I'll share with you from my point of view, I've guided for several years now and tips are greatly appreciated for the work we do. I guide for 2 completely different types of outfits. So here is the break down of pay and you decide if there are any rich guides out there, keep in mind this is the only outfitters I work with so pay may very across the board.
Private land outfitter in Wyoming
I make $200 a day and work 12 hours a day on average so that's $16.66/hr
3 day hunts
Largest tip I've received here $300
Horseback hunts in Colorado
1x1 hunts $225/day average 16 hour days so I make $14.06/hr
4-5 day hunts
Largest tip I've received $600
2x1 hunts $325/day average 16 hour days so I make $20.21/hr
4-5 day hunts
Largest tip I've received $1400
A lot to unpack here.
First off, thank you for going your metrics. It is interesting to see what the payout is on your end.
I have been on 6 guided hunts. 2 in Europe, 1 in Africa, 1 in Maine and 1 in Texas.
In Europe it was a group hunt both times. Once a stand hunt for roe bucks and the other one was a driven hunt.
There were about 100 people at the driven hunt, it cost $1500 for two days, they fed us lunch both days, lodging was at a hotel that we paid for and they pulled all the game out of the field. I didn't get a shot at anything. I had two opportunities to kill something on the driven hunt, and both times there was a dog behind the game animal or one of the beaters. So I froze to death in a drive hunt tower for 16 hours and enjoyed taking photos of foxes (that were for some reason not on the game list). I didn't tip.
The stand hunt for roe bucks I shot 2, and had an opportunity to shoot the allotted 3, but missed one and wasn't paying attention on the 4th one. So I paid $1500 for two bucks out of 3. I tipped $150 between the guides. No meals or lodging was provided, hotel and my own meals in town.
Namibia was wonderful, killed 14 animals. Lots of drama between the other hunters in camp and the outfitter. I tipped the outfitters wife (cook) $150, and stiffed the guide as he left me at his house for 8 hours so he could fix plumbing for his wife. I speak Spanish and the other clients were from Spain, so they asked me to get involved. It was bullshit, then they conspired against me and the other clients.
Maine, tipped 10%. was what I could afford.
Texas. Was in camp with a guy that had more money in his pocket than I make in a year. They only had one guide and I spent 3 days waiting for this guy to shoot, I got to hunt for about 8 hours and shot a small aoudad. It was free range. Went home pissed off. The other client paid for my taxidermy, I tipped the guide $300 (about 5%) and drove home in the middle of the night pissed off. The other guy and I are now friends. Cook was amazing! Other guy shot the ark, they had elk, red sheep, javelina and mule deer. He killed one of everything. He had killed an aoudad the night before I got there. They called and told me to stop in El Paso and have dinner and get there late. I figured out why when I got there. 4 day hunt, I hunted for the last day. Everyone was nice, but they were milking the whale. Wasn't a good experience.
In Europe tipping is not a common thing to do. When I lived in Australia, they don't tip at all. Everyone on the planet expects Americans to tip.
I would prefer a system where the guide just makes more and the hunt cost a little bit more.
I have heard of guides taking a hunter for a big walk and purposely not finding them game. Because the guide thought the hunter would not tip. Nothing professional about that.