"Scout" Services

[Hnthrdr]

I think the issue is the money changing hands…

 

[dr.mooseknuckles]

I could do the same thing but I'm not willing to sell my soul for a few bucks. Disgusting.

Aw come on man why not!!???

Listen, I'll swing by Omaha, Nebraska on my way to you, and I'll pick up my girlfriend. Then she can give you your 40th birthday present.

I'll film, post to OnlyFans, then we'll share the profits.

Then I can go kill an elk that you tied up for me.

 

[Customweld]

I think the owner of another forum was offering this type of service a couple of years ago. I'm not sure if he is still doing it.

 

[Ucsdryder]

Somebody on here talked about using one. If I remember correctly the service provided pictures of the bull, multiple pins with date stamps, etc. The guy was happy.

600 just isn’t worth it. By the time I drive out there, multiple days of scouting, multiple tanks of gas, someone would be pretty hard up for a couple hundred bucks.

 

[Rdan2]

A few years ago I drew a LE elk tag close to home. A few people found out and I was getting messages wishing me luck. One message included a picture of a bull on a water hole. The individual said we can "discuss a price" and he'll send me the pin where this bull was. I laughed and said no thanks. I think it's pretty desperate for someone to do that especially when I never even asked for it. Crazy enough I killed a bull without buying any pins

 

[TaperPin]

That is so discussing it makes me sick! Do it right and hire an outfitter and have his guides do the exact same thing, maybe the same animal. Lol

 

[TaperPin]

Or sell tips on big animals to the Eastmans. Lol

 

[Teodoro]

I don't see a moral difference between using one of these services and hiring a guide.
If someone kills a nice trophy based on paid coordinates, I at least know they can do all the other parts of hunting without someone holding their hand.
(I know a lot of guys who use guides are very good hunters in their own right. But their success with a guide isn't how I'd judge that.)

 

[TaperPin]

You almost had the chance to either get the coordinates of the coral and shoot him there, or have a guide hold the halter while you poke a hole in him on some exotic ridge.

 

[robby denning]

This used to be a bigger thing. Think some states outlawed the practice.

Same guide who leads you by the hand finds the bucks and sells the locations. Some of the guys were doing reputable work - even monitoring the critters just before season opened. @robby denning might have been involved.

A lot of the "macho" hunter types were really whining pretty good cause folks were getting on critters they "hadn't earned".

I don't see it much diff than using On-X, Go-Hunt or the other more popular "help a hunter" type services.

Thanks. Closed up my op a few years ago. Not enough time to do it all.

We never got into the whole GPS sell-a-waypoint thing, more of a consult on how to hunt an area we'd scouted.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

I think folks need to learn (or re-learn) that it's okay to hunt and not kill an animal. I realize that not everyone can scout with boots on the ground, but with online resources being what they are, literally drawing unit lines for you and showing real time photos and topography info, is just an insane resource.

Remember when we used to have to just "know" and "remember" what the boundaries were? Remember out of state hunts and buying paper maps and carefully reading the regs for unit information?

If you are a decent hunter, can read terrain properly online, and then make real time decisions/adjustments once you actually get boots on the ground, you are likely going to be successful; at least in what I've seen.

If you aren't successful in killing, hunting trips are just a ton of fun anyway, and if you aren't enjoying being outdoors unless you "get a kill" I think you've lost some of your love for what we do (or maybe never had it to begin with).

I've spent 100 times as many nights on camping, backpacking, or scouting trips in the outdoors than I have during actual hunting trips. The only excuse for not getting out on Friday and Saturday nights and scouting or backpacking hunt areas is lack of willingness. Everyone wants all the "results" without putting in any of the work. Welcome to the internet age folks.

 

[Beendare]

Its the greater fool thing.....

a fool and his money is soon parted.

I'm OK with less laws.....but states should make this illegal just because it's bad for hunting in general.

 

[RockAndSage]

Its the greater fool thing.....

a fool and his money is soon parted.

I'm OK with less laws.....but states should make this illegal just because it's bad for hunting in general.

Nevada banned trail cameras after July 1st because of the commercialization of hunting done by outfitters, flooding water sources with dozens of cameras each, and selling geotagged data and coordinates - this is worth taking a look at, especially the very last slide on Fair Chase: https://www.ndow.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/13-B-PP-CGR-440-Trail-Camera.pdf

 

[CorbLand]

I would imagine that most people that provide these services are not doing so to make a ton of money. They are doing it to offset the cost of something they are already doing. 600 bucks to provide someone the way point to a mediocre bull/buck when your looking for the big one, that pays for a lot of gas.

I personally dont have a problem with the service but it needs to be regulated no different than guides. You should have to have a guide or similar license to do it.

When you look at the cost, it seems like a lot for someone that lives nearby but its pretty minimal for someone that is coming west from the east coast. I would much rather have people be willing to pay for someone to do all the work for them than people advocate to reduces tags to make it easier to find and kill bigger animals.

 

[TaperPin]

I did hunt an area and a guy was doing a lot of scouting, who was paid by his boss/owner of the company to find a big deer. I had never put much thought into it, other than it sure would be nice if someone let me off work to scout for them at my regular pay. Hire employees that are good hunters. Lol

 

[Hnthrdr]

I think folks need to learn (or re-learn) that it's okay to hunt and not kill an animal. I realize that not everyone can scout with boots on the ground, but with online resources being what they are, literally drawing unit lines for you and showing real time photos and topography info, is just an insane resource.

Remember when we used to have to just "know" and "remember" what the boundaries were? Remember out of state hunts and buying paper maps and carefully reading the regs for unit information?

If you are a decent hunter, can read terrain properly online, and then make real time decisions/adjustments once you actually get boots on the ground, you are likely going to be successful; at least in what I've seen.

If you aren't successful in killing, hunting trips are just a ton of fun anyway, and if you aren't enjoying being outdoors unless you "get a kill" I think you've lost some of your love for what we do (or maybe never had it to begin with).

I've spent 100 times as many nights on camping, backpacking, or scouting trips in the outdoors than I have during actual hunting trips. The only excuse for not getting out on Friday and Saturday nights and scouting or backpacking hunt areas is lack of willingness. Everyone wants all the "results" without putting in any of the work. Welcome to the internet age folks.

This is what I was getting at. Lots of guys can’t be okay with hunting and not killing. It is part of the process part of the adventure.

 

[TheTone]

It’s really fun to get called by someone that is obviously a paid scout hoping you will give them info but they never straight out tell you what they’re up to

 

[CMF]

I don't see a moral difference between using one of these services and hiring a guide.

I agree, it's almost no difference, except like some mentioned they are not licensed. Just require the same guide license for the service.
I think some of the issues that could arise are reasons many people won't find these services useful or the people doing it won't make enough money to continue. At some point you'll be at the cost of an actual guided hunt. You risk getting bogus points, etc.

 

[bowkill]

I agree that there isn't a huge difference between this and a guided hunt, but I guess that's why I'm not interested in going on a guided hunt.
Also, if I got an animal by paying someone for the coordinates, I wouldn't be able to look at the antlers without having a sick feeling in my gut!

 

[JeffRaines]

I also don’t see the difference between paying for a guided hunt and what is essentially an unguided hunt. To my knowledge most of these scouting type services just offer an overview of an area with hotspots on a map where they’ve seen game in the past or drainages where they’re known to hang out. It’s up to you to actually hunt the critters.

I’ve even seen a few outfitters who offer an unguided option, where they offer you lodging/camping on property and just instruct you on where to hunt.

Selling coordinates to a specific animal, I can’t imagine that really works well outside of private land. Animals are animals, and they move.

The only issue I’d see is if the proprietor is selling the same drainage/areas to multiple hunters.