I am having a bit of a dilemma. I have had a few people tell me that my Alaskan Moose Adventure was the same as a ?GUIDED HUNT. Now this seems absolutely absurd to me, but I have been wrong many times before. I think there is a huge difference between going with a friend hunting (yes in another state) vs. paying/winning/trading for a guide and going hunting with them.
So I would like just a YES (guided) or NO (not guided) to keep things simple.
Here are the honest facts so that you can make an educated decision. I have tried not to be biased but I just do not see the connection, but hey I have only been on one guided caribou hunt in my life and this was NO WAY the same. By the way I have NOTHING against guides they are great in a lot of cases?but I just do not feel this was a guided hunt:
1. I went with a buddy who had a tag and had equal chance to shoot a moose and actually had first chance when I was hunting by myself in another part of the drainage that I thought was better.
2. I did not pay him a fee of any kind but did give him a small gift for letting me stay at his house and eat his food (loved those halibut enchiladas).
3. I called/grunted/raked in my moose, I also picked the area to hunt that morning based on what we had seen in prior days, I also picked the call set up based on the terrain, I saw the moose, I shot the moose
4. My friend did not cook for me, set up my camp, do all the meat packing, the cleaning, the pre packing, the shopping, the dressing etc. (yes he helped greatly in the packing and that I am forever grateful)
5. I feel it was no different than going hunting with a friend in a different state and both having the same opportunity to shoot. We each did what we could based on our location and what we were good at. Nothing different that going hunting for a big buck with another friend that might go into your area and bag a monster. We did not have 5 guys helping spot, pack or being our doing any help?just us. Is there anything wrong with multiple people and helping them out?hell no!!!
6. I did not pay any money to him, I did not win it, I did not pay for it at an auction, I did not contract someone line etc. 7. Will my name be associated with any outfitter (no)
8. Yes my friend help out with the research on what area to start with, but it was OUR decision to go into this particular drainage because we had decided to ?Go Big or GO HOME?
9. I booked all of my flight legs and paid for them.
10. Yes my friend helped me pack out the animal and that I am VERY happy. Was this like having a set of paid horse to ride on every day while hunting and packing out, or was it just having a friend around to help out whether it was the two of us or all of my friends. Did he do it all hell no.
11. We hunted together a few days, and solo for a few days. I would guess that we were about 60/40 being together and separate. Did he show me the best spots?No because neither of us had been in the drainage in our lives we each had to learn and go with our gut. Sometimes I was wrong and sometimes he was wrong?I believe they call that hunting and not being guided.
12. Did my friend actually go out and scout our area in advance (NO) he had never ever been in that drainage in his life!!! He had found two or three based on PAPER research and then we decided that based on that research there was a chance for a big bull here because it was the most remote and we like to go where we do not see people.
13. We also did not get any game processing in the deal?yep WE spent a whole day cutting up the best parts of the moose and the rest went to a processor for sausage and such?they are BIG
14. We did use some of his gear (tent, and stove) as it was cheaper than sending down my stuff, but everything else was each of our own.
15. We split all costs of the trip 50/50.
Once again I can't thank my friend enough for helping me out and helping with my dream!!! I hope others get to experience this with a friend.
So let's hear a YES for guided and a NO for not guided.
Thanks everyone!
BearCat
So I would like just a YES (guided) or NO (not guided) to keep things simple.
Here are the honest facts so that you can make an educated decision. I have tried not to be biased but I just do not see the connection, but hey I have only been on one guided caribou hunt in my life and this was NO WAY the same. By the way I have NOTHING against guides they are great in a lot of cases?but I just do not feel this was a guided hunt:
1. I went with a buddy who had a tag and had equal chance to shoot a moose and actually had first chance when I was hunting by myself in another part of the drainage that I thought was better.
2. I did not pay him a fee of any kind but did give him a small gift for letting me stay at his house and eat his food (loved those halibut enchiladas).
3. I called/grunted/raked in my moose, I also picked the area to hunt that morning based on what we had seen in prior days, I also picked the call set up based on the terrain, I saw the moose, I shot the moose
4. My friend did not cook for me, set up my camp, do all the meat packing, the cleaning, the pre packing, the shopping, the dressing etc. (yes he helped greatly in the packing and that I am forever grateful)
5. I feel it was no different than going hunting with a friend in a different state and both having the same opportunity to shoot. We each did what we could based on our location and what we were good at. Nothing different that going hunting for a big buck with another friend that might go into your area and bag a monster. We did not have 5 guys helping spot, pack or being our doing any help?just us. Is there anything wrong with multiple people and helping them out?hell no!!!
6. I did not pay any money to him, I did not win it, I did not pay for it at an auction, I did not contract someone line etc. 7. Will my name be associated with any outfitter (no)
8. Yes my friend help out with the research on what area to start with, but it was OUR decision to go into this particular drainage because we had decided to ?Go Big or GO HOME?
9. I booked all of my flight legs and paid for them.
10. Yes my friend helped me pack out the animal and that I am VERY happy. Was this like having a set of paid horse to ride on every day while hunting and packing out, or was it just having a friend around to help out whether it was the two of us or all of my friends. Did he do it all hell no.
11. We hunted together a few days, and solo for a few days. I would guess that we were about 60/40 being together and separate. Did he show me the best spots?No because neither of us had been in the drainage in our lives we each had to learn and go with our gut. Sometimes I was wrong and sometimes he was wrong?I believe they call that hunting and not being guided.
12. Did my friend actually go out and scout our area in advance (NO) he had never ever been in that drainage in his life!!! He had found two or three based on PAPER research and then we decided that based on that research there was a chance for a big bull here because it was the most remote and we like to go where we do not see people.
13. We also did not get any game processing in the deal?yep WE spent a whole day cutting up the best parts of the moose and the rest went to a processor for sausage and such?they are BIG
14. We did use some of his gear (tent, and stove) as it was cheaper than sending down my stuff, but everything else was each of our own.
15. We split all costs of the trip 50/50.
Once again I can't thank my friend enough for helping me out and helping with my dream!!! I hope others get to experience this with a friend.
So let's hear a YES for guided and a NO for not guided.
Thanks everyone!
BearCat