort, it is usually to learn a general area or specific tactics & I take d@#! good notes! :D :cheers: But don't worry too much, I don't go stealing anybody's particular honey-holes... ;) :rolleyes:
 
Here in the east, there isn't any other choice. Without the preserve, I'd never have a place to run my GSP. I'm fortunate since I guide on this preserve and get to run my dog a lot, I couldn't afford to hunt every wekend like I do when guiding. Yes, the birds are different -I come out to SD for 10 days every year but without the preserve, those would be my only ten days in the field with the dog all year.

More importantly, the owners of the preserve saw it as a chance to keep their land in the family for future generations rather than seeing another housing development go up.

I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but preserves definitely have their place for people like me and you have to think of the economic value they have. Whether it be at the local bar, diner or casino, preserve customers are helping to pay for the wild birds we all love to hunt.
 
FCSpringer said:
I would consider any fair chase hunt a real hunt, guided or not. High fence hunts I don't consider a hunt. To me that is picking the side of beef from a herd that you want to buy. I can't stand watching those high fence hunts on TV. But it works for some.
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I agree 100% with what you've said. I, for one, fell in love with hunting pheasants by hunting on a preserve - it's all I've got up here to hunt them - we don't have a wild population. If this makes me any less of a hunter, I'd like to meet the person that calls me such face to face. I hunt big game in the big woods of western New Brunswick. I hunt grouse in the same woods. Pheasants, I pay to hunt. They aren't released when I get there. The birds are semi-wild. Pen raised then released on a huge acreage to roam and feed. They are not 'gimmies' by any means. I've missed as many as I've shot out there. And, I enjoy it as much as I enjoy getting out in the woods to hunt. Time spent afield is time well spent.
 
This is somewhat of a semantics game but I learned to hunt on guided hunts. I would venture to say many here have too.

Sure the guide was my dad and/or my grandpa. I was just a kid hardly in the double digits of life when they would take me out and hand me the shotgun or rifle depending on the game we were pursing (I started shooting in the single digits of life).

They made all the arrangements, they sited in the rifle for deer, they provided the lodging, the meals, the transportation, the ammo, etc. They made sure I was legal in my actions and my dress. They guided me on hunts from the time I began hunting until I left for college. They would tell me what to watch for and prepare me for what might happen and how to respond, etc.

Sure, I began to take on more responsibility over the years, go out on my own, and learn the skills they were trying to pass on to me, but it looked very much like traditional guided hunts do today only I didn't pay.

I was very fortunate to be raised by men who had a passion for the outdoors, ethics, and pursuit vs. conservation. Not everyone is so fortunate and if they need to pay to learn then I say go for it, they are hunting. If they have a passion to get out and hunt they need someone willing to show them the ropes and teach them everything my "guides" taught me.

It is a romantic idea to teach a greenhorn the ways of the prey but in reality how many of really do it on a consistent basis, person after person, year after year? I know I have taken a few out, but sadly it is a very few...
 
Good point. Yea it's for real weather you hire a guide or not. If you don't know where to go they are handy. Take Uguide for example. He shows you where to go, but it is still a real hunt. You still have to go and get the job done. Many people just have to go at a whim, 1 or 2 weekends a year, they don't have the time to look for a spot, or ask a hundred people, they have time for fun and thats it.
 
If you show up in "wild bird county" without a dog, and actually want to get some birds, hunting with a guide (and his trained dogs) makes perfect sense, and is certainly not the same as shooting pen birds at a preserve.
 
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drove all the way to Michigan because my nephew said I had to try someting
 
Oh thanks Shadow now I want to go duck hunting:coolpics: I'm a firm believer in do what works for you. Everyone has a different situation in what we have to hunt and time and stuff like that. But we all have one thing in common:eek: WE love the outdoors and we love to hunt:)
 
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