Tipping

[Newbie Sheep Hunter]

I was listening to the Exo podcast today and they were discussing industry standards for tipping on guided hunts. They all generally agreed 10% was the standard (the guest is a guide/outfitter) but for more expensive hunts it can be less than that. The guest mentioned he is doing a guided Alaska brown bear hunt this year and that he won’t be tipping 10% for that hunt.

Sheep hunts are obviously “higher end” hunts, so I’m curious what people feel is an appropriate tip for sheep hunts - let’s assume the guide works hard, the hunt is a great experience, etc. - and what have people who have been on these hunts tipped.

I have my first sheep hunt booked in the Yukon and want to make sure I tip appropriately on the hunt.

Thanks!

 

[ReddingArcher]

I tipped right at 10% for my guide, I gave the wrangler who was going to be guiding some caribou hunters this year, my tricer tripod and sent him $1000 also. It’s how these guys make their living. I guess I can see how a more expensive hunt someone could tip less than 10% but I personally felt it was worth it.

 

[CHL]

Yeah, cash is king IMO for the guides, wranglers, etc. A lot of ‘em I’ve become good buddies with say typically, they’d rather not have the gear, binos, knives, etc., and instead prefer cash for sure. With that being said, my most expensive hunts have been Brown Bear and 4 sheep hunts, and I’ve always done a flat 10%.

 

[CHL]

Yep. Never have had a packer though. Just 1 guide for every trip. However, on my Desert Sheep hunt, there was a guide, and then a few more guys that helped out. I spoke with the outfitter as a “one-off”, and we went down the list of the guys, and he actually said 10% might have been high. Based on my experience in the hunt, and his experience with all of his team, I split it all up based on who did what. But it was still a total of 10% overall.

 

[huntingislife]

I recently tipped 15% on a hunt I did. I would have not done over 10 percent but he deserved the extra. I wasn't sure about tipping on it but he definitely earned it. If i was paying 50k for a grizzly or sheep hunt I don't think I would be tipping 10 percent. but then again if I had that money I don't think the extra few 1000 would make a difference?

 

[Del Gue]

Last time I hunted with an outfitter I had a different guide each day. That is how the outfitter likes to do things. I kind of liked it. I hunted with 5 different guides. They were all good guys, and they all worked hard to get me on some elk. I ended up killing my bull on the 5th day after passing up lots of smaller bulls. It was a great hunt and a good time at camp.
I was uncertain on how to tip in that situation. I ended up giving the outfitter about an 18% tip for him to divvy up with the guides and cooks.
In a normal situation I would have given my guide 10% and gave the cook a couple of hundred bucks.

 

[adamkolesar]

A great topic best discussed long before you're at the end of the hunt saying your farewells.
I agree with most that tipping needs to be an integral part of the hunt budget. The guide doesn't set the price and their daily pay from the outfitter is likely just base pay.
On a goat hunt a few years back, I had a guide and a packer to budget for. The guide got a bit over 10% and the packer just over 5%.
Cash is king, but ask the outfitter if his people do Zelle or Venmo. Sometimes that's preferred.

 

[alaska_bou]

I shake my head when I see more and more outfitters imposing higher tip suggestions on their clients, with some claiming 15-20% of the total hunt price is "normal." What you heard on the podcast is spot-on, imo. I generally think a 10% tip is good on any hunt, anywhere in the world. That said, I have tipped higher in many circumstances (especially when 10 or more people are involved in my hunt), and I have tipped less as a percentage on very expensive hunts. I work in the industry and I generally get quite a bit of outfitter feedback regarding what clients tip, and on a $40,000 sheep hunt, for example, most guys are tipping about $2,500 to the guide.

 

[idig4au]

Depends on the hunt, circumstances and overall experience. Will typically tip anywhere from 10% to 20%. North American hunts are obviously more as compared to some of the international hunts.

 

[Chase0109]

NA Hunt tipping is outside of my personal experience. I do all DIY in NA as I personally don’t see the value in going guided. Except if I ever draw an Utah bison tag, I’ll go guided on that lol.

One thing I’ve always wondered about this whole hunt price % of tip on North American hunts and why not tip a certain dollar amount per day per person instead?

I’ve done a couple DG hunts in Africa with a couple more booked. I generally plan $200-250 per day for the PH and a breakdown too long to list for each of the other team members. Ranging from trackers to game Scouts to cooks and camp staff.

Depending on hunt cost my total tip has ranged from 16% to 30% of the total Hunt price. That excludes travel or additional expenses that weren’t paid directly to the outfitter.

Wouldn’t it just be easier to figure a set day rate for the Guide, Wrangler, Cook, packer, etc.?
$100-200 per day guide
$25–30 per day cook
$25–30 per day wrangler
$50-100 per day packer

I get tipping more for more difficult hunts. But should you really plan to tip a stone sheep guide $10,000 versus doll sheep guide $4000 vs an elk guide $1000-1500 (based on rough 10% hunt cost).

The whole flat rate percent just seems weird. But what do I know

Chase

 

[cuerro viejo]

NA Hunt tipping is outside of my personal experience. I do all DIY in NA as I personally don’t see the value in going guided. Except if I ever draw an Utah bison tag, I’ll go guided on that lol.

One thing I’ve always wondered about this whole hunt price % of tip on North American hunts and why not tip a certain dollar amount per day per person instead?

I’ve done a couple DG hunts in Africa with a couple more booked. I generally plan $200-250 per day for the PH and a breakdown too long to list for each of the other team members. Ranging from trackers to game Scouts to cooks and camp staff.

Depending on hunt cost my total tip has ranged from 16% to 30% of the total Hunt price. That excludes travel or additional expenses that weren’t paid directly to the outfitter.

Wouldn’t it just be easier to figure a set day rate for the Guide, Wrangler, Cook, packer, etc.?
$100-200 per day guide
$25–30 per day cook
$25–30 per day wrangler
$50-100 per day packer

I get tipping more for more difficult hunts. But should you really plan to tip a stone sheep guide $10,000 versus doll sheep guide $4000 vs an elk guide $1000-1500 (based on rough 10% hunt cost).

The whole flat rate percent just seems weird. But what do I know

Chase

I don’t tip by day because the guide earned a lot of his tip scouting before I came. With a good guide that will be obvious

I’m 10-20% across the board, if I find an outfitter I really want to hunt again with and want priority it’s 20% between guide and camp. Guide getting largest chunk

 

[cuerro viejo]

Valid points. In most tipping situations it’s based off cost of service. You go drop 100k on a fancy dinner wouldn’t a 10% tip seem low unless service sucked? There’s a reason why a lot of restaurants put a gratuity on parties of X number of people.

I wish tipping would go away and the cost would just be factored into the price of hunt, meal etc.

Not a direct comparison, waiter day pay is not close to guide day pay. … significant difference

But people need to realize the most expensive hunts are also the lowest volume, take care of your guide if he took care of you , if you don’t kill out, he will be your biggest advocate for extra time or a discount or top of the list to return

 

[cuerro viejo]

I was comparing tipping in the service industry. But I think the pay is comparable between a waiter and guide. A waiter works 8 hours? A guide is with you 24/7. Waiter doesn’t have to cook the meal just serve you. Most hunts don’t have a cook, it’s your guide. Pretty sure a waiter makes more per hour vs effort.

Very few clients know how much their guide actually gets paid. And it varies wildly in every area. There is no “norm”.

Very Valid point, I break tip up amongst staff, so less staff more tip per individual

 

[IBen]

2k is a solid tip for most alaska hunt. 3k for above and beyond effort
1-1.5k for standard service.
If the Guide is booking his own hunts I think tip is less important but if he has a packer, or an assistant guide doing separate hunts tip is most likely 50% of his pay. Packer could very well only be working for tips

 

[tkhuntsman]

I will add my 2 cents I guided hunters for 18 years deer, elk, bear, MTN. Lions, sheep, goat, moose, and Turkeys. I've been tipped from $5000 all the way down to 0. I did it full time and usually about 15+ hunts a year surprisingly enough I'd get blanked several times a year. I had several repeat guys claim they left it with the outfitter after we had packed out but I never saw it. I would love to tell you I had a 10% average but no it was more like 5. I was happy to get anything to be honest and I loved my job but it is damn disappointing to bust your butt for months scouting and then hunt for 7 days, up at 3 and to bed at 10 w/ stock. I'm glad to see the industry promoting this topic it was taboo 10-20 years ago to discuss it with the dudes. Cash is definitely king those boys work hard they need it to support themselves and their families for the rest of the year.

 

[SW hunter]

Do not ever leave gear. Im blown away when guys brag- oh i gave my spotter to the guide. No! Banks dont accept binos for truck payments. Gas station doesnt trade for knives.

Price of hunt matters. Ive done cheap $2k 3 day hunt and I wasnt leaving that guy $200. $400 seemed better.

For ordinary 5,000-7,000 hunts I plan for 10% and it could move up or down from there. Ive gone down to zero for guide who passed out drunk one afternoon.
20% when 5 guys worked 18hr days for me for 5 days. And I felt bad that I couldnt do more for them.

I hate navigating tipping and I hate trying to divide it. I hate physically handing over the tip. Its uncomfortable.

I tell all the guys working on the hunt- "Hey I gave (whoever the head guide is) X percent and he will divide it up for you guys"
That gets me off the hook. Its between those guys then. I feel better doing that.

Sometimes when youre in real remote places it can start to feel like everybody has their hand out. Everybody is trying to earn a 50 and that falls outside the tip. But I try to remember look around nobody there is getting rich. This helps to support a community or industry thats my passion.

 

[Doc Holliday]

The blanket statement of don’t leave gear isn’t accurate. I left $8,000 to total to my guide and assistant guide for a $49k stone sheep hunt. Then I left a few hundred to the ladies at base camp who make meals. And I tipped my pilot a couple hundred. I also asked my guide if he wanted my hilleberg tent. He said he did so I left it, and have seen multiple social media posts over the last couple of years with him using it which made me happy. Not saying any of this to brag, just giving facts

These tipping posts come up over and over. Every situation is different. Ask your outfitter what a good tip is, then go from there. Nobody better understands how his guides are compensated and what is typical for that hunt in that country w that set up. All NWT sheep hunts are not the same. All horseback elk hunts are not the same. Ask your outfitter!

 

[MQQSE]

I’ve always been a 10% guy barring extreme circumstances either way. Still, it seems odd to leave $10,000 on a $100,000 sheep hunt that may last two days vs a 10 day elk hunt where $1000 tip may be considered good.

If you order a $50 steak dinner and leave 20% and the next guy happens to order the same dinner with a $200 bottle of wine, does that waiter deserve 5 times the tip? I see the illogic in it all but have always followed the norms.

What about a $10,000 hunt with a $50,000 auction tag? Do you tip the tag value too??

 

[mntnguide]

In my 10 years as a guide in the Frank church and Teton wilderness, I experienced all the above. From great tips to not so great. I can assure you the ones who left not so great, were well remembered and not allowed back. . My normal day during season would be getting up a 3am, saddle horses, start client stove so their tent was warm, get clients out of bed so we could be where i wanted to at daylight, sometimes 2hr rides in dark. Back to camp around 9-10 most the days..rinse, wash, repeat. If you broke down my pay into hourly, I just laugh. And yes, tips are what paid my bills and got me through season.
Now adays, I make more in a week than I would in a month guiding. I can assure you, guides are appreciative of cash, gear is nice and all, but I still have my guide license active even today just because the amount of deals i get on gear. I cant remember the last time I paid full price for good gear, and thats how all guides look at it. Cash pays bills, anything on top of that, should just be out of realizing maybe they would actually use it.
I never guided the extreme high dollar hunts like sheep up north etc, so pretty hard to put a hard number to those. I personally would say i received 15-20% most the time, but these were just wilderness elk/deer hunts and much less expensive. I will say, the best tips I would ever receive always came from the hard working person who saved years for the hunt and appreciated every bit of it, than the rich guy who goes on multiple a year.

 

[Pokerface]

Will say up front I never plan on any type of guided hunt, time and money prevent this most of the time. I will say my two cents, Guides charge what you feel is a wage you can live on . Do not expect a tip . People that can afford a guided hunt will still pay it. I still can't believe in this day and age tipping is still so highly expected in a lot of professions/fields of work . Except for wait staff in a restaurant or other field where they do not pay a minimum wage , just say no to tips. Like I said , just my two cents worth of opinion... Joe