Don't eat Yellow Snow!
Beyond that tip what you can afford.
My personal rule of thumb.
10% of the cost of the hunt for hunts below $10,000
5% of the cost of the hunt for hunts $10,000- $20,000
Never been on a hunt that cost more than $12,000 though.
I do not include the cost of trophy fees into the tip calculation no matter where I am.
Game ranch hunts in Texas I tip $50-100 a day to the guide. If I am paying a daily rate, hotel fees and they are providing food I just give the guide $100. I went on one where it was $500 a day for guide, food and lodging plus trophy fees. The guide got $200 at the end of 3 days, the cook got $100.
Hunted another ranch and I stayed on ranch but I provided my own food. Tipped the same $200 for 3 days to the guide.
My tip cap is $1000 for the guide, just what I am comfortable with and can afford.
On a horseback hunt, guide gets 60-70% total tip, wrangler and cook split the other 30-40%.
On an African hunt, guide gets 75% cook, skinner, house boy, tracker all them get the other 25% split evenly. Or based on performance.
Guide pissed me off, cook sucked, and the house staff was awesome.
This is really relative on what went into your hunt.
There are people that tip 15-40%, I am not one of those as I can't afford it.
If the deer hunt cost $5000 and you give him $300-600 thats a nice tip.
If you give him more, then that is a really nice tip.
I always hand them an envelope with the money in it and their name on it. I tell them this is what I can afford and feel comfortable with tipping.
There will be entitled guides that think they need more, and cause a problem. There will be guides that have a good atitude and will happily take your mony. The odds against having a professional guide that this is his only line of work are very low. Even if Africa most of them do something else during the non-hunting season.